In this post we are going to answer 10 most common yoga related questions.

We all know that we rarely do something just for the heck of it, which means the chances of doing something in the morning when we could be laying in bed hitting the snooze button is even rarer. So why should you get out of bed and hop onto your yoga mat exactly? Here are the top ten questions with answers that will have you waking up each morning for your yoga practice with the same enthusiasm as a little kid on their birthday.

Why Is It Good To Do Yoga In The Morning?

What you do in the morning sets the tone for the rest of your day. Grabbing breakfast and rushing out of the door in a flurry, not feeling like you have enough time, feeling sore and achy, or just wishing you were still asleep all lead to days filled with stress, pain, and negativity – things we definitely don’t need any more of in our lives. Carving out even just a few minutes each morning to practice yoga sets a positive tone for your day. You work out any kinks in your body that will cause you pain later in the day, you learn to focus your mind on the present moment, and you may even work up a sweat!

Doing yoga in the morning also gives you energy, which can seem counterintuitive to people that believe sleeping more will leave you feeling more energized later in the day. The truth is that by moving first thing in the morning and using energy actually allows you to get more energy as the day goes by. There is an infinite amount of energy in the world that is available to you throughout the day. If you never spend your energy, you don’t have room for new energy, which means you are stuck with your old, stagnant energy day after day. No wonder people feel run down! Instead, by using your energy in a healthful and mindful way each morning with yoga, you are making room for new energy to enter your body, leaving you feeling energized and ready to tackle anything that comes your way.

No matter the time of day, it is always good to wisely spend energy (which means using it in a way so that you are not wasting it – don’t just run up ten flights of stairs just so you can say you did it) so that you can receive more.

2. What Is All The Fuss About The Benefits Of Sunrises?

There is something special about the energy you receive in the morning. As the sun first rises, it has the strongest energy and it slowly burns off as the day progresses. So by doing yoga in the morning as the sun is just rising or even in the first few hours after it has risen, you will be the recipient of an incredible amount of positive energy that will help you get through even the toughest of days.

3. How Long Should I Practice Yoga Each Morning?

As with most forms of exercise, the longer you do it the better the benefits – thirty minutes is generally the shortest amount of time that you can accomplish a well-balanced yoga practice. That being said, time restraints should never make you feel like you should skip doing yoga altogether. Even just three poses and five minutes of your time can make a big difference in how you feel for the rest of your day.

4. If I Am Running Late, What Are Some Poses I Can Do Quickly Before Heading Out The Door?

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5. Should I Do Yoga Every Morning?

The more consistent you are with your yoga practice the more benefits you will get. By being consistent with your routine you will find that it soon becomes an essential part of your day, just like eating breakfast or showering. There will be some mornings, of course, that you just don’t feel completely up to it – maybe you had a really late night, you feel like you are getting sick, or you are just simply not in the mood. It can be easy on days like this to convince yourself to skip out on yoga, but really yoga is actually exactly what you need.

Yoga has the incredible ability to be exactly what you need when you need it. The key is listening to your body as you practice and making necessary adjustments. As long as you start your practice knowing that what you did yesterday will be different than what you do today, you will give yourself the space you need to let yoga do its magic. Yoga will meet you where you are and then improve you, body, mind, and spirit. So, yes, the short answer is do yoga every morning – even if it is only for a few minutes!

6. It Is So Hard For Me To Wake Up Early! Any Tips?

The early bird may get the worm, but if you are a worm it is best to sleep in. Not all of us may feel like a songbird in the morning, but that doesn’t mean you should give up altogether. Waking up early, just like lots of goals we set in life, is all about having a purpose and a positive mindset. If you go to bed at night and tell yourself “I’m going to wake up thirty minutes early tomorrow” but you don’t say why you want to do that, then chances are when morning comes around you will choose to sleep in. So instead of just saying you are going to wake up early, tell yourself why you are going to wake up early. What is the benefit of waking up early? How do you feel when you wake up early? How does it feel when you choose to sleep in? Being clear with your intention is a great way to help your mind “be on your side” when the alarm goes off.

And speaking of alarms, there are a lot of little tricks you can use to make your alarm more effective. First off, you don’t want to set it too loudly. Of course you want to be able to hear it, but oftentimes people set an alarm way too loud and they are actually jolted from their sleep in a very scary way – the reaction being, “Holy Cow! I need to go back to sleep!” It can also be helpful to set the alarm further than an arm’s distance from your bed, maybe even in another room. Having to get out of bed to stop the noise encourages you to stay awake. And for all of the sleep zombies out there, you can even set the alarm by your yoga mat to remind you of what you are doing waking up a bit earlier than usual.

Visualization before you go to sleep the night before is also a helpful trick for waking up early. As you lie down in bed, imagine yourself waking up the next morning filled with energy. Picture yourself rolling out your yoga mat and going through your poses. Embody that feeling you get when you finish your yoga practice, alive, energized, peaceful, and painfree. If you think about all of these things as you fall asleep, your mind will be in a much better state when you wake up, one that will help you happily get out of bed.

7.If I Feel Stiff In The Mornings Is It Better For Me To Wait Before I Do Yoga?

It can be tempting to wait until later in the day to do yoga because you feel like you get better results since your body is warmed up from the day’s activities. But the morning is actually the best time to work into stiff and achy joints. Yoga helps to loosen and lubricate the joints of the body, which means that you will be better equipped to manage the strains of day-to-day tasks. Think of your morning yoga practice like stretching for a professional athlete before a big game; athletes stretch to prevent injuries and to prepare for a physically taxing game. You might not be a professional athlete, but your body takes a beating each day, and yoga is a great way to prepare it and to keep it safe and healthy for years and years to come.

8. Is It Okay To Eat Breakfast Before I Practice?

It is best to do yoga on an empty stomach. A full belly prevents you from fully performing the poses to your maximum capability and can cause discomfort. If you really feel like you need something to eat or drink before you practice, try a small cup of coffee or water and a banana with a drizzle of honey.

9. Is It Better To Practice At Home Or At A Studio In The Morning?

The word is out about morning being the best time to practice yoga so most studios tend to be fullest in the morning (of course it varies on demographics – a studio in a college town is more likely to be packed at 8 and 9 p.m. classes). If you don’t mind a crowd, a studio can be an excellent place to start practicing your morning yoga. The energy of the other students and the community-feel makes it easier for many people to look forward to their morning yoga session. A studio class also has an experienced instructor who can check your poses for proper alignment and provide you with insight and inspiration that you won’t be able to find anywhere else.

A home practice, on the other hand, is nice because it means zero commute, zero prepping (finding something to wear, makeup, hair, etc.), and zero crowds. When you practice at home you are fully focused on yourself. You can adapt the poses as necessary without worrying what the person next to you might be thinking or if the woman behind you is annoyed. You get to pick the pace, the music, the setting – your yoga practice really becomes you.

Where you do the majority of your yoga is really a personal preference. Whichever you choose to do more regularly, it is a good idea to toss in the other option every once in a while since both have their own set of perks.

10. What If I Fall Asleep While Practicing Yoga?

It happens more often than you might realize, students dozing off (and sometimes loudly) in certain poses – Savasana, Child’s Pose, or anything lying down being the main culprits. Is there anything wrong with falling asleep, especially early in the morning? The answer is no, it is obviously what your body needs. Sometimes yoga is the only time people feel truly relaxed, so even though they slept last night, they may not have actually rested.

If you have a bad habit of falling asleep at certain times of your practice, you might consider setting an alarm before you begin to make sure you don’t snooze your way through the day. If this happens on a regular basis, you should try adding a specific PM yoga sequence to your nighttime routine to help you get a full night’s rest and to leave you feeling energized when you wake up.