Yoga is loved by thousands of people around the world, morning yoga is also very popular with yogis practicing at the crack of dawn, we take a look at the benefits of yoga in the morning.
If you were to take atrip to india, it would be common to see poeople up before sun rise practining yoga.
The name sun salutation may ring a bell and it’s in fact a salute to the god of sun. So in Inda and in many other Hindu religions, they have been performing moring yoga since the 9th century maybe even earlier.
Yoga, as we know now as a holistic approach to health, is a 3000 years old tradition.
Did you know how this healthy practice received its name? Admirably, yoga represents a Sanskrit word. The more fascinating thing is, it is a combination of two words, viz ‘yuj’ and ‘na’. The combination of these two words forms the word ‘Yujna’. It is a Vedic word, but modern Sanskrit called it yoga.
However, the meaning remains unchanged, that is “to unite your body, mind, and spirit in one”. When the exercise’s very name means unison, then the fact that there could be numerous benefits of yoga just cannot be overlooked.
Specifically, when you practice yoga in the morning, it is said to be particularly beneficial. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the numerous significant benefits of yoga in the morning.
Benefits Of Yoga In The Morning
Let’s take a look at some of the many benefits of doing yoga in the mornings as the sun rises.
1. You feel more energized
One of the clearest and most obvious benefits of morning yoga is how great you feel after.
Performing a quick yoga sequence in the morning before you start your day just sets you up to win. Performing morning yoga boosts serotonin levels, the feel-good hormone that boosts your overall mood and sense of well-being.
You’ll also get your blood flowing, brain firing and increase the oxygen flow around your body. All of which in turn gives you more energy and focus.
2. Stronger more stable Posture
Morning yoga benefits the musculoskeletal system, that’s all your muscles, tendons, ligaments bones and cartilage.
You should picture the musculoskeletal system as a frame to support your body. Without it, no part of the body would be able to move efficiently or even stay at its place, you’d have awful posture.
Any injury to this structure directly affects the other systems of the body.
A good thought-out sequence of yoga poses in the morning helps to keep your entire body in balance keeping your muscles nice and supple for great posture going into your day.
Doing yoga in the morning stretches nearly all the muscles and joints without any danger of injuries or exhaustion.
3. Increase joint strength, mobility, and flexibility
Strong muscles and healthy bones are the keys to happy joints. The strength of bone and muscles determine how much strain and stress can be taken off your joints.
The benefits of yoga include an increase in strength and flexibility resulting in a stable range of motion. When you start doing morning yoga, the lost flexibility and strength through immobilization will considerably improve.
However, you should always keep in mind to practice in moderation. And you can increase the intensity with time when your joints start gaining the benefits of yoga.
Additionally, yoga every morning prevents the synovial fluid from becoming extinct. For those of you who didn’t know, this fluid acts as a lubricant between the joints. So, this prevents arthritis.
4. Increased muscle tone
Morning yoga helps improve muscle tone. Not only will yoga help keep your muscles and joints healthy and fresh, but it can also help them look better!
Doing yoga actively works many of the major muscle groups of the body. This continued practice over time will cause your muscle to change and adapt.
After some time you will notice that your muscles will begin to become more toned and defined. You’ll be stronger and your friends will start asking you what you’ve been doing to look so good!
5. You can eat more
Yoga just like any other form of exercise burns calories. By adding yoga to your morning routine you will be able to afford yourself some extra calories throughout your day. Conversely, if you are trying to lose weight then here is great way that you can add yoga into your morning routine to boost your weight loss hopes.
So if you wanted to have that extra treat now and again, go for it! Just be mindful and treat your body as a temple.
6. Tackle stress and anxiety
Doing yoga every morning can help reduce stress and anxiety. Performing yoga first thing in the morning can be good for your emotional health. It allows you time to relax and clear your thoughts before tackling whatever the day has to offer.
Yoga in the morning helps you to move from sympathetic nerve response to parasympathetic nerve response. This way, you will move from the fight-or-flight response to the rest-and-digest response. Consequently, you will suffer from lessened anxiety and reduced levels of stress.
Moreover, the benefits of yoga include building a nonjudgmental relationship with self. In this way, you will perform more things subconsciously to keep yourself healthy and trust yourself more.
Your confidence level will be boosted and over time you will become more rooted in your sense of self. Besides, you will have a balanced ego as primary yoga benefits for emotional health.
7. boost your heart health
Practicing morning yoga can be beneficial to your heart. Nowadays, heart ailments do not look at the age of its prey. While some other factors do contribute to heart issues, the superior reason for heart issues is an unhealthy lifestyle.
Performing yoga every morning can effectively improve heart health. The primary reason for people turning to yoga is because of the benefits yoga has in regard to warding-off lifestyle-related ailments.
Here are 5 major benefits that yoga could have on your heart health.
- Helps to lower blood pressure.
- Improved working of lungs.
- Lowering bad cholesterol.
- Lowers heart rate.
- Improved circulation of blood throughout the body.
8. Improved general health
Morning yoga benefits your overall healthy by restoring the alignment of your body with your mind. As you know that both mind and body function in a synchronized manner.
This means your physical health affects your emotional health and vice versa. Yoga in the morning benefits both the significant parts of your life to improve your general health and wellbeing.
An effective set of morning yoga poses that would benefit every part of your body
A great way to start doing yoga in the morning is to begin with a simple Sun Salutation. Sun Salutation is a set of yoga poses performed in a set sequence for one breath per pose. Do three rounds of this sun salutation each morning to get energized and ready for the day ahead.
How to do it from pose 1 to pose 12?
- Stand with feet shoulder-apart, and palms joined in form of Namaste.
- Extend your hands upwards. Next, bend your hips backward as much as you can. Plus, keep your hands aligned with the upper part which is turned backward.
- From this pose, come back to a normal standing pose with folded hands and turn forwards with hands touching your feet.
- Now, come farther downwards by kneeling down, bent your body downwards as much as your upper body stands on your hands.
- Now, stretch your lower part of the body and keep it well balanced on fingers of feet, while your upper body remains as it is in pose number 4.
- Just like doing a pushup, place your entire body downwards till your chest, abdomen and legs touch the ground.
- From the former pose, turn your feet flat on the ground facing upwards and stretch your upper body towards the roof from hips with the help of hands. Do not overdo.
- Return back to sleeping position with resting on your abdomen. Then stretch your hips, upper body, and legs upward forming a downward ‘V.’ Your palms and feet will be touching the ground.
- Come back to pose number 7. Bring one of your legs near your hands touching the chest.
- Return back to pose number 3.
- Return back to pose number 2.
- Return back to pose number 1.
Once you start doing this set of poses, you will learn to synchronize each step with another. Be aware to not overdo any pose and with continual practice, your body will come in the needed shape naturally.
You may also enjoy our 10-Minute Morning Yoga Workout For Beginners.
Final words
The benefits of yoga are innumerable. But, it becomes meaningful to not force your body to form the pose as a pro does. You should know your limitations and have the patience for your body to heal. A perfect pose is not as important as the benefits of yoga. Additionally, improve your eating habits and try to be more positive in both your mind and body.
More yoga posts
Unwind with Yoga for Stress Relief – Find Serenity
8 Beginner Yoga Poses For Plus-Sized Women
10 Major Benefits Of Yoga For Men
Welcome! I’m Luke, a certified personal trainer with over 14 years of experience. With a BSc (Hons) in Sports Science, I specialize in tailored fitness programs for diverse clients who want to improve their lifestyle through exercise and healthy eating.