Morning yoga is the best way to kick start a good habit toward health. Many people find it difficult to wake up in the morning as they fall in deep sleep. But if you build a habit of waking up in the morning slowly, it will work and change your sleep cycle.
Yoga is a wise workout choice because it provides various benefits such as better balance, flexibility, but particularly morning yoga promotes good sleep and mood.
According to Kelly Clifton Turner (Director-of-Education-for-Yoga Six), morning yoga is best for sleep. Once you slowly develop a habit of waking early morning, your body will manage to wake up at a specific time. This will help to control circadian sleep cycles, which we strike forcefully in sleep and wake up times.
Initially, you should practice vinyasa, which is key for making your body moving and manage the twist into a morning yoga flow. It will stimulate the digestive system, which helps to prevent bloating after dinner and feel comfortable. Morning yoga also works effectively for cutting back the caffeine. There are certain poses such as backbends, salutations, and twist help to keep you energized and do not make you feel the need for post waking coffee.
The vinyasa also works to provide oxygen in the entire body, which helps to prevent snoozy mode and stay energetic throughout the day. As you breathe while doing yoga, you will provide more oxygen to the brain.
Morning Yoga Asanas
Table of Contents
1.Simhasana
The Simhasana is similar to a roaring lion when you perform the final pose. This asana needs face and body to work to final pose like roaring lion. It is the most comfortable yoga asana that anyone can do.
What Should You Do Before Doing This Asana?
This asana should be performed with other yoga poses in the early morning. But if you are unable to perform this pose in the morning, you can also do this in the evening. Make sure to perform this asana with an empty stomach.
- Level: Basic
- Style: Hatha Yoga
- Duration: 30 seconds
- Repetition: Once on each leg
- Stretches: Throat muscles
- Strengthens: Lungs, Throat, Voice
How Simhasana Helps in Weight Loss?
Simhasana yoga targets your thyroid, face, and pulls the facial muscles to improve blood circulation and make you look younger.
2.Chaturanga Dandasana (Low Plank)
Chaturanga Dandasana is also called a low plank. This yoga asana is similar to a push-up. It engages all limbs of your body to make a pose of four-limbed staff pose. It is similar to Vinyasa yoga asana. Try to perform this asana on empty stomach and stay in the pose for 30-60 seconds.
- Level: Basic
- Style: Vinyasa/ Ashtanga
- Stretches: Navel
- Duration: 30 to 60 seconds
- Strengthens: Wrists, Arm
- Repetition: None
How Chaturanga Dandasana Helps in Weight Loss?
Chaturanga Dandasana helps to stretch arms, legs, and shoulder muscles. It helps to improve your stamina and core stability.
3. Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of The Fishes Pose)
Ardha Matsyendrasana is also called as half lord of the fishes pose. It is a seated position of a half-spinal twist. It is a starting level of hatha yoga asana. Perform this yoga on an empty stomach and stay for 30-60 seconds.
- Level: Basic
- Style: Hatha Yoga
- Duration: 30 To 60 Seconds
- Stretches: Hips, Neck, Shoulders
- Strengthens: Spine, Urinary System, Digestive System, Reproductive System
- Repetition: Perform it on your right side first and then on the left
How Ardha Matsyendrasana Help in Weight Loss?
Ardha Matsyendrasana helps to tone abs, stretch back muscles, and clean internal organs. This pose helps to enhance your digestion and eliminate waste from the body.
4.Paripurna Navasana (Boat Pose)
Paripurna Navasana is also called a boat pose, which looks similar to sailing calmy in water. You will require to form a complete V to assume this pose. This yoga is an intermediate level of Ashtanga yoga asana. Make sure to perform it on an empty stomach and hold this pose for 10-60 seconds.
- Level: Intermediate
- Style: Ashtanga Yoga
- Duration: 10 to 60 seconds
- Stretches: Digestive System, Hamstrings
- Strengthens: Abdomen, Hip Flexors, Vertebral column
- Repetition: None
How Paripurna Navasana Helps in weight loss?
Paripurna Navasana asana helps to tone abdominal muscles. It helps to stretch hip flexors and hamstrings. This pose requires to stimulate thyroid and intestines.
5. Anjaneyasana
Anjaneyasana is also called as hanuman pose because it looks similar to Lord Hanuman from the ancient mythology of India. It also a starting level of Vinyasa yoga asana. Perform this yoga with an empty stomach and stay in this pose for 15-30 seconds.
- Level: Basic
- Style: Vinyasa Flow
- Duration: 15 to 30 seconds on a single foot
- Repetition: Once on each foot
- Stretches: Iliopsoas, Sartorius muscles, Rectus femoris muscles
- Strengthens: Support knees muscles
How Anjaneyasana benefit weight loss?
Anjaneyasana helps to strengthen quadriceps and gluteus muscles. It also helps to stretch hip flexors and hips. This pose stimulates the digestive organs and tone the body.
6.Parsvottanasana (Pyramid Pose)
You can also perform Parsvottanasana in the morning. It is also called a Pyramid pose because it looks like a pyramid. It is bending and balancing pose. This pose is the starting level of Vinyasa yoga asana. Perform this pose with an empty stomach and stay in this pose for 30 seconds.
- Level: Basic
- Style: Vinyasa Flow
- Duration: 30 seconds
- Repetition: One time on each side
- Stretches: Vertebral column, Shoulders, Wrists, Hips, Hamstrings
- Strengthens: Legs
How Parsvottanasana Helps Weight loss?
Parsvottanasana helps to stretch your hips, legs, and shoulders muscles. It also stimulates your digestion and abdominal organs. This pose boosts your blood flow to the brain and calms down.
Upavistha Konasana
Upavistha Konasana also called Seated Angles Pose. It is a good practice for advanced stretches. This asana is a mid-level of hatha yoga asana. Perform this asana with an empty stomach and stay in this pose for 30-60 seconds.
- Level: Intermediate
- Style: Hatha Yoga
- Duration: 30 to 60 seconds
- Stretches: Legs
- Strengthens: Vertebral columns
- Repetition: None
How Upavistha Konasana Helps in Weight Loss?
This morning yoga asana helps to stretch your leg’s muscles and arms. It also helps to stretch hamstrings and spine muscles.
Why Should You Do Morning Yoga?
Make A Goal
Initially, you need to make a goal of yoga practice. Try to practice carefully to avoid feeling tired. Knowing what you want to achieve from your yoga practice helps to provide good results.
Salute the Sun
Saluting sun in the mornings is called Surya Namaskar, which performed during sunrise. It is a ritual of Hindus to greet the sun and begin a new day. Surya namaskar is a type of yoga with 12 powerful yoga asanas with the sequence. It also provides cardiovascular benefits and impacts positively on the mind and body. This yoga is performed in the early morning with an empty stomach.
Get Relieved of The Fuzz
According to Dr.Gil Hedley, it is essential to move your body in the morning to feel physically good and healthy. During the night, the muscles go on rest, and if you do not move them in the morning, then the layers of connective tissue will build fluid, which is called a fuzz. As you stretch your muscles after waking, it will help to release the fuzzy accumulation between muscles. If you do not move, try at least stretching to prevent stiffness and tight muscle pain.
Don’t stress
It is quite stressful to wake up in the morning and rushes around. The nervous system feels stressed when you do not complete the full sleep. Taking an extra hour or 30 minutes in the morning to wake up and practice yoga will help the nervous system to start the day in a more relaxed way. The stress hormone cortisol gets high in the morning to promote the wake-up. If you have more cortisol accompanied by stress, then it will be a more stressful day. Creating a yoga practice in the morning helps your body to switch off the fight or flight response of stress and make you tap the healing of the parasympathetic-nervous system.
Reduce the Effect Of Coffee Need
Morning yoga is the best way to have the purpose of the day. It helps to restore and relax your body. It also helps to energize and stimulate the muscles to make you feel alive and awake. There are specific asanas like backbends, Surya namaskar, and twists, which builds energy
Increase White Blood Cells
White blood cells count in the body as important because they help to fight disease. This function effectively works when you have efficient lymphatic system circulation and blood flow. Doing yoga in the morning makes you feel good and enhance the blood flow in the entire body.
Gentle inversions such as Viparita Karani are a particularly effective exercise for stimulating the immune system. Therefore, add yoga in the morning times.
Get happy
Morning yoga not only boosts your immune system but also increase circulation. According to a study by Yoga Biomedical Trust in London, 94% of people suffering from anxiety were shown to improve the condition after regular morning yoga, and 82% of people with insomnia got significant benefits.
Me-time
If you are a parent, then you will have to work extra for looking after others and managing other chores. It can be more difficult to have time for yourself. It is important to have enough time for yourself to get the energy to do other work. Morning yoga is one of the best things you can do for yourself, whether it is for 5-minutes or one hour.
Do Not Delay
Don’t be like a person who makes New Year’s resolutions for a healthier life but never follow it. It is one of the things to tackle. Morning yoga practice is the first thing to add in your to-do list and make sure that you will do that first and will not end the day feeling guilty that you could have done. Finishing something early in the day is the best way to increase confidence and self-worth.
Meditate for Mental Purity
Doing morning yoga is not only about postures, but it also involves meditation that can provide limitless benefits. During morning yoga, take some time and practice meditation with a deep breath. Try to watch the thoughts instead of getting caught up in them can be a beneficial habit. Avoid stress, anxiety but be a grounded and calm person.
Positive points
When you do meditation for the first time, your mind gets a little scary to observe the moment, the practice of reciting affirmations out loud or silently can be healing and powerful. The affirmations are emotional support that is an act of making something firm. By reciting phrases like I am peaceful, I am calm, and I am strong at the beginning of your day, you give yourselves a sense of stability as thoughts and words this way quickly affect your mind and body.
The words and thoughts create some chemical reaction in the body, a happy thought helps to boost happy chemicals, and negative thoughts will make you believe negative. Therefore, practice meditations with positivity.
Breath
Aware of breathing power. Try to focus on every inhale and exhale and notice your quality of breath, which helps users to bring in to the present moment.
According to Leslie Kaminoff, the body keeps trying to hold the past, and the mind tries to take it into the future. It is our breathing that keeps us in the present. When your mind is busy with thoughts and overflowing, pay attention to your breath to get out of mind trap, which is not real. Thoughts are not real, so take a breath come back in reality.
Yoga and meditation in the morning is the best way to talk yourself and be a presence in the present.
Breathing shallow with high held up chest shows stress and also stimulates the stress response from the body. The deeper belly breathing in the abdomen helps to relax and extend with breath and calm down the nervous system. It brings the relaxing state in mind and body.
Boost Digestive Heat
Ayurveda is a sister science of yoga that tells that entire health to determine by the digestive system. You eat organic and healthy meals full of nutrients, but your digestive system is not absorbing it, then everything goes waste. Therefore, not only just eating is important but also keeping your digestive system healthy is important.
Morning yoga helps to boost your metabolism and digestive fire. Promoting digestive fire helps to increase circulations to every organ. Yoga asanas help to massage the digestive organs and remove toxins.
Increase brainpower
Early morning focus helps to benefits your brain and create a sense of alertness the whole day. If you are experiencing difficulty in concentrating, then try morning yoga and meditations with breathing deep. It will expand your brainpower.
The Early Hours
Many ancient yogis suggest that early hours between 4-6 am are most beneficial for yoga and meditation, because this time the brain is still, and the sense of stillness promotes brainpower.