Having a mindfulness practice in the morning has been a long-held tradition of practicing in the “golden hour”. For thousands of years, yogis have been getting up as the sun does, rolling out their mat, and moving. Why? Creating A Strong Morning Routine

The Power of The Golden Hour

The golden hour is said to be the time when the sun is just peeking up over the horizon. Photographers love this time to capture beautiful pictures… Yogis use that time in the morning because your mind is quiet and impressionable.

Brain Waves in the Morning

Scientists discovered that human brains emit different frequencies of waves at different times during the day. For example:

During our deepest sleep, our brain is in Delta Waves (.05-3Hz). This level of sleep is our dreamless state.
During light sleep, hypnosis, and deep meditations our brains are in Theta Waves (around 3-8Hz)
When just waking up and in the early phases of falling asleep our brains are in Alpha Waves (8-12Hz).
When we are awake, alert, and in problem-solving mode, our brain has reached Beta Waves (12-30Hz).

When we just wake up, our brains are starting to fire and move from Theta waves to Alpha waves. This means, anything we consume first off, we are basically consuming in a hypnotized state.

This is SCARY shit when we just blindly pick up our phones and take in a TON of content and comparison right off the bat…

Why Yoga in the Morning?

Waking up earlier than planned to have a yoga practice might not be on the top of your list but it may be the missing piece of your mindfulness puzzle.

What you do in the morning, sets the tone for the rest of the day. Knowing what you know now, here are 5 reasons to do yoga first thing! (p.s- there is way more than 5).

5 Benefits of Yoga in the Morning

Increase the flow in the body- I mean blood flow, nutrient flow, and lymphatic flow.
- Increase circulation in the body, boosting your immune system
- Flush the lymphatic fluid
- Warm up the digestive system
- Move nutrients through the body
Boost Metabolism
- Yoga stimulates and strengthens your endocrine organs. Those organs can help to boost your metabolism.
Gain Clarity and Focus
- When you have a mindfulness practice, you have the opportunity to become “the watcher”. You watch the moment and thoughts without attaching.
- You also gain clarity on how you are feeling in the moment. That clarity is super powerful as your day picks up speed.
Become Happier
- When you practice, you raise serotonin, oxycontin and GABA levels in your body. Those chemicals help you feel happier!
Notice where your body is holding tension
- When we have a physical practice, we can see where our body is holding tension as well as how our physical and mental selves are handling stress.

5 Other Great Morning Habits

Knowing that when we wake up we are basically hypnotized, here are other ways to start your morning off strong.

Do NOT hit snooze.- When you hit snooze, you stroke your procrastination muscle (not a real muscle but you get the point). You are telling yourself, it is ok to put off life….
Make your bed- When you start your day immediately by making your bed, you are in the energy of doing…
Don’t look at social media- Your subconscious brain is so vulnerable when you wake up… Why would you slap it with social media and comparison right off the bat?
Journal - I call my morning journal a “Brain Dump”… Take a blank sheet of paper and set a time for 5 minutes… Continuously write or scribble for those allowed 5 minutes. It doesn’t have to be legible or make sense but get it out of your brain and onto the paper.
- Side note, some mornings I journal groundbreaking ideas… Other mornings, I scribble curse words.
Practice Gratitude and Envision Your Future Self - Carve out of a few minutes to let gratitude pulse through you… Then imagine what your future life (think next week, next month, next year, next 5 years….) Then embody that energy and step into your day.

Conclusion

Mornings might be the most powerful time of the day to take charge and step into the power of creation. Now, more than ever, let’s create consistency and habit to create our best life!

If you need a little nudge, join my membership. Monday we start a 7 day morning practice. All for $11!