Dec 8, 2021

Best Poses For A 30 Minute Morning Yoga Routine

Morning routines can, essentially, make or break your day. How you start your day has a big impact on how the rest of the day will go. That being said, starting morning yoga poses takes quite a bit of effort and time. Not to mention, finding the perfect routine for you can be a daunting task. However, a 30 minute morning yoga routine may be exactly what you need to get your days started with more energy, positivity, and fun!

Whether you are a veteran yogi or have never practiced before, yoga is beneficial and will guarantee a brighter start to your day. If you are looking for a new morning routine, or would like to tweak yours just a bit, then we have some great information for you. Here, we will look at the benefits of doing yoga in the morning and the best poses for a 30 minute morning yoga routine so that you can get started and feel great!

Benefits Of A Morning Yoga Practice

There are plenty of benefits to practicing yoga, and several others to practicing in the morning. Let’s take a look at some of the awesome benefits that a morning yoga routine has to offer.

Morning yoga can reduce stress. Yes, yoga at any time of the day can help to alleviate stress, but if you practice first thing in the morning, you are cutting the stress off at the start. Yoga, or any exercise for that matter, can help to regulate cortisol in the body. Cortisol is what is known as the “stress hormone”. While our bodies do need some cortisol to function properly in difficult times, too much cortisol can cause severe stress and anxiety and is unhealthy. By starting your morning with a yoga practice, you are reducing your cortisol levels, giving yourself a bring start to your day.
Yoga can reduce the need for caffeine in the mornings. Don’t worry! You don’t have to give up your morning coffee. We know how important that can be. However, yoga is a natural stimulant, just like other exercise. It wakes up the body and the mind, preparing you for the day ahead. So, a 30 minute morning yoga routine could alleviate your need for caffeine and give you the energy you need to start the day.
Yoga can prepare your body and mind for the day ahead. Even a quick 30 minute morning practice with best morning yoga poses can help you by getting your body moving and preparing your mind for the upcoming day, no matter what you have on the agenda. Oftentimes when we first wake up, our bodies are stiff from lying in bed all night. If you don’t stretch your body out and wake your muscles up, this stiffness and pain can carry into your day. Also, studies have shown that doing exercise in the morning can boost your alertness. This will get you ready for your day and get your brain juices flowing.
Just 30 minutes of yoga can keep your heart healthy. According to some studies, 30 minutes of exercise (including yoga) can help to lower blood pressure, which leads to a healthy heart. All you need is 30 minutes in the morning and you are off to a heart healthy start to your day! It doesn’t take more than that. So even if you have to set your alarm for 30 minutes earlier to fit in a yoga routine with morning yoga poses to wake up, it is very doable and won’t change your sleep pattern by too much. If you find that you have trouble waking up earlier, try going to bed earlier as well to counteract the 30 minutes. Your body and your heart will thank you!

Best Poses For A 30 Minute Morning Yoga Routine

Now that you know what some of the benefits of having a morning yoga practice are, we can take a look at some specific poses that are great for first thing in the morning. As we mentioned before, only 30 minutes a day is all it takes to establish a healthy routine that will make you happier and healthier. Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the best poses for a 30 minute morning yoga practice.

Cat Cow Pose - Bitilasana to Marjaryasana

Benefits: This combination of two good morning yoga poses is a wonderful way to get your body moving and loosen up your back muscles. It gets your blood flowing as well, waking your body up from its hours of resting. You can gently warm up your spine and abdomen preparing them for more challenging postures, and getting them ready for the day. It releases tension in the spine and shoulders, as well as tightening the core.
How To Do It: Begin in a tabletop position (knees and hands on the floor). Inhale, pushing your shoulders back while opening the chest and arching your back so that your belly goes down toward the floor. Lift your gaze. Exhale, rounding through the spine, dropping your head between your shoulders and tucking your pelvis slightly. Repeat for at least 10 breaths, or however long you’d like.

Downward Facing Dog - Adho Mukha Svanasana

Benefits: This pose stretches out the backs of the legs, the spine, and the abs. It loosens up the legs, preparing them to take on the day. Down dog stretches your calves and hamstrings, which can get rather tight overnight, and it also strengthens arms and legs.
How To Do It: Begin in a tabletop position with your knees stacked under your hips and wrists under your shoulders. Curl your toes under and push back through your hands, lifting your hips in the air and straightening your legs. Ground through your hands evenly, pushing your hips up toward the sky and your heels toward the ground. You can take turns bending one knee and the other, getting a nice stretch in the back of each leg and waking up your muscles. Take deep breaths in this position (as many as you’d like, but we recommend at least 3).

Revolved Chair Pose - Parivrtta Utkatasana

Benefits: This pose fires up your leg muscles, as well as your core muscles. It also increases flexibility in the back and helps to wake up and loosen your muscles after your night of rest. It also lengthens the spine and gives it a nice release with the twist.
How To Do It: Begin in Tadasana (mountain pose) with your feet together and firmly planted on your mat. Inhale, bringing your hands together to heart’s center. As you exhale bend your knees, sitting your backside back as if you were going to sit into a chair. Make sure that you can see your big toes in front of your knees when you look down. Take another inhale here and as you exhale, twist to the right, hooking your left elbow to the outside of your right knee. Make sure not to just one knee out in front of the other, but keep your knees and hips evenly squared. Repeat on the other side.

Camel Pose - Ustrasana

Benefits: This heart-opening pose is a wonderful way to begin your yoga poses for morning. It not only opens your heart to the energy of the day, but it also gives your spine and abs a lovely stretch, as well as stretching your quads. It will improve your spinal mobility for the rest of the day, counteracting the sitting (and probably slouching) you will probably be doing for the rest of the day.
How To Do It: Begin by sitting on your knees and lifting your buttocks up. You can bring your hands to the back of your lower back to help with stability if you’d like, as you begin to arch your back. Bring your head back and let it fall down toward the ground if comfortable. If not, you can tuck your chin toward your chest. Either keep your hands on your low back, or reach them down and grab your heels. Push your shoulders back, opening through the chest and breathe.

Morning Practice Routines

If you are new to yoga or need something to follow along to, there are plenty of guided yoga practices on YouTube. Here are some links of for you to follow and enjoy waking up to your 30 minute morning yoga routine.

If you are a beginner, make sure to take it slow. You have to walk before you run, and if you are practicing morning yoga poses for beginners at home, you want to ensure that you are doing each pose correctly to avoid injury.

Beginning your morning with a 30 minute yoga routine can make a huge difference in your everyday life. Start small, with just one morning, and you can work your way up to practicing every morning. Trust us when we say you will see drastic results in your day-to-day life if you begin practicing yoga in the mornings. So get up, roll out your natural cork yoga mat, and get flowing! Your body will thank you.

Photo credit : Unsplash

Video credit : Youtube

Written by Vui Nguyen