The 5 Favorite Morning Rituals of a Yoga Teacher

Start the day like a real yogi - or at least with the same energy!

3 min

By Franzi Orthey
August 9, 2022

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The stress begins when the alarm goes. You take a shower, get ready, grab a quick coffee, and since there’s no more time, you have breakfast on the go. A typical morning scenario that I as a yoga teacher know only too well. However, the start of a productive and successful day looks rather different. To start the day with more energy and serenity, I’ve developed my own morning yoga routine that I want to share with you.

Something else worth reading: 7 Tips for More Yoga in Your Everyday Life.

Why yogis love the morning hours

Getting up before sunrise? That was once unimaginable for me. I never thought that I would one day be one of those people for whom the morning is so important. But nowadays, it’s also the most important time of day for me.

Most of the time we have to hit the ground running once we get up. And that’s exactly when we lay the foundation for a hectic day. Changing – or actually establishing – your morning routine can change your whole day. It enables you to create a new time window that you can use for yourself.

A morning routine ensures calm instead of chaos. A clever yogi once said to me, "The time you take for yourself in the morning is the greatest gift you can give yourself." Instead of flooding my brain with thousands of impressions shortly after getting up, I start my day slowly and mindfully. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Even leaving your phone off or writing a few lines in your journal can help. This is also a particularly good time to think positive thoughts, and to establish a focus or set goals for the day.

Tips for your yogi morning routine

The most important thing is to create time in the morning that you can use just for yourself. Getting up 15 minutes earlier than usual can be all you need for this. To make your morning a good one, you should also copy these yogi routines:

#1 Start Your Day in Silence

For me, silence is the most beautiful thing in the morning. It can make your routine more powerful. Deliberately choose silence and start without music, radio or conversation. This helps to you stay in tune with yourself and recognize your own needs, feelings and thoughts.

#2 Purify Your Body

Yogis swear by purification rituals. Only a pure, clean body can harbor a clear mind. The first time I tried it was in an Indian ashram. Among other things, my nose was flushed out so that I could breathe more freely and deeply. One nice side effect was that I immediately felt more awake. According to recent studies, essential oils used for aromatherapies could also help women with reducing fatigue.

Other options for when you’re at home include oil pulling, where you move 1 tsp of coconut oil (for example) back and forth in your mouth for 10 minutes. But even simple routines such as a cold shower or brushing your teeth can of course become real self-care rituals if done as part of a mindfulness exercise.

#3 Practice Breathing Exercises

Breathing can change everything. Yogis say that it is a mirror of the soul. If your mood changes, your breathing will change as well. When you are stressed, you breathe faster and shallower. While sleeping, on the other hand, your breathing is very calm. By learning to control your breathing, you can also learn to change your emotional well-being . I love my breathing exercises in the morning because they give me a sense of deep connection with myself as well as a very special calmness and confidence. This has become an incredibly important foundation for my day.

The simplest breathing exercise is counting your breaths:

Breathe in while counting to four.
Hold your breath and count to four again.
Exhale on four.

Repeat this for three to five minutes.

#4 Get Moving

Gentle movements help to get your circulation going. I like to do this on my yoga mat. You can look for short videos that will help you with this type of morning routine. If you already have some yoga experience, I recommend getting on your mat and moving intuitively . I love it when there are no rules and you are your own boss. But that should always be the case anyway.

It doesn’t have to be yoga. The important thing is that you get moving. A short walk is also perfect for mobilizing the body in the morning.

#5 Drink Water

While you are sleeping, your body is continuously working to carry out renewal and repair processes. It needs water to perform these tasks, so we usually wake up slightly dehydrated. That;s why it’s especially important to rehydrate your body in the morning. For me, drinking lukewarm water with lemon is a regular part of my morning routine. You don’t have to give up your coffee, but it’s best to postpone it a bit.

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