5 Steps to Build a Consistent Home Yoga Practice in the Morning

Do you want to be more consistent in your Yoga practice, but feel you just don’t have the time in your busy life to do this?

If you are reading this the chances are that you have already experienced the benefits of Yoga, but maybe you are struggling to keep momentum and regularity on a day to day basis.

Many people feel the same way and I used to be one of them.

However having created and stuck to a regular morning routine I have seen and felt the benefits that this brings to the rest of my day. It’s brought more energy, focus and therefore purpose.

If you are worried you don’t have enough time, have a look at your day to day activities – how long are you spending on social media, browsing the internet, watching TV? You could be using all that time differently and more productively – with a few small adjustments.

So when people tell me they don’t have time I like to challenge this as I think most of us do, it’s just about prioritisation. It’s about taking what can actually be quite a negative activity (like comparing our lives to our friends or those stars of social media!) and using that time for something super positive, enjoyable and rewarding.

You can do this and with a little practice, become consistent. It is through this consistency you will feel the full benefits and create a small part of the day that is just for you.

Here are my 5 steps to how you can start building a consistent home Yoga practice in the morning!

Step 1: Have an early light dinner

You may be thinking what has having an early light dinner got to do with building a consistent Yoga practice in the morning?

Well, it’s got everything to do with it! Your morning routine starts from the night before!

The best way to create lasting change is by following the rhythm of nature, otherwise known as the circadian rhythm – you can learn more about circadian rhythm in another one of my blogs.

Therefore I recommend having dinner before 7 to give you enough time to digest before going to bed so that you can sleep better and wake up feeling refreshed.

How to start:

Today, schedule your dinner to be 15 minutes earlier than your normal dinner time. Then day by day gradually bring your dinner time back by 15 minutes from your normal dinner time until your dinner time gets to 7pm or earlier.

Step 2: Prepare your Yoga space

In my household, when it gets to 9pm I start clearing the area where I practice Yoga in the morning and lay my Yoga mat, meditation cushion and warm socks 🙂

Of course I don’t get to do this exactly at 9pm every single day, but setting a time to prepare your Yoga space for the morning really helps you set the right mindset and build a habit.

How to start:

Choose a space you can use consistently for your Yoga practice. Ideally it should be a quiet space in the house where no one can’t disturb you.

And set a time in the evening when you can commit to creating the space for your Yoga practice in the morning. You can also prepare a candle or incense ready for the morning or anything else you would like to have for your Yoga practice.

Step 3: Early bedtime

According to this 2018 survey, the average Briton sleeps for an average of 6 hours and 19 minutes each night. This is not enough!

Getting a good night’s sleep is challenging for many of us in the modern world. Even when we are tired, we try to squeeze in a few more tasks or reward ourselves with relaxing in front of a TV or computer.

To experience consistent energy throughout the day, and most importantly, to wake and feel refreshed, I highly recommend going to bed by 10pm and have at least 8 hours sleep.

How to start:

Bring your bedtime forward by 15 minutes tonight and set an alarm 15 minute earlier than your usual wake up time.

Then day by day gradually bring your bedtime forward by 15 minutes from your normal bedtime until your bedtime gets to 10pm or earlier. Do the same for your morning wake up time 🙂

Cut out late night films, internet surfing & social media – you aren’t really missing anything!

Step 4: Morning routine

Once you build in an early bedtime into your daily routine, it will get easier to wake up earlier for your Yoga practice.

But before you get on your Yoga mat, you need to prepare your body for it. I talked about Ayurvedic morning routine in this blog but bare minimum, creating a habit of peeing after waking, then hydrating with a glass of warm water and eliminating would be really beneficial to set yourself up for your Yoga practice.

If you’ve been having an irregular bowel movement for years, this can be challenging. Create a habit to sit in the toilet after drinking a glass of water even if you don’t feel like it!

How to start:

After waking up, go straight to the toilet to pee, have a glass of warm water and then sit in the toilet to eliminate.

If you want to dive deeper, check out my blog post on Ayurvedic morning routine to find out a powerful morning routine that will get you to the right start.

Step 5: Get on the mat!

The final step is to get on the mat! It doesn’t matter how long your practice is. The most important thing is to get on the mat and start meditating or moving your body!

However, do make sure that you are practicing Pranayama (breathwork), meditation and Yoga Asana (physical Yoga poses) according to your Dosha (Ayurvedic mind-body type) to allow you to fully connect with your true nature and create lasting change.

If you don’t know your Dosha, then make sure to take my Dosha quiz to discover your Dosha and find out what style of Yoga and Yoga poses are recommended for you.

You can also try out my Yoga class designed to balance all Doshas!

80:20 Rule

Now, please don’t feel like you need to practice Yoga every single day.

In my From Chaos to Peace program, I always encourage my students to use the 80:20 rule – where for the majority of the time you follow the principles and routines that you learn, but for the rest of the time you may allow a little more flexibility into your life.

If you can practice Yoga 7 days a week that’s great! But don’t stress out about it. To start, I recommend aiming to practice Yoga 5 days a week. It can be as little as 20 minutes a day to 90 minutes depending on how much time you have.

P.S. If you are curious to discover what food and lifestyle choices and Yoga style to practice for your specific mind-body type, the first step is to take my Dosha quiz and discover your Ayurvedic Dosha – your mind-body type!

You will then receive some practical tips & recommendation on which foods, lifestyle habits and Yoga style are best for your specific Dosha.