When practice changes
If you would have told me a year ago that I’d be waking up twice a week to teach yoga at 6 am, I would have laughed in your face. It is only now, with my youngest over two, that waking up before him feels remotely possible. And even then, sometimes, on days I’m not teaching, I’ll wake at 5 with visions of stretching, coffee, reading, and solitude… and the minute I’m vertical, his super-senses activate and there we are, groggy-eyed together, reconsidering the plan.
For what it’s worth, I could also go on forever about the habits that have been labeled as “good” - like, waking up early. And meditating. And drinking warm lemon water. And eating all the protein. And bricking our phones. And the long list of other things that the wellness industry has told us is superior. And I will be completely honest and say that the more something is universally touted, the more my personality type wants to rebel. I know they are “good” and also, maybe it’s age or cynicism, but I just am not interested in playing the game of proving my worth to myself through daily habits anymore. The minute I start to measure any practice against someone else’s idea of what’s best…it’s usually a sign that my inner compass has drifted.
There was a stretch where even practices that had genuinely supported me became tangled up in proving my goodness, as if doing them “correctly” ie: consistently and for a certain length of time, made me more disciplined, more balanced, or honestly just better. I think this is part of why I left certain practices alone for a while. To stay true to myself, and to the practices themselves, I had to find them on my own terms, again.
PHEWWWW tangent, okay the REAL reason I’m writing this 😅 is because in teaching early morning yoga again in Erie twice a week…I’ve been reflecting on how much my own practice has ebbed and flowed through the years. Not only in consistency, but also in just like…time of day/season of life. And I thought it might be helpful to dispel the myth that there is an “ideal” time to practice yoga, and instead share what I’ve personally experienced in practicing at different times of day, and in different ways.
Morning practice tends to be energizing and clarifying. On a physical level, it helps wake up the body, improves circulation, and activates muscles again after sleep. Mentally, it lays the foundation for the entire day. Whether you set an intention or not, I think showing up to a yoga practice at 6 a.m IS intention! It’s you setting the tone for what you want, instead of operating from a place of reactivity. I feel a tangible difference in my capacity on days I practice first thing. I also, personally, love the feeling of: okay! I moved! I did the thing. It’s nice to just get up and do it.
Midday practice is like a reset. The afternoon slump, right after lunch, is actually my favorite time to practice yoga nidra for this reason. As a homeschooling family, afternoon quiet time is mandatory (regardless of my youngest’s nap) for everyone’s sanity and for the ability to come back to each other and the remainder of the day with renewed patience. A 15-20 minute yoga nidra in this window works wonders because it doesn’t need to be long to be effective. All I need is something to interrupt my stress patterns, make me feel like I’ve taken a quick nap (vs. lying to myself that more coffee will help) and get myself out of my head and into my body.
Evening practice helps with the wind-down. Slower, gentler sequences help release physical tightness from the day and signal to the nervous system that it is time to switch gears. Practicing before bed can help move worry and stress so they aren’t sticking to you as you’re trying to fall asleep. In one of my yoga trainings, we were asked to reflect on how often we go to bed without processing the day. We brush our teeth, wash our face, and go from blue light or a book to our pillow and then wonder why our ability to sleep, and our quality of sleep, are impacted. We’re going to bed with the world on our shoulders. Honestly, my willpower muscle is low at night…but this serves me well because it shifts my normally very high expectations. It can be slow. It can be short. It can also be legs up the wall. Often, for me, it’s supine twists while my kids are getting into their pajamas. This is not nothing!
Beyond the time of day, the seasons we move through (climate & personal) also tend to influence what feels supportive. My point is: there’s a reason for all of this. Recognizing these shifts can help prevent the all-or-nothing mindset, and it also lets yoga (and honestly, all of it! Life) be responsive rather than rigid. We are constantly changing, so when and how and where we do things will, too.