At the start of most yoga classes, the teacher asks you to think about why you are there and what you hope to achieve. When you do this, it helps you to focus your attention on what you want to achieve during the class. When you don’t set an intention, you may find yourself stuck in bad habits and routines, which can take you away from self-awareness.
The purpose of these two sequences is to help you focus your energy for the day ahead, and then to relax deeply before bedtime. The morning practice gathers your energy so you can make the most of the day, while the evening practice releases mental clutter so you can get a restful night’s sleep. As you flow, remember to focus on the quality of energy you want to bring to the experience. The hope is that this will help make you more conscious of the choice you have in where your attention goes, as well as help you stay connected to that freedom, both on and off the mat.
The Morning Routine
When we wake up in the morning, we have a chance to start the day anew. This sequence of yoga poses can help to prepare your body and mind for the day ahead. Repeat the sequence on your left side after completing it on your right.
Cat-Cow Pose
Marjaryasana/Bitilasana
Start by sitting on your heels with your palms on the ground in front of you. Inhale and arch your back, dropping your belly toward the floor and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Exhale and round your back, pressing the floor away from you as you tuck your chin toward your chest. Continue this wave-like movement, starting from your navel and connecting to a deep place within yourself. Make a point to reconnect to this inner compass throughout the day. Repeat the flow 6 times or more if desired.
Three-Legged Downward-Facing Dog Pose, with a twist
Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana
Breathe in and push back from your hands and knees into Downward-Facing Dog Pose. On the next exhale, lift your right leg into the air and bend your knee while twisting your torso to the right. Lengthen from your hands through the lifted knee. Stay here for 3 to 5 breaths. Imagine that every part of you is saying an unwavering “Yes!” to the experience. Notice what a full-body “Yes!” feels like. Practice it during your day.
Crescent Lunge, with Eagle arms
Alanasana, with Garudasana arms
Lifting your leg, step it through so your hands are in front of it and press up, resulting in a crescent lunge. Your front knee should be in line with your front ankle. Next, bend your arms at the elbows and cross your right elbow beneath the left, then rest it in the crook of the left arm. Try to adjust your forearms so your hands are linked. If your arms are linked, float your elbows up and arch your back slightly as you lift your chest. Hold this position for 3 to 4 breaths.
Warrior Pose II
Virabhadrasana II
Start in Crescent Lunge. Drop your back heel to the ground, keeping your foot parallel to the back edge of the mat or turned in slightly. Raise your arms to shoulder height. Keep your front knee directly over your ankle. Keep your body relaxed, even as the pose becomes more challenging. This is great practice for cultivating calm even as you focus intensely on a specific goal. Breathe deeply for 3 to 5 breaths.
Reverse Warrior Pose
Viparita Virabhadrasana
As you exhale, drop your back hand down to your back thigh. Gently slide your hand down the thigh, lifting up through your top arm. You can optionally tilt your head slightly and gaze toward your top hand. Make sure to keep the 90-degree angle in your front leg, and hold for 3 to 5 breaths.
Standing Forward Bend, with shoulder stretch
Uttanasana
Step forward with the back foot, folding at the hips, and interlace the fingers behind the low back. Roll the heads of your shoulders back to squeeze the tips of your shoulder blades together. If possible, let the interlaced hands pull away from your back, increasing the stretch across your front chest. Keep a slight bend in the knees, and lengthen through the spine to create a clear line of energy from seat to crown. Take your gaze to the heart, ignoring the outside world to reconnect to your intention. Today, what quality within you would you like to embody? Hold for 3 to 5 breaths.
Upward Salute
Urdhva Hastasana
Come to standing on an inhalation with arms extended overhead, palms facing each other. As you lift through the sternum and each side body, root down through your feet to arch your spine into a gentle backbend. You should be able to feel the rebound of energy moving back up your legs as you press down into the floor. Notice how supported you are by the earth under your feet. Take this feeling of support with you throughout your day. Breathe deeply for 3 to 5 breaths, or until the stretch feels complete.
Mountain Pose
Tadasana
On your next exhale, bring your hands together at the heart center. Close your eyes and relax your jaw. Gently lift your sternum while anchoring your tailbone down. Place your shoulder blades on your upper back and keep your chin parallel to the floor. Hold the pose for 3 to 5 breaths and feel the energy flow freely from your head to your toes.
Evening Routines That Set the Tone for the Next Day
It is just as important to end each day as it is to start it. By having evening routines, you can prepare yourself for the next morning, recharge with a restful night, and reduce the resistance you have to getting things done.
Prepare goals for the next day
Setting objectives for the day allows you to identify your most important tasks and prioritize them. This way, you can ensure that your most challenging tasks are completed first.
Second, it allows your brain to begin thinking about those tasks as you fall asleep. In their book Organize Tomorrow Today: 8 Ways to Retrain Your Mind to Optimize Performance at Work and in Life, authors Jason Selk, Tom Bartow, and Rudy Matthew say:
It is beneficial to identify your daily priorities and to write them down the previous night before you go to sleep. This allows your subconscious mind to work on the tasks overnight and frees you from worrying about being unprepared. You may find that you have great ideas related to the tasks or conversations when you wake up.
Reflect on the day’s achievements
It’s easy to forget your accomplishments at the end of a long day. But taking a few moments to reflect on and celebrate your successes can help you put things into perspective and give you motivation for the next day. This can help you overcome the disappointment that often comes with setbacks.
In addition toRegularly examining his conscience at day’s end for opportunities to have done good that he might have missed, Franklin also asked himself every evening, “What good have I done today?”
Zen Habits author Leo Babauta puts it this way:
Looking back on your successes lets you celebrate the small wins and see how much you’ve accomplished.
There are many ways you can choose to document your gratitude, including writing in a blank notebook, a gratitude journal, or using an app on your phone.
Extended Puppy Pose, with shoulder stretch
Uttana Shishosana
Begin this pose by sitting on the mat with your arms extended in front of you and your palms facing up. Next, walk your knees back until your arms are straight and your forehead is resting on the mat. isometrically drag back on the forearms and keep the seat high. Lastly, hold this pose for 5 to 10 deep, slow breaths.
Thread-the-Needle Pose
Parsva Balasana
Start by sitting on the mat with a neutral spine. On the inhale, lift the right arm high while keeping the hips pointed down and open the torso to the side. On the exhale, thread the right arm under the body and twist the torso until the right shoulder and right side of your face touch the mat. Relax into the twist for 5 to 10 deep breaths, pressing down into the left hand to increase the intensity of the stretch. Repeat on the other side.
Wind-Relieving Pose
Pavanamuktasana
Place yourself on your back with both legs straight and your arms stretched out to the sides. As you exhale, bring your right knee up to your chest and grab the leg with your hands, keeping it close to your body. Lift your head off the ground and try to get it as close to your right knee as you can. Hold this position for 5 to 10 breaths, breathing deeply into your back. Once you’re finished, release the right leg and repeat on the other side.
Try to imagine yourself melting into the floor while in this pose. At the end of the day, what do you need to let go of in order to restore a sense of energy to your body and mind?
Tidy up
Waking up to a clean home is the most motivating way to start your day. With regular sessions cleaning up and putting things away, you’ll find your place quickly in order.
It is beneficial to spend 10 to 20 minutes at night cleaning since it will help reduce stress in the mornings and prevent having to do big cleaning sessions on weekends. If you can only do one thing, make sure to clean and shine your sink. Housekeeping guru FlyLady says:
This is your first household chore. I want you to empty your sink of your dirty dishes and clean and shine it because it is so simple; I want you to have a sense of accomplishment! […] When you get up the next morning, your sink will greet you, and a smile will come across your lovely face.
Go shine your sink!
If you have children, you know how important it is to establish a daily routine. They can help out too!
Practice proper sleep hygiene
Very few people practice proper sleep hygiene and their sleep suffers as a result. Generally speaking, you should:
- Stick to the same sleep and wake schedule.
- Minimize blue light from screens (this can be done using F.lux on your computer and “Night Mode” on your mobile device).
- Set the temperature in your room to between 60-65°F (15-18°C).
- Make your room as dark as possible.
It can be tough to build routines into your life. It takes intention and discipline. Sometimes it feels simpler to just get the day started and then after a long workday crash into bed. However, if you want to be successful, you need to have routines that you stick to. This means rising early, working out, and spending time with loved ones. It takes effort, but it’s worth it in the end.
The upside of routines and habits is that they get simpler the more often you do them until they become part of your daily routine to the point that not doing them is more difficult.
It takes time to develop good habits, so stick with it even if it feels tedious at first. You’ll find that your days flow much more smoothly when you’ve developed quality morning and evening routines.