I DID YOGA EVERY MORNING FOR 30 DAYS, HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED:

I’ve always wanted to be the type of person who exercised in the morning, but could never get the motivation to actually do it. Well, by some miracle (the book, The Miracle Morning, to be precise), for the last month, I have finally been that person!

I made the decision that every morning I would start my day with a short yoga practice. Why yoga and not a sweaty 1 hour HIIT session, you may ask? To be honest, I wanted to go into this with realistic expectations of myself and I knew going from 0 to 100 would probably lessen my chances of success. Yoga seemed like the perfect activity to ease into my new life as a morning-exerciser.

Enter: Kassandra, otherwise known as Yoga with Kassandra.

Literally, the day after I decided I would be becoming a morning yogi, I came across Kassandra on YouTube and saw her most recent video, posted mere hours earlier, titled: 10 min Morning Yoga Stretch For BEGINNERS – Day #1, the first in a series of 30 videos. Fate??

I’d recently read that when you do something for 30 days in a row, good or bad, it officially becomes a regular tendency or practice that is hard to give up, aka, a habit. So, just like that, I was on board with what Kassandra dubbed the Morning Yoga Movement 30 Day Yoga Challenge!

Now, I’m no stranger to yoga (I have been practicing for several years, though, by no means consider myself an expert) and this video series was categorized as ‘for beginners’. But I thought, a simple, brand new, 10 minute yoga session every morning, for free, I’ve got nothing to lose! So off I went.

Every day of the challenge, each new video was centered around a different area of focus (shoulder release, flexibility, etc.), and featured its own positive affirmation, which you’re meant to mindfully focus on throughout the practice. The videos were all quite easy to follow, and actually still had some challenging movements sprinkled in, which is nice for the more seasoned yogis out there.

Well, today I officially finished the Morning Yoga Movement 30 Day Yoga Challenge. The verdict…I loved it! I was a bit surprised at how adding only 10 minutes of yoga to my morning routine could have such a positive impact on the rest of my day. The benefits I experienced were both physical and mental. I felt less stiff, less stressed, and experienced a major boost in my mood afterwards, all things which I’m sure we can all benefit from during these times. I enjoyed it so much so that tomorrow, I plan to start the 30 day challenge all over again!

What about you? Will you join me? Are you up for dedicating 10 minutes every morning to your health and happiness? If so, click here to start your own Morning Yoga Movement.

And in case you were wondering, you don’t need any equipment for this challenge, but I will say it does enhance the experience if you do have it. To make your practice feel like the real deal, I’d recommend getting yourself a nice yoga mat (€12.08 // $15.82) and 2 yoga blocks (€26.99 // $45.95). I suggest going for cork blocks, which are more firm and much less slippery than the foam variety, providing maximum stability. I don’t know about you, but when it comes to yoga, I need all the stability I can get!!

I’m curious, is yoga already a part of your regular routine? Why or why not? Leave a comment and let me know!