6 wake-you-up yoga poses for groggy mornings
Are your night owl tendencies causing morning grogginess? While coffee or black tea is an effective way to jumpstart your day, studies show that yoga can help reduce tiredness, too.
A small 2014 study published in the journal Biopsychosocial Medicine found that people with chronic fatigue syndrome who added 20-minute gentle yoga sessions to conventional therapy experienced a significant drop in fatigue both immediately after their practice and at the end of the two-month study. Plus, a 2011 meta-analysis reports that yoga "increases blood flow and levels of hemoglobin and red blood cells, which allows for more oxygen to reach the body cells.” In turn, this allows your vital organs to function better.
“When we wake up our spine and set intentions for the day, we wake up our potential, and we make space for ourselves to ask the universe for whatever it is we need,” explains certified yoga instructor Francesca Bove, a teacher at sonima.com, which offers free online yoga classes. “With the breath and the body open and steady, anything can happen.”
Whether you hit the town or binge-watched Game of Thrones last night, stoke your morning with these wake-you-up, energizing yoga poses from Bove. (We've also added some sumptuous morning recipes—try one each day of the week!)