EARLY MORNING PRACTICE
By Laura Plumb

Are you an early riser? Do you enjoy waking up with or just before dawn? Most people love their sleep, and many people don’t get enough of it to feel really sated in the morning upon rising. For them, the idea of deliberately arising even just 5 minutes earlier each day is a painful one.

But can you remember the last time you awoke before the sun? Do you remember how beautiful it was to observe the morning rays peek over the horizon and watch the day come into being? The soft colors of the sky, the stillness of the air, the gentle stirrings of life awaken the heart with a melting tenderness. It is truly precious to behold the dawning of the day, and it is this time of day when the Rishis (Yogic Masters) advise us to practice our Yoga.

Yogis call this time, the hours between 4 and 6 am, “Brahma Muhurta.” At this particular hour, the atmosphere is charged with Sattva (peace or calm). There is little bustle and noise. Likewise, at this time the mind is usually calm and serene, comparatively free from worldly thoughts, worries and anxieties. The mind is easily stilled or drawn into single-pointed concentration before worldly distractions enter our consciousness.

The stillness that is present and available within and around us in the early morning takes our Yoga to higher states of awareness, preparing us for deliberate conscious action throughout the day. All successful action begins with intention, and intention is most powerful when it arises from our own deep well of inner wisdom that can only be accessed through silence. Morning Practice avails us of this silence, centering us in the pure peace and vibrant awareness that guides us throughout the day.

But more than access to that luxurious silence – so hard to attain these days - waking up during the Brahma Muhurta is a great blessing to physical health, efficiency in work and psychological growth. The sages who instituted this custom cherished the hope that their descendents would realize its benefits and make it a regular habit in their lives.

By practicing in the morning we create flexibility in the body so we can avoid creating injury during the day. We ramp up vibrancy, stabilize the emotions, cleanse and focus the mind, so we feel great all day long. Morning Practice balances the nervous system and deepens your breathing so you handle stress better. With more energy and focus you become more productive, so the time the practice takes in the morning is more than made up for in efficient action.

Sometimes an individual new to Morning Practice will let out a little moan when we first move into Downward Dog. “I am so tight,” he or she will say. This can create an aversion. We associate with the unpleasant feeling and the next thought is “I don’t like doing Yoga in the morning.”

But if you are tight in the morning, then isn’t that the very time to open up the body, stretch out, release tension and get fresh Prana flowing? I have woken up with headaches, sinus blockage, allergies, lethargy and always within ten minutes of practice these “problems” are gone.

On another level, awakening early and engaging in Morning Practice signals that we are taking charge of our lives and expanding beyond our perceived limitations. This in itself is empowering, and teaches us that we are the power that creates all that we seek in the world.

As one early morning Yoga student recently told me, “Sometimes on a Saturday morning I wonder, ‘Why am I getting up this early after a long hard week to go and practice Yoga?’ But immediately my next thought is, ‘There is nothing I’d rather be doing.’ I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Waking up early allows us to witness the dawn of light and behold the precious awakening of the day. Morning Practice helps us readily access those gifts of awakening and integrate more deeply the dawning of our own illuminated being.

Bamboo Yoga
October 2006