Yoga guide
A short yoga routine is a good way to start the day: it loosens you up after a night's rest, can lift your mood and, done at the same time each day, becomes an easy habit. Our 15-minute routine starts lying down, moves to all fours and standing poses, and saves forward bending for the end, because your back is stiffer first thing.
Morning isn't proven better than evening: in the only trial that compared them, yoga improved sleep about as much at either time, and reviews of exercise timing find no clear winner. Pick the time you'll keep.
This guide covers the routine, with a 3D demo of every pose, what morning practice does and doesn't do, how to practise safely first thing with back pain, low or high blood pressure, diabetes or pregnancy, the morning stiffness that needs a GP, and how to make it stick.
In the only trial comparing morning and evening yoga, sleep scores improved about as much at either time, and across 16 trials of exercise in general, morning had no clear advantage for sleep. Practise when you'll keep doing it.
Exercise at 7 am shifted the body clock earlier in a lab study, and the NHS advises people with insomnia to get up at the same time every day and to exercise during the day.
Short sessions of yoga or other exercise reduced stress and anxiety in trials, and a morning routine is one way to fit one in.
Your discs take up water overnight, so your back is stiffer first thing, and in a lab study flexibility rose through the day and with a warm-up. If your back is sore in the morning, one trial found that cutting down early-morning bending reduced pain.
If you get dizzy when you stand, the NHS advises moving slowly from lying to sitting to standing when you get out of bed.
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In a study of daily habits, it took an average of 66 days for a new habit to feel automatic, and missing a day didn't undo it. A short routine tied to something you already do is the easiest to keep.
Our 15-minute morning yoga routine starts lying down and ends standing (our editorial plan). The 10-minute morning stretch is a quicker mobility session; the sun salutation lesson is the next step once the routine feels easy; the chair yoga class suits anyone who can't get down to the floor.
Fifteen minutes of morning yoga from lying down to standing: gentle spine and hip movement, a lunge, standing strength and balance, and forward bends kept late.
15 minBeginner12 movesNo equipmentA gentle, no-equipment stretch routine to wake up the spine, hips and shoulders in ten minutes.
10 minBeginner10 movesNo equipmentA 20-minute way into sun salutation A: learn the standing half, then the floor half with your knees down and cobra, then link them into 3 slow rounds.
20 minBeginner11 movesNo equipmentA 25-minute gentle yoga class for complete beginners and over-50s: slow breathing, a warm-up, supported standing poses, floor poses and a closing rest.
25 minBeginner14 movesNo equipmentA 20-minute beginner yoga sequence: mountain, chair, warrior II, triangle, tree, down dog, cobra and child's pose.
20 minBeginner11 movesA stepA free 20-minute chair yoga class for older adults: slow breathing, gentle seated stretches and twists, standing poses holding the chair, and a calm finish.
20 minBeginner18 movesA bench or box, Something with weightA 45-minute session for weight loss and health: a 20-minute brisk walk, which does more for the scales, then a standing yoga flow for strength and balance.
45 minBeginner12 movesCardio machineAny yoga done soon after waking, usually 5 to 20 minutes at home: gentle movement lying down or on all fours, standing poses, a few sun salutations and slow breathing. Some traditions favour practice before dawn; that's tradition, not evidence.
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Lying down unloads the spine, and the discs take up water overnight: people are about 19 mm taller on waking, and in a small study more than half of the day's height loss happened in the first hour after getting up. In 21 volunteers, the lower back bent about 5 degrees further later in the day than first thing.
In 16 adults tested from 8 am to 8 pm, flexibility and body temperature peaked at 4 pm, and a 30-minute warm-up raised early-morning flexibility by 2.4 cm.
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In 99 adults, exercise at 7 am and in the early afternoon shifted the body clock earlier, and exercise from 7 to 10 pm shifted it later. In 58 men, 12 weeks of morning aerobic exercise brought their sleep earlier.
In the only randomised trial we found, 156 postgraduate students in India did an hour of online yoga at 6 am, at 6 pm or not at all, 5 days a week for 4 weeks. Sleep scores improved about as much at either time, both groups did better than those waiting to start, and the times didn't differ for depression, anxiety or stress.
About half of each yoga group dropped out, so the smaller differences may not hold up: a slightly better score for sleep disturbances and more energy with morning practice, and less sadness with evening practice.
Across 16 randomised trials of exercise in general, morning sessions had no clear overall advantage for sleep; evening or night sessions went with a little more waking in the night, though small studies may have exaggerated that. A second analysis, of 13 studies, found no stable advantage for any time of day. In 23 studies, evening exercise didn't harm sleep overall, but hard exercise ending within an hour of bedtime might, and in 60 older adults, daily evening stepping helped sleep more than morning stepping.
Taken together, the time of day makes little difference for most people, and doing yoga at all matters more. Our best time to work out guide says the same for training in general.
The NHS advises people with insomnia to "wake up and get out of bed at the same time every day", to "exercise regularly during the day" and not to exercise in the 4 hours before bed. Morning exercise shifted the body clock earlier in a lab study, and in a review of 9 studies, long-term morning exercise tended to lower the stress hormone cortisol after waking. Our yoga for anxiety and sleep guide covers yoga at bedtime.
Seven-minute online sessions of exercise, yoga-based mobility or mindfulness all reduced stress and anxiety in 131 adults, and 30 minutes of yoga, stretching or aerobic exercise reduced anxiety in 88. Regular practitioners felt more refreshed and less exhausted after a class. In one study, people who are naturally evening types gained more from a single class than morning types.
Morning yoga improved energy compared with a waiting list in the timing trial, but about half the participants dropped out, so treat it as a hint rather than a finding.
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In 250 people with knee osteoarthritis, an integrated yoga programme reduced morning stiffness more than physiotherapy exercises, both alongside other treatments. It's one unblinded trial.
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Most yoga burns few calories (hatha yoga is listed at 2.3 METs, multiples of your resting energy use), and our best time to work out guide found no time of day better for weight overall. Our yoga for weight loss guide covers what helps.
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The discs take up water overnight, people are about 19 mm taller on waking, and the lower back bends a little less first thing. Flexibility rises through the day and with a warm-up. That explains the stiffness; it doesn't mean moving in the morning is harmful.
In one trial of 85 people with long-lasting low back pain, cutting down bending early in the morning reduced pain by about a third, and those who kept it up had improved further at 3 years. The trial doesn't say how long "early" lasts, and it doesn't make morning bending dangerous.
Our suggestion: in our routine, forward bending comes last, as a hip hinge with soft knees. If your back is sore, keep bends small or leave them out for the first hour or so after you get up.
The NHS says osteoarthritis stiffness "usually wears off within 30 minutes of getting up, but morning stiffness in rheumatoid arthritis often lasts longer than this". In ankylosing spondylitis, "the pain gets better with exercise, but does not improve or gets worse with rest", and the main symptom of polymyalgia rheumatica "is muscle stiffness in the morning that lasts longer than 45 minutes".
NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) asks GPs to refer back pain that started before 45 and has lasted more than 3 months when it has several features of inflammation, such as waking in the second half of the night and improving with movement.
The NHS advice for low blood pressure is to "get up slowly from sitting to standing", and to take care getting out of bed, moving slowly from lying to sitting to standing. See a GP if you keep getting dizzy or fainting.
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For most people, eating first or not is a matter of comfort (our best time to work out guide). Eat something first if you feel faint on an empty stomach, or if you're pregnant: the NHS says "do not exercise on an empty stomach as this could make you faint". Some yoga schools ask for 2 hours after a meal; that's a custom, not a rule (our yoga for beginners guide).
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If you take insulin or a sulfonylurea such as gliclazide, agree the timing of exercise, meals and doses with your diabetes team, check your blood sugar as they advise, and carry something sugary (our best time to work out guide).
Fast breathing such as kapalbhati raised blood pressure and heart rate during practice in a lab study, so skip it if you have high blood pressure. Slow breathing is the default in our routine.
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With glaucoma or blood pressure that isn't controlled, skip headstands and shoulder stands, and keep head-down poses such as downward dog brief or supported (our glaucoma and high blood pressure guides).
We found no study reporting harm from gentle morning yoga. At any time of day, stop for chest pain, dizziness or unusual breathlessness.
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In a study of 96 volunteers repeating a daily behaviour after a cue such as "after breakfast", it took 18 to 254 days for it to feel automatic, an average of 66, and missing one day didn't matter. A GP guide based on that work says simple actions become habits faster than elaborate routines, suggests a tick-sheet, and says the popular 21-day figure came from plastic surgery anecdotes.
New gym members who exercised at least 4 times a week for at least 6 weeks formed a habit, and across many gym users the habit took about 2 to 3 months to form.
Doing it at the same time every morning may help some people keep going, but that idea hasn't been tested in trials.
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Hip windshield wipers: 10 slow passes is one round of the move page's dose. Getting up slowly, from lying to sitting to standing, is the NHS advice for low blood pressure.
See the movement on the 3D figure: Hip windshield wipers
Slow breathing for 1 to 2 minutes (shorter than its page's 5 minutes, to fit the routine), hip windshield wipers for 10 slow passes and heel slides for 10 slow repetitions each side (the moves' pages), then cat-cow for 8 slow waves (its page). Keep the rounding in cat-cow small if your back is sore first thing.
The moves' pages give these doses: mountain pose for 5 to 10 slow breaths, breath reach for 5 breaths, the side bend for 3 slow bends each side, thoracic rotation for 6 each side, and the hip hinge for 5 slow folds with 3 breaths at the bottom. Low lunge, chair pose, warrior II and tree pose for 3 to 5 breaths each, and 2 slow sun salutations with your knees down once you're warm (our editorial starting points).
3D demoLow lunge (Anjaneyasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoMountain pose (Tadasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoBreath reachBeginner · No equipment
3D demoOverhead side bendBeginner · No equipment
3D demoThoracic rotationBeginner · No equipment
3D demoChair pose (Utkatasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoWarrior II (Virabhadrasana II)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoTree pose (Vrksasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoHip hinge foldBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSun salutation A (Surya Namaskar A)Intermediate · No equipmentIf your back is sore in the morning, keep deep forward folds for later (our suggestion, from the morning bending trial). With glaucoma, uncontrolled high blood pressure or dizziness when you stand, skip headstands and shoulder stands and keep head-down poses brief.
A&E means accident and emergency. In the US, call 911 for 999, and contact your doctor or urgent care for NHS 111.
For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, or spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; or for back pain with numbness around your genitals or bottom, or new bladder or bowel problems.
Sit or lie down until it passes, and get up slowly next time, from lying to sitting to standing. See a GP if you keep getting dizzy or fainting.
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Book an appointment for:
With stiffness like polymyalgia rheumatica, the NHS says to contact a GP immediately or NHS 111 for a new or frequent headache, a sore scalp, or problems with your sight such as double vision or loss of vision.
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Low blood sugar can make you feel hungry, dizzy, shaky, sweaty or confused. If you have diabetes and these signs, treat it straight away with something sugary, as our best time to work out guide sets out.
The NHS says not to exercise on an empty stomach, and to stop if you feel uncomfortable, too hot or unwell. Our pregnancy guide lists the signs to stop and call your midwife or maternity unit.
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See a GP if changing your sleep habits hasn't helped, you've had trouble sleeping for months, or it's affecting your daily life.
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No study says so. Flexibility rose with a warm-up, and the morning bending trial asked people with back pain to cut down early-morning bending, not to stay still. Start gently and leave deep folds until you're warm.
In the one trial of yoga timing, sleep improved about as much after morning and evening practice, and reviews of exercise in general find no clear winner.
Our best time to work out guide found no time of day better for weight overall, and most yoga burns few calories: hatha yoga is listed at 2.3 METs.
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It's a yoga school custom. Comfort decides for most people; eat first if you're pregnant, if you feel faint, or if you take insulin or a sulfonylurea.
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The 21-day figure came from plastic surgery anecdotes. In a study of daily habits, it took 18 to 254 days, an average of 66.
Fast breathing raised blood pressure and heart rate during practice in a lab study. Skip it if you have high blood pressure or heart disease; slow breathing and gentle movement wake you up too.
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Yes, as a way to move, breathe and start the day. In the only trial of yoga timing, morning and evening practice improved sleep scores about equally, and a short routine at the same time each day is easy to turn into a habit.
Neither has been shown to be better overall: yoga improved sleep about as much at either time in the one trial, and reviews of exercise timing find no clear winner. Morning practice fits the NHS advice for insomnia to exercise during the day; in the evening, finish hard sessions well before bed.
Start lying down with slow breathing and gentle knee rocks, come onto all fours for cat-cow, then a lunge and standing poses for strength and balance, and save forward bending for the end. Our 15-minute routine does exactly that, with a 3D demo of each pose.
Whatever you'll keep doing: 10 to 15 minutes a day is a realistic start. Seven-minute sessions reduced stress in one study, and simple routines become habits faster than elaborate ones.
Whichever feels better: for most people it doesn't seem to matter. Eat first if you feel faint on an empty stomach, if you're pregnant, or if you take insulin or a sulfonylurea; some yoga schools ask for 2 hours after a meal, but that's a custom, not a rule.
Yes, gently. Your back is stiffer first thing because the discs take up water overnight, so start with small movements and leave deep forward folds until you're warm. A warm-up raised morning flexibility in one study.
Moving helps ordinary morning stiffness ease, and in one trial of people with long-lasting back pain, cutting down bending early in the morning reduced pain. Stiffness that lasts more than 30 minutes, wakes you in the night and eases with exercise rather than rest needs a GP, as it can be inflammatory back pain.
It may. In the timing trial, morning practice improved energy compared with a waiting list, but about half the participants dropped out, so it isn't certain. Single sessions of yoga or other exercise lifted mood in trials.
Not much on its own: most yoga burns few calories, and no time of day has been shown to be better for weight overall. Our yoga for weight loss guide covers what helps.
The lying-down part, yes: slow breathing, gentle knee rocks and heel slides work on a firm mattress (our suggestion). Move to the floor for kneeling and standing poses, and get up slowly, rolling onto your side first.
Do the same short routine at the same time, straight after something you already do, like brushing your teeth. In a study of daily habits, it took an average of 66 days for them to feel automatic, and missing a day didn't undo progress; a tick-sheet on the fridge helps.
Yes, gently. Keep breathing through holds, skip fast breathing, and skip headstands, shoulder stands and long head-down holds while your blood pressure is uncontrolled. If you check your blood pressure, wait at least 30 minutes after exercise.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. If you are pregnant, have a health condition such as glaucoma, high blood pressure or osteoporosis, or have had recent surgery, check with a doctor, midwife or physiotherapist before starting, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
