Why Morning Yoga Beats a Cup of Coffee
Do you start your day with a cup of coffee or by practicing yoga?
Each person might answer differently depending on what kind of history you have with coffee or with yoga. Maybe you wake up and the first thing you do is settle down with a cup of coffee before speaking with anyone. Or maybe you wake up with a glass of lemon water and 10 sun salutations to start your day. Either way, you’ll wake up alert and ready to take on the day. But is one better than the other?
While coffee is great, there are some drawbacks.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with coffee and many people start their day with it. But there are some things to consider about starting your day with it. Even though coffee is a liquid, it’s a diuretic. In other words, coffee dehydrates you. By drinking it, you might sweat more and lose valuable vitamins like potassium, magnesium and calcium in the morning. You can replace these by drinking coconut water and eating a nutrient-rich breakfast — but with coffee, you already start out your day “catching up.”
If you’ve ever had a cup of coffee, you also know that it’s a stimulant. This might be perfect for a strong vinyasa practice — but it could also make you jittery and irritable in the morning. This varies from person to person: some coffee drinkers say that coffee helps them focus while others say that coffee makes them distracted. Why? Because coffee impacts your nervous system.
Let’s say you practice yoga in the morning instead…
When practicing yoga in the morning, you might be tired and not want to get on the mat — but after even 10 minutes of slow mindful practice, your whole mood can change. Of course, this implies that you have the space to practice at home and the ability to do so without your kids barging into the room or roommates interrupting your practice. But here’s the thing: despite those drawbacks, there’s no dehydration issues from practicing yoga. You might not get that high from drinking a cup of coffee, but correspondingly, you also won’t have that caffeine drop later in the day.
If you’re still tired after practicing your morning yoga, instead of immediately reaching for a cup of coffee — try drinking a cup of green tea mindfully. It still gives you a little caffeine kick. Regardless, Morning yoga will wake you up whether or not you drink green tea or coffee. Why? Because by practicing yoga, you are stimulating the blood flow throughout your body. So, you’re doing actively what coffee does chemically.
So, is one better than the other?
It depends who you ask. Those who practice yoga first thing after they wake up rely on their morning yoga routine as a healthy strategy. Some prefer to drink coffee first. Instead of dogmatically defending one or the other, be open to both. If you drink coffee first in the mornings, try out morning yoga one day and give it a chance. If you are someone who practices yoga every morning after you wake up, maybe try a coffee and decide whether or not you like how it affects your yoga practice or mood. You never know… maybe you’ll find your stride combining both!
