I recently made lifestyle changes to try to make the transition from a night into a morning person. My first idea and change I decided to put into place was to begin doing yoga every morning before I do whatever I have to that day. I don’t have a ton of time, so I only do 10 minutes, however these are precious moments set aside I can dedicate to purely myself. Some days are crazier than others, and this is always a guarantee which is something kind I felt I should do for not only my body, but my mental health. I had no experience prior to this, so I looked up beginner youtube videos and just followed along. After a few days, I was able to figure out what channels or specific types of videos worked best for me. If you need a few reasons to get inspired to put yoga into your regular routine, here are some benefits that may sway you, according to America Osteopathic Association. 

1. Improved respiration, energy and vitality. Yoga wakes your body up in a calm, relaxed tone; something our bodies are not used to as college students. It can be stressful and overwhelming being in college, so yoga can help give you extra energy to get you through your day. 

2. Maintaining a balanced metabolism. Whether you want to gain weight or lose it, you need to have a healthy, working metabolism to keep your body healthy. Having too slow of a metabolism causes weight gain, and the opposite if it is too fast, causing your body an inability to gain weight. 

3. Cardio and circulatory health. If you’re like me, you don’t have the time to make it to the gym as often as you may like to. The great thing about yoga is that even small amounts of time spent at home practicing it, can be very beneficial to your health in the long run.

4. Improved balance and flexibility. I was always a clumsy person, but yoga allows you to have a more controlled sense of your body. Yoga encourages mindfulness which allows you to have more of a center to bring yourself to mentally. This shows physically as well. On top of that, the stretching that makes up yoga gives the body increased flexibility which is important to keep maintained as we get older.

It took perseverance and a drive to wake up early to do this every day; I love sleep so those ten minutes definitely made a difference to me. The effect this had on my mental health however, was well worth it. Instead of waking up every day feeling sick and anxious, I get up and know I’m waking up my body in a relaxing, healthy way. I not only feel different in the mornings after yoga, but I feel the effects during my days as well. A once overly anxious person, I’m now finding that my chest isn’t feeling tight anymore, not even in the afternoon (after a stressful morning). I have a newly found type of peace, a correlation between my brain and body. Making the change wasn’t easy and required my dedication, but I found it became easiest if I looked at the morning yoga as an everyday task. Just like homework or chores, there are certain things we’re responsible for doing each day. Yoga was simply added to my list, and it just so happens it ended up being a fun task to do, one that I actually enjoy and look forward to. If you’re looking for some peace of mind and a change in your routine, give yoga a try.