I had an interesting experience last week that allowed me to compare how yoga 🧘🏽 and coffee ☕️ impact my feeling of alertness after getting up.

On this particular morning, instead of doing yoga first, I attempted to begin the day by simply drinking a cup of coffee with a bowl of oatmeal and immediately starting work (I was working at home). After 30-45 minutes, I was still feeling stiff with some brain fog. I wasn’t energized, and wanted to go back to bed 🛌.

I love how good I feel after a yoga session, and it is better than how I was feeling at that particular moment. Instead of working with brain fog, I chose to stop eating and drinking coffee, and take my dragging-ass into the yoga room. I hoped that a 30-minute practice might eliminate the drowsiness and help with the stiffness. It’s was important for me to maintain the discipline of doing yoga daily. Skipping one day is fine, two days is the beginning of a habit.

While progressing through the routine I noticed that my mind became clearer and I felt connected to my body. As the mind-body connection increased, I became fully aware of how my body responded to each position. Even the small, subtle movements became noticeable as my whole body awakened. When finished, I felt like my inner self had been warmed up and the blood was flowing freely to my brain. The mental fog was gone! I walked out of the room smiling, standing upright and fully awake.

Yet another reason to have a daily yoga practice.

I do enjoy a fresh cup of coffee in the morning, but yoga better delivers what I want in the morning…that is to be fully alert, and energized.