Morning Light + Movement: Why Outdoor Yoga Is Such a Powerful Way to Start Your Day

There’s something different about moving your body outside in the morning.

Maybe it’s the fresh air. Maybe it’s the quiet before the day really gets going. Or maybe it’s simply giving yourself an hour where you’re not staring at a screen, answering an email, making a list or rushing to the next thing.

Turns out, there are some pretty good reasons that combination feels so good.

1. Morning light helps tell your body, “It’s time to wake up.”

Our bodies run on an internal 24-hour clock called the circadian rhythm, and light is one of the most important signals that helps keep that clock on track.

Exposure to bright light in the morning helps signal wakefulness and helps align the body's sleep-wake rhythm. That's one reason getting outside early in the day can be such a simple addition to a healthy routine.

And unlike another thing you have to add to your morning routine, outdoor yoga lets you get that light while you're already doing something good for yourself.

2. Movement + the outdoors is a pretty great combination.

We already know movement matters. But there is growing research around what happens when some of that movement happens outside.

Systematic reviews of nature-based and structured outdoor activities have found benefits for measures of mood and mental well-being, although researchers are still studying exactly how much of the benefit comes from nature itself versus the physical activity and other factors.

Translation?

There may actually be something to that “I just feel better after I've been outside” feeling.

3. Yoga gives your brain somewhere else to be.

For however long you're on your mat, you're paying attention to your breath, your balance and what your body is doing right now.

That's a pretty big departure from how most of us spend the rest of our day.

Research on yoga has found evidence that it can help with perceived stress, and studies examining even a single session of yoga, meditation or breathing exercises have reported improvements in measures of acute stress reactivity.

You don't have to be “good at yoga” to get something from slowing down and paying attention to your body.

4. You get to start the day doing something for yourself.

This one doesn't need a scientific study.

Before errands. Before work. Before kids' schedules. Before the texts, notifications and million little things that somehow fill a Saturday...

You showed up for yourself.

We think that matters.

5. And doing it together makes it even better.

This is one of our favorite parts.

A plaza full of mats. People laughing when they lose their balance. Friends showing up together. Someone trying yoga for the first time next to someone who's practiced for years.

That's what Self Love Saturday was always supposed to be about.

Not perfection.

Not being the strongest, healthiest or most flexible person in the room.

Just creating a reason to move, connect, try something new and do something that makes you feel good.

So, we'll see you outside. ☀️

Grab your mat, get some morning light, move your body, take a deep breath and spend a little time with your community.

And afterward?

Well... we happen to know a pretty great place to grab breakfast. 😉

Movement. Community. Food that makes you feel good.