I was recently asked by caspersleep.com to participate in their newest project: “Bed-time Yoga Poses.” I started doing yoga about two and half years ago and it has truly transformed my life. I jumped at the opportunity to participate.

A little more about the Casper Mattress: Early testers of their new mattress described it as “cloud-like.” It conforms to your body, helps keep you cool as you sleep, and is both engineered and made (stitched by hand) in the USA. Every bed has a 10-year warranty. Looks pretty awesome to me.

Now, on with my answer to their question.

Morning’s are very special to me. The time before noon has always been the most productive and cherished part of my day. If I could only get myself to shut off the light a little earlier, I would be up at 5:30AM every morning… I know that’s an excuse. I know that I can make that a reality, and I know that it would feel amazing. It’s just that whole accountability thing. I talk about this a lot on this blog, but whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed I make a list. Whenever I feel like I want to be more productive, I make a list. I’ve put together so many sketches of “perfect morning routines” it’s a little bit ridiculous. Anyone else relate? It’s as if the making of the list substitutes the actual doing of the thing. It’s so much fun to make a plan of ALL the things I’m going to get accomplished in a week… but it’s quite a different thing to actually do them. Somehow I have yet to make the two ends meet.

I tend to over-schedule myself (planning to do much more than can reasonably be accomplished in a day), but when it comes to mornings I think the best thing you can do is a little.  Instead of sketching out a “perfect” (whatever that means) morning ritual that consists of 15 things that must be done in perfect succession without any dilly-dallying (I can’t believe I just found a way to work that word into a post!), what if I found the strength to let go of perfect and intense, and found comfort in “simple?” That feels like such a foreign concept to me, but as I write this I can feel in my gut that this is right.

So, in the spirit of simple, I’m only going to name two asanas that I love to start my day with and why:

1. Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

So deviously simple and yet, next to Savasana, this is one of the most difficult poses for me. I get into this pose by doing some arm circles to warm up and release some of the tension in my shoulders, and then I stand, palms facing out, and breathe. Mountain pose helps me to stand in my power. I have given my power away far too often in my life, and this pose helps me to stand up tall in appreciation of me, my health, my bravery, and my continued growth. I can’t think of a better way to start your day.

2. Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana)

I LOVE this pose, and do it every morning. This is a pose that I can naturally do very well. While I realize that part of your practice should be about growth and finding comfort in the uncomfortable (poses that you wobble and sweat through), I think it’s incredibly empowering to also practice poses that you sort of rock at.

This pose gives me an opportunity to really deepen my breath, and to move my consciousness through my entire body – head to toes. I also really like saying good morning to my toes in the morning. It reminds me that there’s a lot more to me than just cerebral consciousness. Body, mind and soul: It all has to work together. Mornings are a great time to remind myself of this.