Ideal time for the yoga practice

General question is that what time should one practice Yog every day? 


If I say Brahma Muhurta time how many would accept the fact.
What's Brahma Muhurta time?


According to Vedic astrology, the day is divided into 30 periods called muhurtas. The brahma-muhurta begins 1 hr 36 minutes before sunrise and lasts for 48 minutes.
Sivananda Yoga says Brahmamuhurta is the morning period between 3:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. This sacred interval is also known as the Amritavela.


If one is serious about a yoga-based lifestyle, one should be awake and performing some spiritual activity during the Brahma-muhurta.
After a good night's sleep, the mind is refreshed, calm and serene.The mind is like a blank sheet of paper,free from thoughts and one can easily meditate.


This started off when I started with my early morning yoga session with my students.Despite the fact that I usually felt like staying in bed, I had to be ready by 4 :45 am which forced me to get up and slowly I started realising that , I almost always rose early as early as 4 :15 am.I noticed from very early that I used to feel very good all day, as a result of being awake that time of the morning. 


The days when I used to get up early and practised my Yog for 2 hrs inclusive of Pranayama, I noticed myself more active during the day time, even afternoon sleep was not needed,which was was quite surprising.
This made me wondered how this early hours rising and practising Yog could do wonders on you.
I noticed that my body awareness and inner awareness increased to great extent.I was entering into moving/active  meditation without any effort.


I would fit so much more in a day if I had been awake before the 'crack of dawn', even if I had taken a nap later in the day to refresh myself.


Now practically speaking for the beginners who started off with the practice, the early morning may or may not suitable as their body is not flexible and usually the very early morning practice the body tends to be rigid and more so if one is a beginner then he may not have learnt many yogic poses, which would help him attain some warmth to his body.


Once one learns Yog thoroughly and would like to make it as his life style then Brahma Muhurta time is ideal, as there are certain asanas like suryanamaskars and some stretches which would bring flexibility to his body ,before one enters to the more advanced asanas.


If one doesn't have enough time in the morning hours then one can practice Pranayama and meditation in early morning as meditation comes by itself, without any effort.


Asanas can be practised in the evening, as evening hours one's body tends to be more supple and one can enjoy practising the asanas much better way, especially for beginners.
This evening hours practice is also ideal for those who have  hectic work schedule at their office and wants to relax ,so one can relax in yoga asanas  and which  further leads to increased circulation towards many joints and better absorption of oxygen.


Guidelines for early morning  practice 

•  If you are not in the habit of getting up early, use an alarm timepiece. Once the habit is established, there will be no difficulty. The subconscious mind will automatically wake you up at the particular time.
• Do not waste much time in morning ablutions. Answer the calls of nature quickly. Clean your teeth quickly. Be quick. Otherwise, the Brahmamuhurta will pass away quickly.

•  If you suffer from constipation have vigorous practice of Salabha, Bhujanga and Dhanur Asanas for 5 minutes as soon as you get up from bed. Otherwise, do Meditation as soon as you get up. You can answer the calls of nature after finishing your morning Meditation with the help of a cup of hot milk.

HARI OM TAT SAT