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Priyanka doing a headstand against a wall on a yoga mat
Fitness

Getting started with yoga: 10 minutes that changed my mornings

October 8, 2026

For the last year, almost every morning has started the same way for me: on my mat, for 10 to 15 minutes, before the day gets a say.

It's the smallest habit I have, and the one I'd keep if I had to give up all the others. This post is how I got here, and the easiest way I know for you to start, or to level up if you're already on your way.

Yoga was always around me

I'm Indian, and from the North. Yoga isn't something we discover. It's in the background of growing up: in school assemblies, in the neighbour who does pranayama on the terrace at sunrise, in every relative who tells you to "just breathe properly."

In India, yoga is also wonderfully ordinary. Walk into almost any park early in the morning and you'll find a group on mats or bedsheets, led by an older uncle or aunty who has been practising for decades. No fees, no fancy studio, no special clothes. They teach because they know it matters, for the body and for the mind, and they want the next person to have it too.

The world has caught up with what those parks always knew. In 2014 the United Nations declared 21 June the International Day of Yoga, and in 2016 UNESCO added yoga to its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The summer with my aunt

I did a little yoga as a kid, the way most of us did. But the first time I really got into it was one summer at home.

I wanted to help my aunt get moving, so the two of us signed up together, if you can call it signing up. It was a free class on a neighbourhood playground. We'd walk over early in the morning, roll out our mats on the ground, and follow along with everyone else.

I went to support her. I ended up loving it. I still remember how light I felt walking home.

Rishikesh, and where my travel story began

Here's the funny part. Rishikesh, a town on the Ganga in the foothills of the Himalayas, is known around the world as the yoga capital of the world. People cross oceans to study there. And I only really understood that when I finally visited.

That trip, to Haridwar and Rishikesh, was my first real trip, the one where my love of travel began. Sitting by the river there, I realised that something I had treated as ordinary was something the whole world came looking for.

Losing it, and finding it again in Colorado

Then life got busy. I moved to the United States, a PhD took over, and somewhere along the way I lost touch with yoga completely. I didn't even notice it was gone.

I found it again during an internship in Colorado. I was living with the most wonderful lady, and she introduced me to CorePower Yoga. We started going to classes together, and those mornings and evenings are some of my favourite memories. I will cherish them for life.

CorePower showed me a side of yoga I had never tried:

  • C1 and C2: flowing, vinyasa-style classes, from gentle to challenging.
  • Yoga Sculpt: yoga mixed with light weights and cardio. It is hard, and it is so much fun.
  • Hot yoga: practising in a heated room. I love it. You sweat more than you thought possible and walk out feeling brand new.

After those classes I felt amazing: clear, calm, strong. And one day it hit me. I used to feel like this. This was mine, and I let it go.

That's when I decided two things. I'm going to keep doing this. And I'm going to keep telling people about it.

A year of mornings

It's been about a year now. No studio most days, no big routine. Just 10 to 15 minutes, most mornings, with a video on YouTube.

Here's what I've noticed:

  • My mornings are calmer. I start the day having already done one thing for myself.
  • My body feels better. Hours at a laptop are hard on your back, neck, and hips. Ten minutes undoes a lot.
  • My mind is quieter. It's the one time of day I'm only paying attention to my breath.
  • It makes everything else easier: lifting, hiking, even sitting through long days of work.

If you want the science, the US National Institutes of Health has a good, balanced summary of what research says about yoga.

How to start (it's easier than you think)

  • Start with 10 minutes. Not an hour. Ten minutes you actually do beats sixty you keep putting off.
  • Pick one time. Mornings work for me because nothing has gone wrong yet. Pick yours and keep it.
  • You need almost nothing. A mat, or even a towel on the floor. Comfortable clothes. That's it.
  • Don't worry about being flexible. That's like saying you're too dirty to take a shower. Flexibility is what you get, not what you need.
  • Follow your breath. If you can breathe slowly in a pose, you're doing it right. If you can't, ease off.
  • Be consistent, not perfect. You will miss days. Just come back the next morning.

A few words you'll hear

  • Asana: a pose.
  • Vinyasa: linking poses together with your breath, so the class flows.
  • Pranayama: breathing exercises.
  • Savasana: lying still at the end. It looks like doing nothing. It's the best part.
  • Namaste: a respectful greeting, often said at the end of class.

Poses you'll hear in almost every class

Teachers call these out quickly, so it helps to know them before you press play. Many have a Sanskrit name too, which I've put in brackets.

  • Mountain pose (Tadasana): standing tall, feet grounded, arms by your sides. It looks like "just standing", but it's where you learn good posture.
  • Tabletop: on your hands and knees, hands under shoulders, knees under hips, back flat like a table.
  • Cat-Cow: from tabletop, you arch your back as you breathe in and round it as you breathe out. The best thing for a stiff spine.
  • Downward-facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana): hands and feet on the mat, hips lifted high, so your body makes an upside-down V. You'll come back to it again and again.
  • Child's pose (Balasana): kneeling, sitting back on your heels, folding forward with your forehead down. This is your rest pose. Take it whenever you need a break.
  • Plank: the top of a push-up, body in one straight line.
  • Chaturanga: lowering halfway down from plank with your elbows tucked in. It's hard. Dropping your knees is completely fine.
  • Cobra (Bhujangasana) and upward-facing dog: lying on your front and lifting your chest. Cobra is the gentler one.
  • Forward fold (Uttanasana): standing and folding over your legs. Bend your knees as much as you like.
  • Chair pose (Utkatasana): sitting back into an imaginary chair with your arms up. Your legs will let you know.
  • Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I): a lunge with your front knee bent, back leg straight, hips facing forward, and arms reaching up.
  • Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II): the same strong legs, but your hips and chest open to the side and your arms stretch out in one long line.
  • Low lunge: one foot forward, back knee resting on the mat. A lovely stretch for tight hips.
  • Tree pose (Vrksasana): balancing on one leg with the other foot resting on your ankle, calf, or inner thigh.
  • Sun salutation (Surya Namaskar): a set sequence that links many of these poses together. Most flows are built on it.

Don't try to memorise these. After a week of classes you'll know them without thinking.

The teachers I follow

These are the YouTube channels I actually use. All of them are free.

Yoga With Adriene

Yoga With Adriene is where I'd send any complete beginner. Adriene is warm, funny, and never makes you feel behind. This is one I keep going back to:

Yoga with Kassandra

Yoga with Kassandra is my pick for short morning classes. She has a huge library of 10-minute sessions, so there's always one that fits how you feel.

Yoga With Bird

Yoga With Bird is calm and clear, with lots of gentle full-body stretches. Lovely for days when you want to go slow.

Charlie Follows

Charlie Follows is where I go when I want to move. Her flows are stronger and a bit faster, and great once you know the basic poses.

When you're ready for more

For a longer, intermediate class, this 45-minute flow from Sjana Elise is one I keep coming back to:

My playlists: just press play

To make it even easier, I've put my favourites into two playlists in the LIFT section of the LiveLiftUp YouTube channel. Save them, and you never have to decide what to do in the morning.

LIFT | Yoga for Beginners: morning flows

Twelve classes of 10 to 20 minutes, beginner friendly. These are the ones I actually wake up to. Open the playlist on YouTube, or press play here:

What's inside:

LIFT | Yoga Flow & Flexibility: intermediate

Six stronger classes of 20 to 45 minutes, for when the basics feel comfortable. Open the playlist on YouTube, or press play here:

What's inside:

A simple four-week plan

  • Week 1: 10 minutes, three mornings. Any beginner video above. Just show up.
  • Week 2: 10 minutes, five mornings. Same videos are fine. Repeating helps.
  • Week 3: try a 15 or 20 minute flow twice this week.
  • Week 4: pick one intermediate class and see how it feels. If it's too much, go back a step. There's no rush.

If you want to try hot yoga

  • Drink water before, during, and after. More than you think.
  • Bring a towel for your mat. You will need it.
  • Go easy the first few times. Take breaks, and sit down if you feel dizzy.
  • Check with your doctor first if you're pregnant or have a heart or blood pressure condition.

Come practise with me

Yoga went from something in the background of my childhood, to something I lost, to the thing that starts every one of my days. I'm writing this so it's a little easier for you to begin.

If you're just starting, pick one 10-minute video and do it tomorrow morning. If you're already ahead, try the intermediate playlist and tell me which class was your favourite.

Write to me and tell me how your first week goes. Let's roll out our mats and level up together. ♡

Questions, or something you'd like me to write about? I read everything: email me or message me on Instagram ♡