The benefits of yoga are undeniable. From improved stress to better sleep and increased flexibility, the effects of yoga can be the perfect way to transform your life. So, given these benefits, can you practice twice per day to multiply these benefits? While adding a second yoga session can be the perfect way to accelerate improvements and enjoy the benefits of yoga, it isn’t for everyone.
This article explains the ins and outs of adding a second yoga session to your day, so continue reading to determine whether it’s a good choice for you!
How Many Times Can Yoga Be Done In A Day?
Generally speaking, it’s best to avoid doing yoga more than twice per day. For some folks, doing yoga once per day might be the limit. In other cases, doing yoga every day might be too much, so practicing three or four times per week might be ideal.
It all comes down to your body and time allotments. If you recover quickly and have good endurance, you can probably handle two yoga sessions in a day. However, you’d probably want to give yourself a few rest days each week, especially if you’re practicing twice per day.
Secondly, you’ll need plenty of time to practice twice per day. Generally, it’s best to space your sessions out to give your body time to rest. So, if you practice in the morning, wait until mid-afternoon or evening to do your second session. Of course, if you don’t have time for two sessions, one class per day is plenty.
For some yogis, two sessions a day, seven days a week, is entirely doable. However, for many folks, this is too much. So, be sure to listen to your body and adjust accordingly.
Can I Do Yoga Morning And Evening?
A morning and evening yoga schedule can be perfect for those who want to practice twice per day. Practicing in the morning and evening gives your body plenty of time to rest and refuel before the second session.
That said, practicing twice a day isn’t suitable for everyone. So, if you feel exhausted, overly sore, or overwhelmed by practicing twice per day, trade the two-a-days for once-a-day practices. Or, if that’s too much, start with a few sessions per week until your body is ready to progress.
Types Of Yoga
There are over a dozen types of yoga, each with a different intensity and style. Given the variety, your yoga class might be slow-paced and recovery-based, or it might be a heart-pumping, energy-filled session.
The type you do can determine whether a second class is a good idea. For example, if you participate in a high-intensity class, your body might need to rest before your next class (but you could stretch through a low-intensity class).
More Challenging Varieties
The following yoga varieties err on the challenging end of the spectrum. Since they’re more intense approaches to yoga, it’s usually best to avoid overdoing these classes. Generally, it’s best to do them a few times per week at most (unless you’re an experienced yogi), as these classes are challenging.
So, given the difficulty, you should only participate in these types of classes once daily. Here are a few examples of the more challenging types of yoga:
- Bikram: Better known as hot yoga, this variety leans toward the intense, more challenging end of the spectrum. Participants usually complete heart-pumping sequences in a sauna-like room (usually around 105 degrees Fahrenheit), which creates a tough (and sweaty) environment.
- Aerial: This type of yoga is more commonly frequented by experienced yogis, as it involves aerial silk hammocks. These classes are usually challenging due to the upper body and abdominal strength required to achieve the poses.
- Vinyasa: Also known as power yoga, this variety offers long, challenging holds throughout various yoga poses. The class starts with a warmup before moving into long, meditative holds.
- Ashtanga: Frequented by experienced yogis and fanatics, this variety of yoga requires strength and endurance. These classes pack around 70 challenging poses into a single session (usually between 1 ½ and 2 hours).
Less Challenging Varieties
On the flip side, there are numerous yoga varieties that prioritize recovery, relaxation, and flexibility. Instead of prioritizing an elevated heart rate and intense muscle burn, these varieties slow the pace, allowing you to listen to your body and recover.
Since these yoga varieties are slower-paced, many people can handle two classes daily. Alternatively, you could pair one of these classes with a more intense class once or twice per week to up the ante (but don’t overdo it).
- Katonah: The variety of yoga offers an entry-level and meditative approach to yoga. It’s perfect for beginners, as it incorporates props and adjustments, which are ideal for less flexible individuals.
- Restorative: As the name implies, this type of yoga prioritizes deep relaxation and restoration. This type of yoga often includes blankets, blocks, and other props to relieve muscle tension through each pose, enabling your body to relax and recover fully.
- Hatha: This type of yoga marries yoga poses with designated breathing techniques. If you’re new to yoga or meditation, Hatha yoga can be a great place to start, as it focuses on balance, breathing rhythms, and flexibility.
- Yin: In Yin yoga, participants take a slower approach to yoga. These classes usually involve soothing, meditative poses and long holds, creating slow-paced, relaxing sessions.
- Iyengar: In these yoga classes, participants move through technical holds involving blocks, chairs, straps, blankets, and other props. These classes target alignment issues and are slower-paced, making them an excellent option for newbies trying to learn the poses.
- Kundali: This type of yoga focuses on the release of energy and spiritual development. These classes are often slow and steady, prioritizing even movements, breathing, and chanting to release energy.
Benefits Of Practicing Yoga Twice A Day
Practicing yoga twice per day can be an ideal schedule for some folks, especially those with plenty of time. The benefits of two-a-day practices can lead to ripple effects throughout your days and nights (hello, better sleep!). Here are a few notable benefits of practicing yoga twice per day:
Accelerated Weight Loss
If you’re trying to lose weight, adding a second yoga session to your day can help accelerate your progress. More physical activity translates to more calories burned, which means more pounds you’ll shed. Of course, your progress hinges entirely on other factors in your life, including your diet (hello, calorie deficit), sleep, and recovery.
However, since activity is a substantial piece of the weight-loss puzzle, practicing yoga twice a day can help you get even closer to your goal.
Improves Flexibility
Practicing yoga regularly is an excellent way to improve your overall strength and flexibility. While practicing yoga once a day will send you in the right direction, adding a second yoga session each day can accelerate your progress.
The more you challenge your muscles (within reason, of course), the more progress you’ll see. So, by challenging your body with a second yoga session, you can increase and improve your flexibility and strength. Whether you do a slow-paced, flexibility-based session or an action-packed, strength-based class, adding that second session can be exceedingly beneficial.
Reduces Stress And Anxiety
For many folks, stress and anxiety are daily companions. These factors can be detrimental to our overall health, whether they stem from work, school, family, or something else. They can affect our entire day, including the quality of our sleep and waking hours.
There are a variety of ways to approach these factors, including yoga. According to the Mayo Clinic, various studies have shown a connection between reduced stress and anxiety and regular yoga practice. Each study examined slightly different parameters, but the connection is there.
So, if you struggle with stress and anxiety throughout your day (or when you’re trying to sleep), a second yoga session might be a solid option to combat the issue. Of course, you should still work within your physical limits – if your body isn’t ready for two-a-day yoga sessions, it’s best not to push too hard.
Can Help You Wake Up And Settle Down
Yoga can be the perfect way to start or finish your day. A morning yoga session can give you an extra energy boost to power you through your day. For example, if you regularly wake up groggy and unenergized, you might want to try yoga as a wake-up call. A refreshing yoga session might be exactly what you need to get the blood pumping in your body to start the day.
Of course, yoga isn’t a substitute for lousy sleep or insufficient rest, so you should always listen to your body. But if you need to shake off that pesky groggy feeling before starting your day, a quick yoga session might be the perfect solution.
Conversely, you can use yoga to settle down after a long, tiring, or stressful day. Many of us carry stressors home from work, leaving us antsy and unable to rest. Unfortunately, these factors can detrimentally affect the quality of your sleep.
While taking sleep supplements, drinking sleep-supporting teas, and disconnecting from your phone before bed can promote a faster track to restful sleep, it might not do the trick for some folks. If your mind continues to race a mile a minute as you’re trying to fall asleep, you might want to try a nighttime yoga routine.
Although an evening yoga session might not work for everyone, it might help you relax and begin to wind down for sleep. You might experience better, more restful, and less interrupted sleep after a soothing yoga session. Of course, results vary for every individual, so the session may or may not help you. But when sleep hangs in the balance, it doesn’t hurt to try!
6 Tips To Successfully Incorporate A Second Yoga Session
Ready to start adding a second yoga class to each day? Here are a few tips to avoid burnout, injuries, and exhaustion as you prepare your body for two-a-day practices:
1. Listen To Your Body
You may notice a few changes when you start incorporating a second yoga session into your day. You might feel more tired, sore, or hungry as your body adjusts to the extra activity.
So, be sure to listen to your body, especially during the transition phase from one session a day to two per day. If you feel too tired or sore, cut back to one session per day. While you could still do a couple of two-a-day sessions, you might find it beneficial to give your body an extra rest day or one-per-day sessions a couple of times per week. You’ll probably need a few weeks to adjust to your new schedule before you find the perfect break (of rest days, two-a-days, and once-a-days).
2. Consume Plenty Of Protein
As you increase your activity levels, you’ll probably notice you’re more hungry throughout the day. This stems from the added calorie burn, so you’ll need to consume slightly more to compensate for the difference.
If you’re in a calorie deficit to lose weight or cut, be sure to iron out the details and ensure you’re consuming enough protein, carbs, and fats to power your body through the sessions. You’ll likely feel lethargic, weak, or shaky during class if your body doesn’t have enough fuel to complete your sessions. So, ensure you’re properly fueling your body to support the added workload.
3. Stay Hydrated
In addition to consuming plenty of protein, you need to stay hydrated. Dehydration can present a host of issues, like lethargy, headaches, and more. So, you need to drink plenty of water to power yourself through the classes.
It doesn’t hurt to incorporate electrolytes, especially if you participate in more intense yoga classes where you sweat a lot, like hot yoga. You can consume electrolytes in the form of a sports drink, a hydration multiplier, or by adding a sprinkle of salt to your water (it has potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium).
Choose the option that best fits your goals. For example, if you’re trying to lose weight, you’ll probably want to avoid sugary sports drinks or calorie-dense hydration multipliers.
4. Don’t Forget To Warm Up
In any exercise class, it’s essential to warm up your muscles before starting. This is especially true in yoga classes where you target your flexibility, as injuries can happen when working with cold muscles. So, whether you’re participating in a challenging class or a relaxing nighttime session, be sure to warm up your muscles to avoid injury.
5. Don’t Overdo It
Everyone has a slightly different fitness level, so while some folks might be perfectly fine with two sessions per day, others might feel the effects. When you initially start incorporating a second yoga routine into your day, you might be more tired and sore than usual.
So, if you notice added soreness or low energy levels, adjust your schedule to accommodate this. Cut back on your sessions to one per day, then slowly build back up to two-a-day sessions.
It might take you a few weeks or months to prepare your body for multiple two-session days per week. If you push too hard, you could exhaust or injure yourself, so take it slow and don’t overdo it.
6. Mix It Up
For many folks, repeating the same yoga session multiple times per week for weeks on end quickly becomes tedious. If you are tired of the same routine, try incorporating a different type of yoga.
When you’re practicing twice per day, it’s easy to become bored with a routine, so mix it up. For example, if you do a hot yoga class in the morning, try a more relaxing type of yoga in the afternoon or evening. This can help your body wind down and recover from the intense yoga class, helping you feel more prepared and refreshed the following day.
