This cozy chowder, packed with chicken and mushrooms, will warm and fill you up at the same time.

I’ve been practicing yoga for years, but even I know that yoga can be especially daunting for the uninitiated. Being new in a yoga class is like entering a new dimension—to boldly go where no non-yogi has ever gone before. But here’s where you’re in luck: I’ve come up with a guide of how to handle yoga class like a certified yogi. Or, rather, how NOT to—the mistakes that lots of newbies make that you should decidedly avoid. Consider this mishmash a list of pet peeves and also general life pointers.

Mistake: Keeping Your Shoes On
I’m a self-professed shoe addict, so I totally get that the perfect pair of sneaks can pull a whole gym look together… but that stops at the door of your yoga class. There’s a strict ‘no shoes’ rule in all yoga classes. You’ll have your hands, feet and entire body on and off the mat at some point throughout the class, and you don’t want to drag the street into the studio and roll around in it. If you worry about the safety of your beloved shoes, stash them in your gym bag and tuck them away in the cubby (almost all yoga studios offer this space).

Mistake: Keeping Your Cell Phone On
Picture this: You’re deep in your savasana when a familiar ring tone starts blaring. Hey, it’s happened to the best of us… but even so, the shuffle of shame to your bag as everyone’s zen bubble bursts around you is pretty excruciating. Save yourself the agony and turn your phone completely off. Or, better yet, don’t bring it to class at all!

Mistake: Letting It All Hang Out
A yoga class is full of twists, standing forward folds, straddles, inversions—I’m talking a ton of movement. This may sound counterintuitive, but tighter clothes actually leave more to the imagination than baggy ones. That’s because with baggy clothes, you stand a better chance of them slipping or falling or gapping—basically, an invitation for anyone to look up your shorts or down your shirt anytime you go into Downward Dog or Happy Baby. And while we’re on the topic, don’t forget the sheer check, either. Some yoga pants can be a bit, ah, translucent when you bend over—so I’d recommend the ‘bend over’ check before you shell over your money for any new pants.

Mistake: Comparing Yourself to Everyone Else
You’ll only ever be a beginner once, so enjoy the journey young Jedi! It’s easy to walk into a yoga room overwhelmed with the abilities of others around you. You’ll only get yourself into trouble through comparison, though, because that often leads to jealousy—and that might make you tackle poses that you’re not ready for. Try to flip the coin by seeing inspiration instead. You can learn so much by observing other peoples’ talents. Trust that if you apply yourself and show up regularly your practice will thrive.

Mistake: Being an Attention Monger
Easy with the drama! It’s important to focus on your breath and connect to the moment, but do what you can to avoid the ‘look at me’ show. Dramatic sighs, loud exhales of breath and breathing that can be heard 2 city blocks away is overboard. My teacher always taught that your breathing should only be loud enough for you to hear on your mat. Remember yoga is a personal practice and just because you’re having a bad day and feel the need to sigh it out doesn’t mean the rest of the room wants to share in that experience.

Mistake: Losing Track of Your Personal Space
Many popular yoga classes will pack their students in like sardines, which can mean you might be mat to mat with other students. This means you need to up your spatial awareness as you flow through your poses. There’s a strong likelihood that you’ll smack or get smacked, but you can decrease those chances by keeping your movements within the island of your mat. I’m a huge fan for challenging yourself and stepping outside of your comfort zone, but when it comes to kicking up into poses, if you’re in close quarters to someone else—be thoughtful! The last thing you want to do is fall over onto someone else mat (or body) and cause a domino effect. Trust me, I’ve seen it and it’s not such a pretty sight!

Mistake: Packing Up Early
Savasana is the final pose of a yoga practice, and it involves lying on your back for about 5 minutes to absorb the practice and calm the mind. This is a pivotal part of the practice followed by a meditation or closing words from teacher to keep you in the right mindset from the rest of the day. I understand that people can’t always stay for the duration of the class, but please, PLEASE don’t decide to leave in the middle of everyone’s rest. It is crazy-making to watch a student nosily roll up their mat, collect their stuff (which generally insinuates bag ruffling and keys jiggling) only to—wait for it—slam the door shut on their way out. Are those 5 minutes really going to make or break your schedule?! I dare say you’ve missed the beautiful message of yoga at this point. That everything is exactly as it should be, there is no rush and you’re right where you need to be. If you must leave class early, tell the teacher at the beginning of class, make time for your own savasana, set up near the door and leave before savasana as to not disturb the class.

Lose an hour in the morning, said 19th-century philosopher Richard Whately, and you will be all day hunting for it.

Two centuries on, however, escaping the warm duvet is a real battle for many, which can result in a morning of mad and desperate rushing.

There’s a sense of powerlessness when it comes to getting up. Whatever else we’ve overcome in life, we feel we’ll never overcome our addiction to the snooze button. And what’s to be gained from it anyway? What advantage is there in an early start to the day?

Like all converts, the ‘early riser’ lobby can sound a little worthy to those who struggle to prise their head from the pillow.

Just listen to Benjamin Franklin: ‘The mind must be fully made up that to rise early is a duty, wherever it is practicable and safe; that the habit is attainable and possible and that a strong effort and a sustained one, must be made, to overcome all obstacles to it.’

Fine words butter no parsnips, however, and the reality on the ground — or rather, in our bed — is a little different.

Again and again we press that snooze button, desperate for extra drowsy minutes, but only postponing the moment when our feet must touch the floor and our face feel the wet flannel.

When I used to work in a supermarket, the 7.30am team meetings were a mere extension of most people’s sleep. They’d get out of bed at the last possible moment, dress hurriedly, run down the road, just catching the bus, and make it to the shop on time.

But though they were at work, they were not fit for work. They arrived disorientated, sour-faced and fuelled only by high-energy (but low-happiness) drinks.

By the time I arrived at work, I’d sat quietly for a while, been for a run, enjoyed the fresh morning air — yes, even in London — and had some breakfast. And if that sounds smug, so be it. But at least I was cheery, hopeful and up for the complex business of sorting out the store newspapers before they were put out on the racks.

I picked up the habit of rising before 5am when I was 18 and at university. I discovered how much I enjoyed reading when the whole world was quiet and still — and I was astonished by how easily that early start became part of my daily routine.

So what’s your morning routine and is it serving you well? If it’s a rush, it may not be.

Some people throw sleep patterns into the debate and there are various theories. Some say you should always go to bed and get up at the same time; that your body likes things to be regular.

Others say you should trust the biological clock within and sleep for as long as your body wants.

Neither of these is the whole truth. For a start, some days are much more tiring than other days and nothing is achieved by going to bed at 10pm if you’re still lying there wide awake at 11pm.

Our sleep will adjust to our life. But equally, leaving sleep up to the biological clock may result in many of us being horizontal for around 12 to 15 hours a day, which is not necessary.

No, the answer lies in neither and both. The important thing is not to get too hooked up on how many hours of sleep you need. Where did that figure come from anyway?

I was always told I needed ‘a good eight hours’ but I don’t know when I last slept for that long — and have remained happy, active and creative in the meantime.

Some people say: ‘Oh, if I’m to get up at 5am then I must go to bed at 10pm.’ Well, maybe, but only if you’re tired. If you’re not tired till 11pm, stay up until then — but here’s the crunch: still get up when the alarm goes off at 5am. So…

RULE ONE: Listen to the biological clock in the evening and go to sleep when you’re tired.

RULE TWO: Get up when your alarm goes off. (Note for beginners: when starting out on this practice, your body, unused to discipline, will attempt to subvert the process so the alarm clock — and more particularly the snooze button — will need to be beyond easy reach.)

But the big question is this: if I am to gain an hour or two every day, what am I to do with it? One frequent use of the time is exercise.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice used to get up at 4.30am and go straight to the gym. Early mornings are a good time to exercise. Studies have shown that more than 90 per cent of people who exercise regularly do so in the morning when there are no other distractions.

If you plan your exercise for the evening, it’s more liable to get lost amid life’s variables such as a late shift at the office, unexpected visits from friends, family commitments or just sheer exhaustion.

And then there’s breakfast. Many people skip the most important meal of the day not because they aren’t hungry but because they don’t have time.

Studies show that children who eat a good breakfast do better in school because their bodies and minds are not being asked to run on empty.

They’re also less likely to spend the day snacking their way to obesity in order to compensate for the absence of nutrients early in the day. Are there lessons for adults here, too?

‘I’d like mornings better if they started later,’ someone once joked, but I like them as they are.

There are plenty of motivational writers who’ll tell you the early start helps you to get ahead of others and be more productive. This may be so — the brain is wonderfully fresh at that time. But what most defines the dawn watch for me is not competition, but optimism.

‘I’ll tell you how the sun rose a ribbon at a time,’ wrote the poet Emily Dickinson as she watched the first light of day, and we can join her there.

Watching dawn break through the kitchen window really does ‘make light of the day’ whatever it may hold.

In the uninterrupted stillness — people don’t phone, text or email at this time — you hold the new day like you hold a new-born child, wondering what will be.

The peace around you becomes a peace within you and such calm before the storm can leave you calm in the storm if it strikes later on. And amazingly, this game-changing time at the start of the day is free.

Whether we know it or not, we all have a morning routine. The only question is whether it serves us well. If your current pattern leaves you rushed, stressed out or anxious, there’s always 5am and that golden extra hour. The best time of the day? Wake up and give it a try.

In our more-is-better world, it’s easy to get caught in the overtraining trap. But when it comes to your workouts, it pays to do less. We’re certainly not telling anyone to quit exercising, but your workout schedule should have built-in rest days (and even weeks sometimes!). Not convinced? Here are nine reasons why you shouldn’t go to the gym every single day:

1. Your muscles grow when you rest. Lifting weights creates tiny tears in your muscles that can only repair during rest. This repair process is what makes your muscles stronger than before. While it’s important to work your muscles (hard!) to stimulate muscle-building proteins, it’s equally as important to give your body enough time to recover (usually until you’re no longer sore).

2. Overtraining can cause a weight-loss plateau. You know that working out too often or too intensely can lead to too much weight loss, but most people don’t realize that it can also have the opposite effect. Thanks to your body’s built-in protective mechanisms, overtraining can cause a plateau in your weight loss or even weight gain (unrelated to increased muscle mass).

3. Overtraining can mess with your menstrual cycle and cause amenorrhea, the absence of menstruation. Aunt Flo may not be your favorite visitor, but think of your period as the canary in the coal mine. Its presence indicates that your body thinks it’s in good shape to grow a baby and its absence signifies a problem, especially if it disappears for three months or more. The drop in estrogen can also cause premature bone loss, making you even weaker and more susceptible to injury.

4. Trouble sleeping? You might be overtraining. Needing excessive sleep to fuel your workouts or being unable to sleep, even when you’re very tired, are both indicators that something is wrong.

5. Overtraining can cause mood problems. Exercise can be a potent anti-depressant—studies show it works just as well as medication for mild depression. And we can attest to the mood-boosting power of the runner’s high. But too much exercise can have the opposite effect, causing anxiety over workout schedules and depression from being chronically run down.

6. More exercise = bigger appetite. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to notice the link between exercise and hunger. The more you train, the more energy your body needs to sustain that exertion and the hungrier you get. Women often fear that cutting back on their cardio will make them gain weight, but that’s not how it works. Your hunger usually decreases in proportion with your lighter workout schedule, so you won’t feel the need to feed your body nearly as much.

7. You’ll feel exhausted… all the time! We all love the great energy burst we get from an awesome workout, but more exercise does not always mean more energy. If your workouts are regularly making you crash in the afternoon or drag through your day because you’re so tired and sore you can barely move, then you’re doing too much. Listen to your body. If it says, “I’m so sore that I dread sitting down to go the bathroom,” the intense Kettlebell session you have planned is not what it needs.

8. Overtraining often leads to burnout. In the end, life is about balance. We all have limited resources—time, energy, money, physical reserves—and spending too much of them on exercise can lead to burnout. It’s better to commit to a sane program that fits in with your schedule and goals than to go all out and want to quit after one month. Exercise is a lifelong pursuit, and it should make you happy. Find a balance that works for you—your body and your life.

9. It eats up your limited free time. Medical problems aside, hitting the gym for lengthy workouts every day is a big time commitment. It’s important to make time for other quality-of-life boosters too, such as hanging out with friends and family, learning something new, treating yourself to manicure, or even catching up on your secret Real Housewives addiction (don’t worry, we won’t tell).