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Stretching in the morning is proven to be one of the best things to do for your body. You don’t have to be a professional gymnast to limber up your muscles or be doing the splits right out of bed.
Simple morning yoga poses even for beginners can help you be more productive, feel more alert and aware plus it’s great for your muscles! Morning yoga is proven to help with anxiety and depression, too.
Morning yoga can aid in clearing your mind so you start the day fresh and without any of yesterday’s worries tagging along as you begin your morning.
Any type of exercise is great for your body, but one cool benefit of yoga is that it benefits your mind too. Many people carry the stressors of the previous day onto the next making getting up much more taxing than it needs to be.
Studies have shown that beginning your day with movement helps wash away any fogginess your brain may have right when you wake up. Many people do not get the recommended amount of sleep each night. A good way to counterbalance it is light morning yoga to get the juices flowing in your body and mind.
Overnight, your muscles and joints develop a soft fluid between the two from lack of movement. This is completely normal and is why when you first wake up the instinct is to stretch your arms high up and relieve the fluid.
Not stretching in the morning is the main cause for stiff muscles or pain later due to the flight fluid remaining between your muscles and joints. Morning yoga poses will aid in removing this fluid and fighting off stiff muscles and joints.
Morning yoga can act as another alternative for coffee. If you’re trying to decrease the amount of caffeine you intake in the mornings, using yoga as a way to jumpstart your body and brain is a great alternative.
What are the best yoga poses for the earlier part of the day?
Easy Seated Twist Pose – This pose is great for beginners looking to start morning yoga as an addition to their routine. This can be done right in bed or you can move to your yoga mat/designated workout area.
Start by sitting straight up with your legs crisscrossed. Relax your arms and set them on your sides, breathing for a few moments. Gently twist your torso placing your right arm on your leg thigh with your left hand back behind you. Ensure your hips and down not move.
This is only supposed to help loosen up your back and upper torso. This isn’t supposed to hurt so don’t overstretch!
Cat-Cow Pose – This is another great pose to open up your back and shoulders.
For this, you may have to get on the floor depending on your balance but it can be successfully done on the bed as well.
This pose is used often in yoga and can be for both warm-ups and cooldowns. Start on all fours making sure your shoulders and knees are beneath your hips. Inhale and arch down towards the floor shoulders away from your ears.
You want to exhale and curve your spine up acting like a cat when it’s about to strike. Do this four or six times matching your breathing with the positions. This will stretch both your back and shoulder muscles out.
These are the other morning yoga poses you can do mid-morning.
Dancer pose – This needs to be done on the floor as balance is required. Dancer pose is a good transition from warm-up poses to help stretch out your full body and get your blood pumping.
Center your balance and stand on the floor then slowly lift your left leg grabbing your ankle with your left hand. Do this move slowly if you’re new! You want to keep your balance which will shift once you’re standing on one leg.
Take your right arm all the way up and breathe. Don’t overstretch your leg or shoulder. This will open up your chest, back, and hips.
Twisted Chair Pose – Another great pose to help open your body up and get your muscles warmed up for the day. Start standing with your legs and feet close together. Drop your hips straight down as you bend your knees slowly. It will be like you’re in slow motion sitting in a chair.
Place your hands together fingers straight and parallel with each other in front of your chest twisting your torso to put your right knee on the other side of your left. This is a great pose if you have a lot of tightness in your lower and middle back. It works the muscles open without straining or pushing them too far beyond the natural limit.
Crescent Lunge Pose – This pose puts a little more workout in the morning yoga pose routine by lifting your heartrate and requiring a bit more leg and core strength to hold. For this you want to start in downward dog pose then step your right foot out leaving your left behind putting yourself in a deep lunge.
Keep your hips forward and even while balancing on the ball of your foot ensuring your weight is even. Hold the pose for fifteen to thirty seconds and focus on breathing. After your time is up on one side switch to the next. You can always deepen the stretch by lowering your hips more each time to strengthen your muscles and increase flexibility over time.
Morning yoga is a great addition to your morning routine. If you feel like it takes a whole hour to become mentally aware doing these stretches and clearing your mind might work better than that second cup of coffee.
Yoga is great for your mind, your body, and your overall health. It can strengthen muscles and act as a preventative measure against joint or muscle pain as you grow older. For beginners, take it slow and focus on poses that help you stretch before getting a start to your day.
