Ever wonder how some folks are “morning people” and they just are awake, alert and ready to go first thing in the morning? Yeah, those people make me sick too, LOL! But seriously though, people who are energetic in the morning tend to get a lot more accomplished during the day and it usually starts with some sort of morning ritual or routine. yoga
Here, we use yoga to not only energize the body, but it sets your breathing right to feed more oxygen to the brain, stretches your muscles so you can be ready to move, and gets your blood circulation going for that boost you need in the second half of your day. Take a look at the top 5 poses you should try this morning:
1. Side Plank Pose (Vasisthasana)
Un-flip your Dog and roll your heels to the right. Shift your weight into your right hand and the outer edge of your right foot.
Stack your left foot on top of your right.
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Fire up your thigh muscles; press your feet and hand down as you lift your hips.
Extend your left arm to the ceiling. (If this is too intense, you can lower your bottom knee to the floor.)
Return to Downward Dog and repeat on the left.
2. Cat/Cow Pose (Bidalasana)
Move into a tabletop position with the wrists directly beneath the shoulders and the knees beneath the hips.
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Press the palms into the mat to ensure your shoulder blades are broad.
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As you inhale, look forward, or up if it’s comfortable for your neck, reaching the tailbone toward the sky.
Exhale as you tuck the chin to the chest and reach the tailbone to the floor.
Continue through this movement, allowing the breath to lead and feeling the entire spine being massaged.
Try to keep the creases of the elbows facing each other the entire time to protect the joint from hyperextension.
3. Downward Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
Take the palms a little wider than shoulder width, tuck the toes and lift the hips into the air. The chest moves back toward the thighs with the head relaxed and arms straight.
Roll the shoulders away from the ears, keep the knees bent and start to walk one heel down at a time.
Remember: it’s more important to keep the hips high than to get the soles of the feet to the ground. Do another five to 10 breaths here.
4. Knee-to-Nose Pose
From Downward-Facing Dog Pose, lift your right leg up high behind you, then round your spine as you draw knee to chest.
Keep your pelvis low and round your upper spine toward the sky.
Hug your right thigh to your chest and your knee to your nose.
Keep pressing the floor with your hands.
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Return to Downward Dog and then repeat with the left leg. Incorporate another five breaths here.
5. Standing Forward Bend Pose (Uttanasana)
Walk your feet toward the hands and let the upper body hang. The neck and head are relaxed, the knees bent to start with.
If there’s no tension in your lower back, you can start to straighten your legs. As you inhale find length through the spine, exhale and the head moves slowly towards the feet.
You may feel a little bit like a jellyfish, but trust me, your hamstrings don’t care how silly you look. Add 10 breaths here.
