GOOD MORNING YOGA😊

Do we really need to stretch right away in the morning??

Lying still all night is the same as sitting for too long, it causes our muscles to tighten up. Pain and stiffness are indicators, “YELLOW LIGHTS” that tell us we are in need of stretching. Ever notice how your dog or cat instinctively gets up and go right into a stretch??? Animals listen to their bodies better than we do.

Morning stretches wake up your muscles and start your blood flowing, producing synovial fluid lubricating your joints. It is the “COFFEE” to your physical framework of the body. Morning stretches also affect your flexibility for your day, increasing your mobility and helping your focus for the day. Morning stretches can also cause you to take deeper breaths, pumping more oxygen into your body. More oxygen means more energy, and all this before you have consumed your daily caffeine.

These are easy poses that can be done while the coffee is brewing, or while you are sitting down drinking coffee. They can be adjusted to be done right in your bed.

CAT and COW

Seated position, for CAT, push your spine back to create the letter C. Drop your head while holding your knees for leverage in the stretch. You should feel your whole spine, especially the thoracic spine and lower neck stretching.

COW is the next pose in which you place your hands behind you, fingers facing away from you. Lift your chest and chin to the ceiling. The closer you can get your little fingers to touch to more stretch of the front pectoralis muscles you will get. This is a modified cow from most classes but is safer for the neck/trapezium muscles.

LEAN OVER

Seated position as you begin to lean over to the left side so that the forearm is on the floor or block. The up arm (right) stretches up and over at the same time. Do not bend the elbow, instead engage the whole arm as if attached to a yardstick. The stretch is all through the ribs to the top of the hip bone (crest bone). Imagine as you breathe, expanding your ribs with pure oxygen and energy😊

For an additional challenging stretch allow the forearm to go to the floor rather than block while keeping both arms straight with no bend. Also, keep the up-arm side, butt cheek down on the floor, as it may want to lift up.

TWISTS

In a seated position twist to your right looking over your shoulder. Use the left hand on the right knee, while the right arm is straight (no bend) behind you. SPINE is STRAIGHT up and down, not leaning back. Adjust your twist until you find your sweet spot, and as a bonus, your spine pops.

For an additional stretch, put your legs in a cow face pose. That is when your thighs cross over each other and your shins shoot out sideways (east to west) See the picture for better detail. This pose in a twist not only stretches your low back but the glute muscles in your butt as well.

So here is to your morning tomorrow. Make every day great

Yoga Mom Kimberly

Wellness Yoga