5 Morning Yoga Postures to Begin Your Day
Do you realize that each morning offers endless possibilities for you as a fresh start of 24 hours? Yet, with the everyday stresses that life inevitably brings, sometimes a good night’s sleep just isn’t enough to start your day off on the right foot…until you start to incorporate some morning yoga!
Besides the obvious benefits of a more flexible, strong body and peace of mind, yoga can help make you feel more rested and energized. A combination of meditation and exercise, the word yoga itself is from Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language, and refers to the union of mind and spirit.
Starting your day with the following five easy yoga poses that encourage mindful breathing and gentle movement is a great way to slowly wake up, and experience more ease and joy throughout the day and even well into the night.
Here are 5 simple morning yoga postures to start your day with more ease:
- Child's Pose
- Cat/Cow Pose
- Warrior 1
- Warrior 2
- Tree Pose
Try to hold each pose for 30 secs -1 min. Try doing 2-4 rounds.
Child’s Pose
From a kneeling position, bring your chest down onto your thighs and your forehead to the floor. Lengthen your arms to your side with your hands next to your feet, or stack your hands underneath your forehead, whichever you feel more comfortable with.
Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose and notice the back of your chest expand and your ribs widen. As you exhale through your nose, see if you can sink your buttocks back down toward your heels as you feel your spine gently curve over your thighs.
Cat/Cow Pose
Move into a tabletop position – you’ll be on all fours, with your wrists directly beneath your shoulders and your knees beneath your hips. Press your palms into the mat to ensure your shoulder blades stay broad.
While gazing up at the ceiling, drop your back down toward the floor as you inhale. Then, while looking down at your belly button, arch your back up like a cat and exhale. Try to keep the inner side of your elbows facing each other the entire time to protect the joint from hyperextension.
Warrior One
Start by standing up straight. Move into a lunging position, stepping your left leg back 3.5-4 feet. Bend your right knee so that it’s directly above your ankle, and turn your left foot in slightly. Raise your arms directly above you and look up. This yoga pose stretches the back and the lower body. Repeat, reversing leg positions.
Warrior Two
You can get into this position from Warrior One by holding your arms out to the side with your head looking forward, and turning the back foot out so that it’s at a 90-degree angle. Warriors One and Two are both positions that stimulate strength and power.
Tree Pose
This is a standing yoga pose that works on balance and focuses on the mind. To get into Tree Pose, stand straight and then shift your weight to the right foot, bringing the sole of your left foot up to your right inner thigh. If you can’t balance with your left foot on the thigh, try moving your foot down on the calf instead. Don’t put your foot on the knee. Hold your hands together in a prayer position over the chest. Try to hold this pose for a minute and then switch to the other leg.
Yoga can be practiced at any time of the day for however long you wish but practicing a few yoga poses in the morning is a wonderful way to energize your body and mind, and prepare for the day ahead.
If you want to incorporate a few more poses, here's a short 10-minute video on a morning yoga routine.
