5-Min Morning Yoga Routine to Power Your Day

This simple 5-minute yoga sequence is ideal for yogis at any level, from beginners to more advanced. This short series of yoga poses is meant to gradually awaken your entire body. it'll assist you build energy and obtain your blood flowing, increasing the oxygen flow throughout your body and to your brain.

Several of those yoga poses aim to stretch the rear and release the hips, which can relieve tension and prepare your body for activity later within the day.

Finally, this short morning yoga routine also will allow you to attach together with your breath and start your day with mindful awareness.

1. Child’s Pose

Child’s pose may be a posture of rest and luxury and is that the perfect thanks to ease yourself into a morning yoga practice as you awaken . It lengthens the spine and provides your back and shoulders a light stretch. This posture also gently opens the hips and stretches the glutes, which can became tight after spending all night in bed.

This pose also will assist you feel grounded and centered. As you are feeling your forehead resting on the ground , turn your awareness inward and draw your attention to your thoughts. you'll simply notice the standard and pacing of every thought because it arises. Beginning your day with this easy thought awareness technique can help establish a relaxed and mindful approach to your day.

How to do it:

Begin during a kneeling position. Bring your big toes together and separate your knees, leaving space for your belly.

Walk your hands forward and lower your torso to rest between your thighs. Draw your hips back towards your heels as your arms reach forward. Feel your spine lengthen from your tailbone to the crown of your head.

If you experience any discomfort in your shoulders, try a variation together with your arms resting down by your sides instead.

2. Downward Facing Dog

This posture will awaken your entire body! additionally to lengthening the spine and back, Downward Facing Dog also gives your calves and hamstrings an honest stretch. It also engages the muscles of the arms and shoulders and gets some blood flowing to your brain.

How to do it:

From Child’s Pose, reach your hands forward a few more inches, spreading your fingers. Tuck your toes and start to lift your hips. Exhale and slowly straighten your legs. Broaden your shoulder blades and grip your yoga mat together with your fingertips. Keep your ears in between your upper arm bones to take care of the alignment of your head, neck, and spine.

If the stretch in your hamstrings is just too intense for very first thing within the morning, modify your Downward Facing Dog by bending the knees slightly. This modification will help create more length in your spine.

3. Upward Facing Dog

Like its counterpart Downward Dog, Upward Facing Dog helps energize and strengthen your entire body. It engages all the muscles of the arms, and elongates the whole front side of the body. It provides a full body stretch from head to toe, to stimulate blood circulation. This posture also opens the guts , expanding the chest to extend lung capacity.

How to do it:

From Downward Dog, round forward to plank position (top of a pushup). Untuck your toes, placing the tops of your feet on the ground . Engage your quads and glutes as you drop your hips towards the ground . Squeeze the legs together, keeping the thighs lifted.

Widen your collarbones and draw your chest forward. Create length within the spine by reaching the crown of the top up and forwards. Press into your mat firmly together with your hands and draw the shoulders faraway from the ears.

Pull your belly in and up to activate the deepest muscles of your core to avoid lower back compression.

Stay in Upward Facing Dog for a couple of breaths as you are feeling your lungs expand. To exit the pose, tuck your toes and use the strength of your arms, shoulders, and abdominals to keep off to Downward Dog.

4. Low Lunge

Low Lunge, or Anjaneyasana, may be a great posture to try to to within the morning because it offers many benefits for the entire body. It helps strengthen the legs and build energy by firing up your glutes and hamstrings. This pose also stretches the hip, lengthens the hip flexors and stomach.

Adding a small backbend to your low lunge will increase blood flow to your internal organs, and open up the lungs.

How to do it:

From Downward Facing Dog, swing your right leg between your arms and plant your right foot in between your hands.

Untuck your back toes and place the highest of the left foot on your mat. Gently lower your left knee to your mat.

Square off your hips by pulling your right hip back and left hip forward. Allow your hips to sink toward the ground as you bend into your right knee. For safe alignment, make certain that the front knee stays pointing within the same direction because the toes (straight forward).

Inhale and reach your arms overhead. As you exhale, add a mild backbend by lifting your heard to the sky.

Hold your low lunge for a couple of breaths, deepening with each exhale.

To exit the posture, plant your hands on either side of your front foot, and step the leg back to Downward Facing Dog. Switch legs to repeat Low Lunge on the second side (stepping the left foot forward).

5. Lotus Pose

This classic yoga posture may be a good way to finish any yoga sequence. However, it's especially suitable for a morning practice.

Lotus Pose exposes your hips and stretches your ankles and knees for increased range of motion, and may even help improve spinal posture. So, whether you're headed to figure at a desk job or getting to get on your feet, this asana will ready your body for the day ahead.

Often viewed because the ultimate meditative posture, Lotus Pose also will help prepare your mind for whatever awaits you off of your yoga mat. This pose can assist you calm your thoughts and cultivate a grounded, centered feeling.

With this final posture, take the chance to make an intention for your day. Envision a thought or quality you'd wish to incorporate into your lifestyle . Spend a couple of moments imagining how you'll turn your intention into action.

How to do it:

Begin in a simple seated position with the legs crossed. Sit tall and lengthen the spine by reaching the crown of the top toward the sky. Feel your sitting bones rooted to the bottom beneath you.

Take ahold of the proper shin and draw it towards your torso. Place your right foot within the crease of the left hip. Lift the left leg within the same manner and cross it over the proper leg, placing the left foot within the crease of the proper hip.

Widen the collarbones and draw the shoulders faraway from the ears. Place each hand mid-thigh, palms up to receive energy, or palms right down to feel grounded.

Stay in quiet contemplation in your Lotus Pose, breathing with intention for a minimum of one minute. When you’re able to exit, uncross your legs slowly and gently, being mindful of the knee joints.