Yoga is more than just a form of exercise. It is a way to achieve a healthier mind, spirit, and body.
The benefits of doing even just a quick morning yoga routine are numerous. With a morning yoga routine, you can balance your hormones and get a better night’s sleep. You also boost your metabolism while stretching your body out, meaning the wear and tear of the day is less likely to hurt you.
The science is simple. The hormones that regulate our sleep, mood, and metabolism are produced in the glands in our endocrine system. And the breathing and meditation achieved through yoga affect the endocrine system. For instance, yoga helps the body produce the melatonin hormone that regulates sleep. And all of that deep breathing has the energizing effect of coffee without all that harmful caffeine!
Morning yoga stretches are great for people of any age group. Here are the best morning yoga poses that even beginners can do.
Half Sun Salutation
There are a few different ways to do sun salutations. That means you can find a method that best suits your lifestyle and schedule, and each one fits perfectly into a 10-minute morning yoga routine.
But if you’re a true beginner, you might want to start out with the Half Sun Salutation, which does not involved getting down on the floor and getting back up again.
You start out with feet apart and palms together. Next, move your arms out in a sweeping motion and arch your back while looking at the sky. Then you fold forward and bring your nose towards your knees.
Half-lift your torso until it is parallel with the floor. Exhale into a forward fold, pressing your palms toward the floor. Inhale and sweep the arms up to the sky. Exhale and bring your palms back together. Here is a video demonstration.
There are many steps
to this early morning yoga routine, but your body will thank you
later.
Half Lord of the Fishes
Want more of an easy
morning yoga routine? In that case, the half lord of the fishes post
may be what you’re looking for.
You start out
sitting down with your legs outstretched. Next, bend your knees and
put feet on the ground. Afterward, move the left foot under the right
leg and the left outside leg on the ground. Move your right foot over
the left leg to the floor beside your left hip. At this point, your
right knee should be pointing to the sky.
Next, twist towards
your rightmost thigh and put your right hand behind your right
buttocks cheek. Your left arm should be on the outside of the right
thigh close to your knee. You can now pull your torso and right thigh
close to one another.
From here, you must
press the inner right foot into the floor and lengthen your front
toros while releasing your right groin. Lean that torso back and
stretch your tailbone flat into the floor.
Move your head either into or out of the twist. Try to distribute energy evenly throughout your body as you repeat this move.
Chair Pose
The chair pose is
another pose that is good for gentle morning yoga. Start out by
raising arms up and keeping them perpendicular to the floor. Keep
them parallel and bend your knees out over your feet, leaning forward
as if you are sitting in an imaginary chair.
While doing this,
move your shoulder blades back and move your tailbone to the floor to
lengthen your lower back. After 30 seconds, you can release and
repeat or go into another pose.
Wide Leg Forward Fold
The wide leg forward fold is slightly more advanced than the chair pose. But it’s still great for beginners and is great for a 5-minute morning yoga routine.
Start by placing
hands on hips and turning to the left, making sure your feet are wide
apart. Move toes in and heels out until your feet are parallel to the
ground, then make sure your heels are aligned.
Next, lengthen your
torso while stretching your head’s crown upward. Fold forward
starting with your hips. Look behind you by dropping your head down.
Rest hands on the
floor and keep your elbows bent. Move weight to the balls of your
feet and walk your hands further back. Ideally, your fingers will
eventually line up with toes and heels. Bring elbows above your wrist
and then draw quadriceps upward. See if you can move the crown of
your head to the ground and then release after a minute of posing.
Revolved Chair Pose
As you might
imagine, the revolved chair pose is simply a variation on the
original chair pose. It is one of our favorite morning yoga poses.
The beginning works
similar to the regular chair pose. However, you bring your hands
together as if you are in prayer. From here, you twist your upper
body to one side so that you can look at the sky. Keep one bottom
elbow on the opposite knee during the twist and reach the other elbow
towards the sky.
Dancer Pose
Care to unlock your inner dancer? We love the dancer pose as both a standalone exercise and as the beginning to a longer 30-minute morning yoga routine.
Start by lifting
your left heel to the left buttock and your right thigh bone into
your hip joint. Pull your knee up as you stand.
Keep torso upright
and then reach backwards with your left hand to grab your ankle or
foot. Next, lift the left foot up and backwards. Keep your left thigh
parallel to floor and and reach your right arm out, keeping it
parallel as well. You should release after 30 seconds.
Downward Facing Dog
Downward facing dog
is a very iconic yoga pose. And it’s pretty easy to get started!
Start out on your
hands and knees. Put knees under your hips and hands in front of your
shoulders. Spread your palms and begin turning your toes under.
Next, lift your
knees off the floor. With knees bent and heels lifted, lengthen your
tailbone and begin lifting your sitting bones towards the sky.
Then, push your
thighs back and stretch heels towards the ground. Straighten your
knees, firm up the external thighs, and narrow your front pelvis.
Final steps: place
index fingers on the floor and lift up to the apex of your shoulders.
Firm up your shoulder blades and bring them towards your tailbone.
After a minute or two, you should move on to another pose.
Low Lunge
Now that you know
how to do downward facing dog, you can take on the low lunge.
Once you’re in the
downward facing dog position, put the right foot between your hands.
Lower yourself onto the left knee and let your top left foot onto the
ground.
With right knee over
right angle, stretch out your groin and thigh areas. Next, place
fingertips on the ground and relax those shoulders. Slowly place body
weight into your hips while moving your tailbone down.
After no more than five breaths, you can come back to a resting position and do something new.
We hope that these eight poses help start you off on a healthy and invigorating morning yoga routine!