Morning Stretching Routine

Many of us have the habit of getting up, showering, having breakfast, and running out the door in the morning. But, establishing a healthy morning routine sets the tone for the rest of the day. Something as simple as taking 5 minutes of your time to stretch your body can be very beneficial to your well being. Following a night’s sleep, our muscles have been inactive for a long period of time and they need to be stretched out to increase blood flow and oxygen in the muscle tissue. We propose a few stretches for you to try at home in the morning to start your day right.

Child’s Pose

Start your stretching session with this posture. Stretch your arms in front of you to activate your arms and stretch your shoulders. Take a few deep breaths in this position whilst you’re stretching. Breathing will increase blood flow and oxygenation, waking you up and feeling more energized.

Downward facing dog

Transition from a child’s pose into downward dog. Start off by bending one leg at a time to stretch the calves out and once you feel that you’ve stretched them out sufficiently, then stretch both legs out. Make sure you have a good posture. Take deep breaths in this posture and feel the stretch in your legs and back.

Standing forward bend

Walk your hands towards your feet to end up in a standing forward bend. Depending on your flexibility, you can either have your legs straight or slightly bent. Let your arms hang towards the floor. Bend one leg at a time to get an extra stretch. Breathe deeply and enjoy the stretch.

Vertical standing stretch

Slowly start lifting your upper body, vertebrae by vertebrae until you’re in upright position. Take a few deep breaths in and out whilst reaching your arms up and then down and have one final stretch joining your hands whilst stretching them above you.

Wide-legged forward bend

Make a V position with your legs by opening them up wide (approximately 1 meters distance between them), and slowly bring your upper body to the ground to stretch your back and legs out. Spend some time here stretching your entire body whilst also taking deep breaths.

Vertical standing

Slowly bring your legs together and your upper body up vertebrae by vertebrae. And take one final breath stretching your arms upwards and then bringing them down with the exhale.

This routine is one you can practice anywhere and a great way to stretch your body in the morning to increase energy, vitality and mental clarity. You can of course include more stretches or vary them, but if you’re a beginner, this is a good place to start and then with time you can move your body intuitively.

Ready to give it a try?