Basic Yoga Stretches To Include In Your Morning Routine

Morning stretches, when practiced daily, can increase your energy levels for the day while doing wonders for your self-esteem.

Some of the basic yoga stretches include

Warrior 1 or Virabhadrasana 1

It increases the flexibility of the hips confidence and energizes the whole body by strengthening the shoulders, arms, ankles, lungs, and dramatically improves blood circulation.

How To Do:

• To get into this pose, you need to adopt a semi-kneeling position with your left leg while your right leg moves towards the back.
• Then stand up quickly, breathe in and then repeat
• While doing the above procedure, keep your hands stretched towards the sky in a straight line.
• When doing this, monitor your breathing; lift your hands towards the sky when you inhale and bring them down on your exhale.
• Repeat this with the right leg while the left leg moves towards the back.

Triangle Pose

This pose is useful if you want to reinforce your knees, quads, and ankles. This stretching routine is also suitable for strengthening your shoulders, spine, chest, and hips. It is also fondly known as a standing pose

How To Do:

• Raise your arm so that they are in a straight line with the ground and let the tips of your hand be facing down while standing on the much longer part of your yoga mat.
• Then, face your right foot and angle it to the front of your mat, with the left foot at an angle of 90 degrees to the right foot.
• Take a deep breath and elongate your stomach, making sure it comes out above the right leg, then bend from the hip. Turn your stomach to the left while resting your right hand on your lower leg.
• Now, adopt a pose like you are reaching towards the sky with your left hand while keeping your shoulders in one line; your shoulders should be in a neutral position, and you should visually focus on your left hand.
• Repeat the procedure on the other side. If reaching the floor is a bit challenging, you can use a block instead of using the floor.

Seated Forward Bend

You can use this to achieve more flexible muscles and a healthy spine. Seated forward bend is done while sitting on the floor to avoid a head rush.

How To Do:

• Seat with a mat with your legs straightened before you, place your hands on the ground by your hips and press your heels forward and descend your thighs into the floor.
• Take a deep breath. As you breathe out (exhale), lean forward from the hip joints. If possible, grab your big toes. Do not force your body to go too far
• If you need added support for this pose, fold a blanket under your buttocks. If your muscles are tight, roll up a blanket and place it under your knees.

Child Pose

It is a restorative pose that is good for stretching the pelvis, thighs, hips, and spine, which can be tight in the morning. Child pose also calms the brain and an adequate relief for stress and fatigue.

A yoga mat is suitable for this pose, but in cases of unavailability of the yoga mat, a rug or carpet can cushion the knees. It is also an awesome glute, Maximus, piriformis, and hamstring strengthener.

How To Do:

• Stay in a crouching position with your knees directly under your hips and the big toes
  of your feet in contact with each other.
• Inhale and elongate your spine
• Exhale, then move your butt back to your heels and tuck your chin to your chest.
• Adopt a pose so your foreheads are touching the ground and your arms are stretched out
• Make sure to keep this pose for at least 5 seconds

Cat-Cow Pose

This is a good wake-up pose that helps you go into the rest of the day. It can increase the spinal fluid circulation, stretch the back, lubricate the spine and gently massage the abdominal organs.

How To Do:

• From the pose, push up into all fours with your leg flat and with your shoulders placed above your hands, then also place your hips above your knees.
• As you breathe in, release muscle tension from your stomach, curve your back so that it forms a semi-circle but make sure to keep your upper back rolled back and down. Tilt your face up a bit to the sky. (Cow)
• As you breathe out, put your weight on your hands and place them evenly on the ground, then make your upper back rounded (Cat).
• Keep moving, arching whenever you inhale, and rounding your upper back on your exhales.

One-Legged Dog

This pose is an early morning stretch that opens up your side body and hips and calms the mind while developing confidence. It stretches the muscles, body, hip flexors and strengthens the arm.

How To Do:

• Start in a downward dog pose and be sure you are grounding fully and pressing into both hands evenly and take a deep breath, lifting your right leg as you do.
• When your leg is as high as you can comfortably get it while keeping your hips level with the ground, breath out and let your right leg bent with your heel moving towards your butt
• Then turn so that you can open your right side of your body.
• Exhale twice. Take time to let your hip and side open.
• Straighten the right leg as you square your hips back towards the mat and gently take it back to the mat as you exhale.

Downward Dog

This is one of the most common and excellent morning stretches. It will open up the muscles, shoulders, hip flexors, calves as well as the arches of the feet.

Downward dog increases blood flow to the brain by bending so that your heart is over your head. It can also be therapeutic for sciatica

How To Do:

• Start on a tabletop position with your hands under your shoulders and knees beneath your hips.
• Breath in and breath out and lift your knees off the floor, pushing your butts towards the ceiling
• Touch your heels to the floor and straighten your knees as much as possible without locking them up
• Next press through your fingertips and keep your head between your arms, then switch sides.
• If you experience any difficulty opening your shoulders, raise your hands on a chair or block.