I am definitely not a morning person and it takes me a few moments before I am able to be a fully-functioning human being. One thing that helps me get a pep in my step is stretching first thing in the morning. Whenever I stretch in the morning, my overall mood and body just feels down right better. Pair my morning stretches with a cup of coffee and I am a whole new person.
By stretching first thing in the morning, you are improving your brain activity, decreasing body aches and pains, and increasing your energy level throughout the day. Because of these benefits, I created a morning stretching routine that helps improve the mobility of all the main joints in your body. Give it a go and your day will be a whole lot brighter.
Head Rolls
Slowly roll your head in a circular motion from shoulder to shoulder 5 times clockwise and 5 times counter clockwise.Â
Cat Cow
Slowly alternate your spine from cat position to cow position. Hold each position for 5 seconds before alternating. Repeat this morning stretch 10 times slowly.
Low Back Gap Stretch
Lay on your back and let your legs rotate the opposite way as your chest and your extended arm. Hold this stretch for 1 minute before switching to the other side.
Downward Dog
While on your hands and feet, keep your knees initially bent to lengthen the spine, taking the hips up and away from you. Then if possible straighten the legs, while maintaining the length in the spine. Hold the stretch for 1 minute.
Quadriceps Stretch
Lay on your side and reach behind your back and pull your foot towards your back to get a stretch in the front of your hips and thigh. Hold this stretch for 1 minute and then turn over to the other side to stretch your other leg.
Spinal Mobility Roll
Finish off your morning stretch routine with some spinal rolls. Â Start by reaching up towards the ceiling. One spinal segment at a time, slowly bend forward towards your feet. Hang down at your feet for 10 seconds then gradually one spinal segment at a time roll your spine up back to the starting position. Repeat this sequence 5 times.
What helps you get out of bed in the morning?
Feature Image via Scout Hunt; Remaining images via Juliann Cheryl
3 comments
This is genius! I wake up for the gym every morning and stretch before I work out, but man, before even starting my day? That’s a game changer! – One thing that’s SURE to get me out of bed, is staggering to the bathroom to turn on my hair straighter and turn on the closet light. For some reason, this just mentally doesn’t allow me to go back to sleep, hahaha.
Love that you don’t have to get out of bed until the last one!
I always do stretches in the morning, but never properly I guess. (I have such a bad habit of cracking my neck and knuckles and basically every bone in my body too) Thank you for the post teaching me exactly how.
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
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