Wake up with yoga

Learning to let go of moments that have passed is fundamental to keep you motivated and focused on your goals (if you were to have some). I believe everyone at some point in their lives has looked at yoga as a hippie practice that looks weird and doesn't really have an effect. Well, finding ways to weave meditation, and a simple yoga routine into your daily life actually has massive amounts of benefits. From my personal experience, it has given me better concentration, better sleep quality, less anxiety and it has taught me to listen to my body and others around me. 

I am in no way a certified yoga instructor, but I am simply sharing my personal tips and tricks that I've picked up during my 3 and a half years of practice. 

This is a few poses you can do in order to wake yourself and your body up, before going on with your day. As you can tell, they are all possible to do even if you haven't left the bed. Which for most of us the ideal place to do it when its still dark and cold outside. 

LET'S GET STARTED!

☝ Starting your day off with a few minutes of meditation, can have such an effective and wonderful effect in order to set yourself up for a good day. We have both written a lot about meditation in other articles, so be sure to have a look at one of those, if you would like to learn more about meditation and mindfulness (check out the search bar on the bottom of the page). 

☝Here are a few poses that you can try, in order to gently stretch and wake up your body (click on the right side of the image to see the next photo).

☝ Cow pose: Tuck your toes. Inhale and bend your back to the ground and look up. Hold for 30 seconds. 

☝Cat pose: Exhale and push your back towards the sky using your whole body. Pushing each vertebra at a time. Moving slowly. 

☝Child's pose (variation): Untuck you toes and rest your forehead on the ground. Hold for 30 seconds to a few minutes. It is calming for the mind and body, elongates the lower back and opened up the hips.

☝Sit with your leg crossed, back straight, shoulders down and head up. Move your arms over your head like in the photo. Remember to keep your shoulders down. 

Now put one arm on your knee and the other one behind you, look over your shoulder. Repeat on both sides for about 30 seconds to one minute. 

 INHALE & EXHALE 

Hopefully, you like this yoga sequence and can start 2018 off with a better morning routine.  Remember that practice makes you better and more flexible every time!