Refresh Your Morning Routine

[MUSIC PLAYING]

You've just gotten up, so move slowly and mindfully. Turn your pillow so that it just supports your neck. Let the shoulders just rest easily, and we're going to hug the knee into the chest. Now as you hug the knee in, you might want to just pull it over slightly towards your shoulder. Wrap the hands around the front of the knee. See if you can time this with your breath. Being aware as you're breathing and you're moving. One more time. And then we'll transition into our next move. So we're going to do some leg circles. Lift your legs straight up in the air and make soft circles, small circles. We're going to do an even number in each direction. And if the knee doesn't straighten all the way, that's not a problem at all. The shoulders stay anchored, and the hips stay anchored. So again, we repeat this move on both sides, and also in both directions. The face still remaining soft, the throat soft, the eyes soft.

Moving into some spinal twists now, anchor the shoulders, have your feet hip-width and knees bent. You can then just gently roll the knees to each side. If the knees don't reach all the way to the bed, don't worry about it. We're just looking to twist the spine and wake up the body. Do an even number of repetitions to each side. To come out, bend both knees, roll to your side, and lift yourself up. Writing down your intention can help you remember and focus as you move through your day. It can be as simple as, today, I'm just going to breathe.

Be mindful as you drink whatever that first sip is, and perhaps carrying that mindfulness into the rest of the day. Something else to try for is to think of things that, well, that you're grateful for. Again, writing them down will help us focus and remember.

Moving into a few easy yoga moves to start the day. Stepping back into a Half-Downward Facing Dog, the hands anchored onto a couch or any kind of a support where you can create some length to the spine without any kind of stress on the shoulders or the arms. Coming onto all fours now, feel free to put some extra padding under the knees. This is called Puppy Pose, the chest extending towards the floor and the arm stretched long in front of you.

We're going to come into a very easy Bridge pose at this point. So we're going to turn, [? lie ?] on your back. The knees remain bent. Bring your knees close to your hips as you can, lift your hips and place a book or if you've got one, a yoga block underneath the sacrum.

Rolling to the side, lift up and come to standing. So we're going to try and create a little more energy now as we come into the rest of our day. So stretching to the side, you'll have one foot crossed in front of the other. The front knee will remain bent to help create balance. We will repeat on both sides, inhale as you lift, and exhale as you stretch to the side. From here, we're going to come back to that seated position. Mind your intention. And perhaps just let the eyes remain closed for a few moments. Let the breath again, be soft and easy. And considering that perhaps, what are you grateful for today?