Morning Stretches to

Wake You Up

Why is it important to perform morning stretches? Starting the day with movement increases the blood flow to the muscles and lengthens them. Morning stretches don’t have to be complicated and they have a powerful effect on your body and mind. It’s a great way to walk into your day.

The Stretches

1. Shoulder Roll (to release tension in the neck and shoulders)

2. Side Body Stretch (to elevate heart rate by raising arms over heart and expanding lungs in order to breathe more efficiently throughout the day)

Technique: Stand with feet shoulder width distance apart. Raise arms over head and cross thumbs, fanning fingers apart. Breathe while reaching tall.

3. Cat/Cow (to dispel fluid in the spine which comes to us over night)

Technique:Come to hands and knees on the ground. Raise tailbone and eyes up to the sky sinking belly to floor. Reverse raising center of spine up to sky while chin tucks into chest and tailbone tucks in toward belly.

4. Bending Right and Left Knee in Downward Dog (stretching the entire back body)

Technique:From Cat/Cow above, lift knees off floor so tailbone becomes your center of gravity. Stretch one leg straight, then the other.

Why do our bodies feel different at different times of day?

Our bodies are full of different rhythms throughout the day—times when they’re active and inactive. Studies have shown that:

1) Our spine is a better shock absorber in the morning than the evening, while the strength of your back muscles increases as the day progresses.

2) Our joints are stiffest early in the morning and most flexible late in the afternoon

3) Our airways are open to the fullest extent mid-afternoon.

So, from these examples it looks as if people’s bodies (physiologically speaking) are most efficient in the afternoon. But studies also show that people who are active in the morning have been found to perform equally well in the morning and afternoon.