Stretching in the morning, even 5-10 minutes, can vastly improve your quality of life —and science backs this up.
Try out this short, full body yoga warm up video upon waking (suited for beginners to advanced yoga, may be used as a warm up before a more intense practice or as a stand alone AM stretch to get the blood flowing in your body to wake sluggish organs and muscles from lying still all night, as well as to enhance blood flow to the BRAIN to enhance your cognition and clarity, leaving you with a clearer, more energized mind by the end of the video so you can start your day as your absolute best self on both physical and mental levels.
**BONUS: this energy boost is free of nasty stimulant crashes from caffeine or even sugary food. **
**WARNING: do this daily, and you will start to acquire NATURAL energy and may find yourself grabbing your favorite coffee or tea mug less and less as time goes on (sorry about that, I. know it’s hard to part with an awesome mug. To remedy: w put it on your office desk, quite complaining, and meet me on the mat. 🙂**
Furthermore, these benefits, as discussed below, last throughout the day (such as energy, without the coffee crash, how awesome is that?). Here are just a few ways that taking 10 minutes, give or take, upon waking, can improve your days and overall quality of life:
INCREASED ENERGY LEVELS THROUGHOUT THE DAY, WITHOUT A CRASH:
This is due to increased circulation by increasing the blood flow to muscles when you stretch in the morning. Increased blood flow to muscles = more energy in the morning (who doesn’t want that when they wake up dragging? And every other day…). Furthermore, blood flow is also directed to, and increased, in the brain when you stretch …so, this means, no more sluggish mind in the morning but rather one that is refreshed, rejuvenated, sharp and focused. So, stretching in the morning sets your day off on the right foot by increasing physical energy levels and mental energy levels, leaving you with stamina and mental clarity so you can be your best self for the day …all in 10 minutes, give or a take a few? Not bad.
OTHER HEALTH BENEFITS:
Obviously, increased physical and mental energy from such a short amount of time spent stretching each morning topped my list of benefits, considering we are a nation who seems to always be tired and dragging.
However, other benefits include, but are not limited to, better posture, increased flexibility and less stiffness (awesome after a long night of sleep and for those who sit at desks all day for work), and less pain (especially lower back pain, as stretching alleviates and prevents such pain by releasing tension in the spine and muscles surrounding it).
The benefits of yoga are endless, and reach far beyond the physical. If you’re interested in starting yoga, but cannot make it to a class, you can start a home practice. For help safely starting your at home beginners yoga practice, stop by the Awaken 2 Health YouTube channel and subscribe and then hit the bell icon next to the subscribe button to stay in the loop of new free yoga classes and tutorials.
RESOURCES
https://goodrelaxation.com/2012/02/health-benefits-of-stretching-in-the-morning/
https://mollylarkin.com/9-benefits-stretching-morning/
shelleymwhite.wordpress.com 