Let’s face it, life is busy. It’s easy to get frazzled, overwhelmed, and lose our inner zen in the midst of all the chaos. Time for self-care can also seem totally out of reach. Between the balancing act of work life, home, life, and everything in between, time for self-care may just seem impossible. But, we have a solution if you feel like your inner peace is quickly slipping away. Enter a morning yoga practice. Getting some yoga in on the reg is an amazing way to not only take care of your mental and spiritual health, but your physical health as well. And, you don’t need to commit to a long practice. Even just a few morning yoga poses per day can help promote that inner peace we all need to dominate each day.
Want in? We’re sharing our top five fav morning yoga poses for all day zen you can do before the craziness of the day begins.
So, when that alarm clock goes off, instead of feeling frazzled, grab your yoga mat, get some essential oils diffusing, and do these five relaxing morning yoga poses. It may be exactly what you need to set the tone for a calmer day.
The 5 Morning Yoga Power Poses We Could All Use For A Calmer Day
#1 Head to Knee Forward Bend
Here’s a great morning yoga pose that can help loosen up tight muscles, and just start your day in a relaxing and zen way. All you need to do is sit on your yoga mat with your legs extended out in front of you. Inhale, extending your arms up, and then exhale, extending them and stretching out to touch your toes. If you can’t reach that far, you do you, girl. Stretch as far as you can, and take four deep breaths in this pose.
#2 Cat/Cow Pose
A little cat/cow makes the perfect morning yoga pose to help stretch out tight back, shoulder, and neck muscles. Get onto all fours on your yoga mat, starting with a flat back. Have your hips aligned with your knees, and take a deep breath. As you breathe in, lift your back up (almost to form a hump). Drop your head down, relaxing all the muscles in your neck. This is cat pose. Now take that deep breath, and blow it all out as you go into cow, arching your back, and lifting your head up. Do this for one minute.
#3 Downward Facing Dog
Here’s a yoga classic, and one that most of us are familiar with. It’s great for stretching, but also for strengthening. So do five downward dogs as part of your morning yoga routine to kickstart the day.
#4 Standing Forward Bend
Here’s another morning yoga pose that can help you stretch out tight muscles, while also waking up the body and get the blood flowing. Simply stand on your mat, and slowly go down into a forward bend. Fold your arms, and gently shake your head “no” to loosen up those tight neck muscles. Hold this for a minute, and then very slowly come back up to prevent feeling dizzy.
#5 Child’s Pose
End your quick morning yoga routine by sitting in child’s pose for two minutes. Child’s pose is such a great way to help open up the hips, while also focusing on breathing in all the calm and breathing out all the tension! Relax here for longer, if needed. If you’re not familiar with child’s pose, all you have to do is sit on your knees on your yoga mat. Lower your torso between your knees and extend your arms forward. Relax your shoulders, and just breathe!
Morning Yoga is Always a Good Idea
Starting your day with some morning yoga is always a good idea. Not only is it great for your physical health, but it can also help you feel more grounded, and set the tone for a calmer, more productive day. Kickstart your morning with these five power yoga poses. Combine all five, and repeat three times for a mini yoga sequence that will have you finding your inner peace that can last all-day long.
