Needing a bit of a refreshing morning yoga practice to activate your body from head to toe. These 7 poses have a nice mix of strengthening and stretching in just a short time.
It’s all levels appropriate and no props are needed.
These poses come from a 10 minute yoga class I shared on YouTube. You can find it down below if you would prefer to press play and simply practice with me.
1. Child’s Pose – Start kneeling. Bring the big toes together and the knees as wide as you like. The wider, the more you will feel it. Walk the hands forward and sink head to the mat. Relax the shoulders. Breathe in and out through the nose.
2. Chest Opener – Lift up to kneeling, bringing the knees hip width distance apart. Bring the fingertips behind you. Bending into the elbows. Squeezing the shoulder blades behind you. Lift the heart up towards the sky in a gentle backbend.
3. Gate Pose – Come to tall kneeling, lifting the hips up. Bring the left foot out to the side. Left foot in line with the knee, in line with the hip. Reach the right arm up and over. Lengthening out through the right side. Pull the low belly in. Roll right shoulder back.
4. Single Leg Stretch Variation – Rotate the right hand down, until both sets of fingertips are in front of you. Rotate the left toes up, keeping the heel down. Press the hips back towards the right heel. Crawl the fingertips forward, and fold down. A bend in the left leg is fine.
5. Cat/Cow Modified – Lift up to table top. Turn the fingertips out to the sides of the mat. Inhale, drop the belly, lift the gaze and curl tailbone up. Exhale to reverse the motion, contracting the spine. Keep the elbows straight. Do about 5 rounds of cat/cow. Try rotating the fingers all the way back to facing the knees. Repeat a few more rounds of cat/cow.
Repeat 3 and 4 on other side.
6. Baby Cobra Activation – Lower down to the belly. Extend the legs back, bringing the feet mat width distance apart. Hover the hands off the mat, with a gentle backbend. Inhale to left the legs up, squeeze the heels together. Open them back out. Then lower the feet down. Repeat 5 times.
7. Lizard Pose – Come to downward dog. Step the left foot outside of the left hand, with a wider stance. Drop the back knee to the mat. Lift the left toes up, roll to the outer edge of the left foot. Let the knee and thigh e heavy. Stay here or add quad stretch. Bending the right knee and kicking the foot up. Reach the left hand back to grab the foot and pull it in. Repeat on other side.
Kassandra
