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This 10-minute morning yoga routine incorporates as many types of movements as possible before you begin your day. It’s a balance of strengthening, stretching, and balancing in a short amount of time.
The following practice helps you work through different essential spinal movements, including a little spinal twisting, some flexion and extension, as well as lateral flexion or side bending in standing poses. You’ll also work on lower body strength by adding movement to some poses (but without requiring too much balancing, which could be tricky first thing in the morning). And then finally you’ll take some seated hip openers before closing your 10-minute morning yoga routine with a moment of silence to help you focus your day.
10-Minute Morning Yoga to Move You in All the Ways Your Body Needs
This class is suitable for all experience levels. If you’re a beginner, you have options and variations so that you can modulate the intensity as much as much as possible.
Staff Pose
Sit with your legs straight in front of you to stretch through the backs of your legs. Flex your feet and think of curling the toes back toward you so you’re getting a stretch along the ankles, calves, and hamstrings. Have your arms at your sides with your palms pressing into the mat or blocks to lift and lengthen from your tailbone to your head in Staff Pose.
Seated Twist (Half Lord of the Fishes)
Bend your right knee and step your right foot over your left thigh, placing your foot on the mat and hugging your knee toward your chest with the help of your left arm. Bring your right hand behind you and press into your fingertips to lift and lengthen through the spine. Twist open toward the right, drawing your right shoulder back, in Half Lord of the Fishes. Keep squeezing and hugging your right knee toward your chest, drawing your lower belly in and up, without slouching or rounding your back.
Cat-Cow
Come onto hands and knees with your palms underneath your shoulders, knees underneath your hips. As you inhale, lower your belly and lift your gaze in Cow Pose.
As you exhale, reverse this motion to round your back, contract your core, and release your head and neck in Cat Pose. Keep going in and out of those two poses. We started with some spinal rotation. Now we’re going through spinal flexion and extension, which is really great to do first thing in the morning.
You’re trying to match the movement with the flow of your breath, so when you inhale, you find a nice stretch and expansion through the front of the body, and as you exhale, you round and contract. Come back to a neutral Tabletop.
Plank Pose
Walk your hands out in front of you, a little past your shoulders, tuck your toes, and find Plank Pose by lifting your knees and hovering. Draw your lower belly in and remain strong through your upper arms.
Downward-Facing Dog Pose
As you exhale, lift your hips up and back into Downward-Facing Dog. Bend your knees as much as you would like. I usually peddle my feet by bending one knee and straightening the opposite leg, and then switching sides. Relax your neck.
Rag Doll (Standing Forward Bend)
Walk your feet to the top of the mat and find a rag doll forward bend. You can widen your feet here, bend your knees generously, and let your upper body drape over your thighs. Maybe you hold on to your opposite elbows or upper arms, swaying a little side to side.
Mountain Pose
Release your hands to the mat, bend your knees even more, and push into your heels as you slowly come all the way to standing in Mountain Pose (Tadasana).
Goddess Squats
Open your legs wide and face the longer edge of the mat with your heels in, toes out. You’re going to inhale, circle your arms wide, and then bring your hands together at your heart as you sink down into this low, deep squat, squeezing your knees open. Inhale, straighten your legs, and reach up, and exhale, bend your knees, and squeeze. Do that twice more.
Standing Side Body Stretch
Go ahead and lift yourself all the way up, grab hold of your left wrist with your right hand, and find a little side bend for a big side body stretch. Then come back to center and switch sides.
Low Lunge to Leaning High Lunge
Step your left foot back, bend your front knee, and come into High Lunge. Lower your back knee to the mat as you reach your arms up in Low Lunge.
Then lift up and lean forward, extending your arms back alongside your body. So you’re going to come in and out of those two poses. Tap your knee down, arms reach up, and then lift and tilt, working the quads. Let’s do 3 more like this and then step your right foot back, making sure you have your feet hip-distance apart.
Upward Salute
Push off your back foot and come to standing at the front of the mat. Lift your arms, palms come together to touch in Upward Salute.
Rag Doll (Standing Forward Bend)
Exhale as you fold forward and bring your hands to the mat. You can absolutely bend your knees on the way down here.
Plank Pose
Lift halfway with a back, lengthen your spine, and then plant your palms on the mat and step back and find Plank Pose again.
Sphinx Pose
Lower all the way down to your belly, slide your forearms in front of you, and come up into Sphinx Pose. Roll your shoulders back, push the pubic bone into the mat, press the tops of the feet into the mat, and open across the chest.
Child’s Pose
Release into a Child’s Pose by bringing your toes together and taking your knees as wide as you would like. Press your hips toward your heels and release your forehead to the mat.
Bound Angle Pose (Butterfly)
Lift your chest and bring your legs in front of you, soles of your feet together, knees apart. Lean forward and let your spine naturally round in a passive forward fold. You’re not pushing or pulling or forcing your way into a deeper pose than you’re ready for, especially first thing in the morning. Let your palms face up and let gravity take you toward your edge in this pose. Can you relax your neck a little bit more, maybe even softening through the jaw.
Seated Neck Stretches
Push your hands into the floor to slowly come all the way up and sit cross-legged or any way that is comfortable for you. Before we close our practice, let’s just do a few half circles with our head. So lower one ear to one shoulder and just trace a half circle as you bring your chin to your chest and then take the other ear to the other shoulder, letting go of any tension through your neck, nice and slow.
Take about one more neck stretch in each direction and bring your head back up to center. Close your eyes and pause here. I don’t do Savasana in these short morning classes but I do allow time to set an intention for your day, maybe choosing one word that captures how you want to feel or what’s important to you today. Pause and focus on that as long as you’re able.
Thank you so much everyone for doing this short 10-minute morning yoga flow with me.
