In our last wellness blog, we spoke about the importance of stretching in the morning to start your day properly. Doing a morning stretch can help get your blood flowing, start your circulation, and warm up your body for the day. If you exercise in the AM, it’s particularly important to begin the day with a stretch, as working out on cold muscles can result in serious injury. 

Even if you’re not about to work out, good stretching can help your body begin to eliminate toxins that built up throughout your night’s sleep. It can also start your metabolism right for the day.

Knowing the importance of stretching is one thing, but it’s also important to know exactly what stretches to do. It’s best to do dynamic stretches at the start of the day, so that your body begins to wake-up and feel energised.  There are some which are particularly effective to do in the morning, and don’t take much time at all.

 

A Morning March: 

Simply standing and marching is a great way to begin blood-flow after you get out of bed. March on the spot, making sure to swing your arms. If you keep your arms straight, that adds and extra stretch through the elbows. Lift your knees up high as you march to stretch your hips and knees. Do this for around 30 seconds, and you should begin to feel energised! 

 

Opening the Chest:

Stand on the spot with your back straight and your legs shoulder width apart. Lift up your arms, so that they’re straight out at your sides (like a star-fish pose). From here, lift up your chest and eyes to the ceiling, If you can, push your shoulders back slightly to feel the stretch in between your shoulder blades. This is a great one, and works best if held for 30 seconds. 

 

A Simple Up-Down: 

Stay in the same posture as the previous pose, but bend your knees slightly. From here, lower your chin to your chest and slowly roll down to the floor. Imagine that you’re moving each vertebrae down individually, going slowly and thoughtfully to the floor. Once you’ve unrolled your whole spine, come back up again. Do this 2-3 times in the morning to make sure the back is stretched out and the blood can flow all over your body. 

These are only three simple stretches to do when you wake up, but they can make a big difference to  your daily routine. Starting off your day correctly is so important. If you can align your posture and kick-start your circulation, you should feel more limber and energised for the day to come!