The 10 most effective yoga postures to start the day with energy.
Wake up with energy and balance every day! Discover Jivamukti's 'The Magic Ten' series which includes 10 yoga poses to start your day with vitality and energy. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced yogi, these asanas will help you awaken your body, calm your mind and fill you with energy to face any challenge that comes your way during the day. You can also use this sequence as a warm-up for your yoga practice.
Yoga not only strengthens your muscles and increases your flexibility, but also helps to improve your concentration and emotional balance. Therefore, practising yoga in the morning can help you maintain a positive mood throughout the day.
Wake up, breathe and get ready for a day full of energy and vitality!
Introduce a daily yoga routine and improve your day
The way we start our day can have a significant impact on our energy and mood. There are several things we can do to get off to a good start. These include getting a good night's rest, avoiding delaying the alarm clock, drinking water, eating a good breakfast or introducing a daily yoga routine when we wake up.
Top 10 yoga poses for your new yoga routine at home
1. Adho Mukha Svanasana: Adho Mukha Svanasana: Stand on your knees and hands and from here exhale into Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog). Stay here for 10 breaths. Remember to press your palms into the floor, lengthen your back, rotate your shoulders outwards. The sitting bones push towards the sky and the heels press towards the floor. Feet are apart and parallel to each other.
2. Variation of Uttanasana: Walk your feet towards your hands without moving your hands off the floor. Stand about 20 cm away from your hands. Stretch legs and arms completely. Place blocks under the hands if needed. Drop your head and stay for 10 breaths in this uttanasana variation.
3. Malasana: Spread your feet mat with apart and open your feet 45° outwards. Bend your knees and place your elbows inside your knees with your palms together in front of your chest. Press your knees out with your elbows and your elbows in with your knees. Stretch your back, gaze straight ahead. Stay in this posture for 10 breaths. If it is too intense, you can sit on one or two blocks.
4. Teepee Twist: Sit with your knees bent (note where your knees are and bend your knees and place your feet at that height). Hug your legs with your left arm. Straighten your back and twist to the right. Twist from the waist and place your right hand behind your back. Your gaze goes backwards. Open the chest. Hold for 5 breaths here and then switch sides for 5 more breaths. Sit on a yoga blanket if it helps to keep your back straighter.
5. Ardha Matsyendrasana (Twist): Straighten the left leg, bend the right knee and place the right foot outside the left knee. Raise left arm and twist from waist to right side. Place left elbow outside right knee and press elbow to knee and knee to elbow. Right hand goes behind the back. Chest open and gaze is directed backwards. Hold for 5 breaths and change sides. You can also sit on a yoga blanket if it helps to keep your back straighter.
6. Table Top: Bend your knees and place your feet where your knees were with your legs straight. Place your hands about 20 cm behind your back with your fingers pointing towards your feet. Press the palms and soles of your feet into the floor to raise your hips until they are in line with your shoulders and knees. You can drop your head back if it is comfortable. Don't let your hips drop and your knees open outwards! Hold here for 10 breaths. To exit, chin to chest and lower hips to the floor.
7. Adho Mukha Vrksasana: Place your hands about 7 cm from the wall, leave one foot on the floor and with the other leg push yourself to bring both feet up to the wall. You can do this without a wall if it is in your practice. Drop your head and try to hold for 25 breaths here. Press your palms into the floor, shoulders away from your ears. To come out, lower your feet to the floor and go up vertebra by vertebra with your back rounded until you are standing.
8. Standing Posture Alignment: Stand in front of the mat and interlock your fingers behind your back. Inhale raise your arms, open your chest and pull your shoulders away from your ears. Exhale lower chin to chest. Stay here for 5 breaths. Feel your shoulders stretch!
9. Standing Side bends: Stretch your arms above your head and interlace your fingers. Inhale, straighten your back, shoulders away from your ears and exhale, bend to the left. Inhale, come back to centre and exhale, bend to the right. Do 2 rounds. Feel how you stretch the whole side of your torso!
10. Spinal Roll: Finally, place your hands behind your head, open your shoulders and chest, move your shoulders away from your ears. This sequence includes 16 parts:
- Inhale lengthen, exhale arching back slightly.
- Inhale and exhale arching your back a little more.
- Inhale, exhale and arch your back a little bit more.
- Inhale, come back to centre. Exhale, bring elbows together.
- Inhale, Exhale lower chin to chest.
- Inhale, exhale bringing the chin to the sternum.
- Inhale, exhale bringing the chin towards the navel.
- Inhale, exhale bringing the chin to the belly button.
- Inhale, exhale chin to pubic bone.
- Inhale, exhale chin to middle thighs.
- Inhale, exhale forehead to knees.
- Inhale, exhale bend knees and touch forehead to knees. Keep knees bent.
- Inhale, open elbows and raise torso without lengthening legs. Knees remain bent. Exhale, stay.
- Inhale, straighten legs and torso. Exhale here.
- Inhale, grow back up, exhale, arch sword as far as you can.
- Inhale, return to standing, exhale, lower arms. Tadasana.
You can include a meditation at the end of the sequence to end with calm, peace and balance. During the meditation sit in a comfortable posture. You can sit on a meditation blanket or use the blanket to cover your body if you are often cold.
Make the most of your yoga practice!
To feel the yoga benefits, it is important to keep a few things in mind:
- Listen to your body and don't force the asanas beyond your limits.
- Use a yoga mat to support your joints so you don't hurt yourself. The mat will also help you not to slip.
- Maintain conscious and deep breathing throughout the practice.
- You can use props such as yoga blocks, yoga blankets, straps or bolsters to make your practice more effective and to benefit more from the postures. Find out how to make the most of the yoga blanket, one of the most versatile yoga accessories.
Conclusion
Starting your day with these 10 yoga poses will help you wake up your body, calm your mind and fill you with energy to face your new day. Yoga will not only strengthen your body but also improve your concentration and emotional balance.
Don't forget to use the yoga accessories you need to make your practice more effective and to reap the benefits of each asana. We recommend using Blankets Of The Word blankets for their quality. They are soft to the touch and are thick enough to cushion your joints. Also, if you are one of those who get cold during meditation, these blankets will keep you super warm. Another thing to keep in mind is that they are 100% recycled!
Take advantage of the benefits of this ancient discipline. Namaste!
