Wake Me Up: Morning Positivity - Morning Wake Up Stretch in Bed

Episode Date: August 14, 2023

In this guided morning yoga session, stretch your body gently to wake you up and prepare for a great day! You can do this entire stretch in bed or elsewhere. The episode begins with a gentle wake up, and then guides you through a relaxing yoga stretch with mindfulness and deep breathing interwoven. This routine will wake your mind and body, relieve stiffness, and encourage a positive mindset. Repeat it often for best results. Enjoy this episode with visual cues on Youtube: https://youtu.be/tBHB2voI0JQ Listen to my Spotify playlists to keep the good vibes going this morning: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nSXshDBPub8iigdyQJlWN?si=207f42f85dbc4b97 Want to be more focused? Wish distractions would just melt away? Sign up for the WMU Focus Course! If you're interested in joining, all you need to do is sign up for the course here: https://wakemeuppod.gumroad.com/l/focus. Get ad-free access to the entire WMU catalog + bonus content + 25% discount on WMU courses by joining the WMU Premium Feed. Sign up and start your 7-day free trial at https://wakemeup.supercast.com/. Follow the show on Youtube -  Spotify - Apple Podcasts - Amazon - Podchaser Listen on Podurama - https://podurama.com Say hi or request an episode at www.wakemeuppodcast.com/contact. See visual guides for the yoga and stretches in WMU episodes at www.wakemeuppodcast.com/stretches. And find the podcast on Instagram and TikTok. **Only partake in the physical movements suggested in Wake Me Up episodes if you are physically able and in safe surroundings. All movements are done at the individual's own risk. Be safe, and always consult a doctor if you have any questions or concerns.** Have a wonderful day 😃 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Wake Me Up. Change your life by changing your morning. Wake Me Up is made possible due to the generous support of our premium members and our sponsors. If you'd like to enjoy exclusive access to the entire Wake Me Up catalog and listen completely ad-free, then check out Wake Me Up Premium. Hey friend, good morning. Welcome to Wake Me Up and to this guided wake-up and stretch episode. That's designed to help wake and prepare your mind and body for a great day. This routine is designed so that you can begin it even while you're still in bed.

But if you're up and about already, don't worry, you can still do this too. Just find a comfortable spot on your floor. I recommend somewhere soft, like on carpet or on your yoga mat. And one final word before we begin, please be careful. If there's any stretch that you don't know how to do, or causes you pain, please avoid it. The stretches I guide are just recommendations. You should always feel free to modify and do what's best for you.

Now, wherever you're at, let's begin by rolling over and laying on our backs. And let's just enjoy being horizontal for another minute or so. Let's take a couple of deep breaths while we do that. So inhale, filling all the way up, appreciating this moment. moment of quiet before the day begins. And then exhale and release any worries or concerns you have about the day ahead. Inhale, really appreciating this peace and quiet. And then exhale, release, just let the air fall back out.

You don't need to force anything. One last breath here, inhale. Deepest one yet. Hold at the top. take an extra sip of air in and then exhale, release. Now you can bring your knees to your chest, wrap your arms around your legs,

give them a gentle squeeze so that your body's wrapped up in a ball. In any of these poses, you can feel free to sit perfectly still, you can gently move side to side or around the range of motion of the particular joint. Again, do what's in. best for you. In each pose, we're going to take a couple of breaths because that helps deliver

oxygen to the body. And more than anything else, that's going to help wake you up. So let's take one deep breath in here and then exhale. And as you let the air go, you can let your left leg go long so that you're just holding on to your right knee now. Keeping that right knee up by your chest, up by your armpit. Maintaining that gentle squeeze. No need to push too hard this early. Inhale and exhale. Breathe in.

Once more. In, out. And now you can switch legs. So let your right leg go long and bring your left knee back towards your chest. Maybe bringing it a little bit more towards the armpit if you want to open up your hip. Again, just bringing that gentle squeeze.

Inhaling and exhaling. Breathe in, in, and out. Great. Now it's time to press yourself up to a seated position. Legs out straight, long on the surface beneath you. And sit upright so that your hips are at a 90-degree angle. Inhale and reach your arms up. reach all the way out of your shoulders as high as you possibly can,

and then exhale, fold forward at your waist, into a seated forward fold. And I highly recommend, no matter your skill or flexibility level, that you bend your knees, and bend them as much as you want to, because that's really going to help open up the lower back and loosen the hamstrings. Inhale here, and then exhale,

Again, in, breathing deeply, and then exhale. Just let the air fall out. No need to force it. Again, inhale and exhale. On your next inhale, sit up straight again, reach towards the sky. We're going to go through that forward fold one more time. So exhale, fold forward at your waist, back into that seated forward fold. Again, feel free to bend your knees or modify.

in any way that works for you. Let's take two more breaths here. So inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale. Wonderful. Now you're going to roll over onto all fours. And that means that both knees and both hands are on the ground or the surface beneath you. This is commonly called tabletop position. And from here we're going to do a few cats and a few cows. So first, inhale slowly, lift your head, raise your gaze towards the sky, and arch your back down towards the ground. You'll feel a nice stretch along your spine. That's cow. Now exhale and do the opposite.

Drop your head towards the ground and arch your back up. That's cat. Let's go through this a few more times to help move the blood and the oxygen through the spine. So inhale, lifting the gaze into cow. Exhale into cat, dropping the head, and arching the back up. Again, inhale to cow, lifting the gaze, arching the back down. Now exhale into cat, dropping the head, and arching the back upwards. Fantastic.

Now before we settle into our final position, which is child's pose, take 15, to 20 seconds here to just move in whatever way your body is asking for. Move intuitively, giving attention to any areas or positions that you'd like to. All right. Now, wherever you're at, whatever you've been doing, go ahead and settle into child's pose. And to get there from all fours, all you're going to do is sit your bottom back towards your feet, rest your chest and your head towards the ground, and let your arms, rest out long on the floor. This is a wonderful position

to help open the hips and the lower back, which are often really tight after a night of sleep. And as you rest here, I'll invite you to think of three things, and I'll go through each one in order. First, think of one reason

you're grateful to be yourself today. Maybe there's a skill or a personality trait that you have that you just really love. Second, think of one reason that you're excited to live your life today. Maybe you'll be putting some time into a hobby that you really appreciate or spending time with someone you enjoy. And finally, take this opportunity to set an intention for your day.

Whatever that intention is for you, just take this moment to settle your mind on it and commit to living your life that way today. Well, my friend, it's about time to wrap up. You've got a beautiful day ahead, and I don't want to keep you away from it. Thanks so much for choosing to be here. If you enjoyed this episode, please take a second and leave a comment or write a review. It would mean the world to me. I hope to see you back here soon on Wake Me Up,

and until then, go out and have an absolutely fantastic day.