Wake Me Up: Morning Positivity - Morning Wake Up & Yoga for Tough Times

Episode Date: October 3, 2022

This morning, wake your mind and body with mindfulness and yoga designed to help you get through tough times, even on days when you can't bear to get out of bed. Enjoying Wake Me Up? Get ad-free access to the entire WMU catalog + bonus content by joining the WMU Premium Feed. Sign up and start your 7-day free trial at https://wakemeup.supercast.com/. Follow the show on Spotify - Apple Podcasts - Amazon - Podchaser 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

If you'd like to enjoy Wake Me Up completely ad-free and get access to exclusive bonus content, check out the link in the show notes for the Wake Me Up premium feed. Hey there, welcome to Wake Me Up. I'm your host, Tyler, as always. And this is a wake-up and stretch episode where we'll get out of bed and prepare the mind and body for a great day. I've noticed that many people are going through tough times at the moment. And I'll admit, I'm not immune to that. either. I thought perhaps some of you may be dealing with the same thing, so this week's episodes

are all designed to help you get through tough times. But even if you're riding high in life, I'm sure you'll still enjoy them too. Now let's jump right in and get started. Maybe you're joining in from bed today and dreading the idea of getting up. Or maybe you're already up and about, and that's just fine too. But wherever you are, Let's all just pause for a moment. And let's take a couple of deep breaths in. So fill all the way up, deep into your lungs. Hold at the top.

And exhale, release. Just let the air fall out. Once more, inhale, filling even deeper this time. Hold and release. Enjoy this few seconds of peace and quiet. and no matter what's going on in your life right now, just zoom out on this moment. Look at your life as though it's a timeline,

full of ups and downs, trials and tribulations. We all have multiple threads going on in life at one time, relationships with various people and groups, school or careers, life events, and of course, the happenings all around us in the world, that affect our day to day. Now, sometimes, these threads all collide at one moment. And if that's in a positive way, it can bring great joy.

If it's in a negative way, though, then it can make us want to give up. So remember what we talked about in last week's episodes. Everything is impermanent. All moments in life are temporary. So whatever life is serving you right now, know that you can and will get through it. You've been through tough moments before, and you'll do it many times again.

One thing that I love to do is to think of a reason I'm excited to get out of bed, to get my day started, and to make the most of it. So what's a part of your day that you're looking forward to? Maybe there's a person you can't wait to talk with, or you just absolutely love your morning coffee, whatever it is for you, make that your motivation to get the best out of this day. So take a deep breath in and fill up with gratitude for that thing or that person you're looking forward to.

And then exhale and say thank you. And if you're in bed, roll over and make your way to standing up. It's time to get the day started and do a couple stretches. All right, now that we're all up and out of bed, let's get the body moving a little bit. And as always, just a quick word of warning, my stretches are just suggestions. Please change one if one of my suggestions doesn't work for you. And be sure to do this in a safe space where you're not going to fall and hurt yourself. If you're ever confused about a stretch where you'd like to see a visual guide,

you can find a link to that in the show notes. Now when we're in tough times, it can be easy to try to force things to work. Right now, while we stretch, Let's just do the opposite of that. Take it easy on your body and give yourself a little break, a little care. Now we hold a lot of tension in our necks, so let's start there. Stand up straight, feet flat and firm on the floor. Reach the crown of your head towards the ceiling.

And on your exhale, just drop your head over your right shoulder. Nice and easy. No need to push it too far. If you'd like to extend this stretch, you can turn your chin and your gaze upward toward the ceiling. Take one full breath in and let it out, bring your head back to center and reset. Now let's do that on the left side. So reach your head towards the ceiling and then let it fall over your left shoulder.

You'll feel that stretched on the right side of your neck this time. And again, if you'd like to extend this stretch a little bit, You can turn your chin and your gaze upward toward the ceiling. One full breath in and out and come back to center. Reset. We also tend to hold tension in our shoulders, so let's loosen those up real quick with some arm circles. And we'll start with the right arm.

So just draw big circles with your right arm all the way around your range of motion like your arm's a windmill. And take it nice and slow. These might be some of your first movements of the day. So just try to wake everything up nice and gently. Once you've done a few circles in one direction, pause, and do a few in the opposite direction. All right, relax your right arm back down. And let's switch to the left side.

Doing the exact same thing, just drawing those big circles with your arm. Go nice and slow. And if you have any creaks or pops, that's okay, as long as they're not painful. Just try to slowly work through them. Now pause and switch directions. Do a few circles in the opposite way. All right, relax your left arm back down. And now we're going to do a big forward fold.

So inhale, reach your arms to the sky. Reach as far as you can. And exhale, fold forward at your waist. Just let everything hang towards the ground. You can do whatever you'd like here, whether that's sitting perfectly still, swaying a little side to side, bending one knee and then the other, whatever works for you.

But whatever you do, just soften your neck, relax your head down, and you can even close your eyes if you'd like. We'll sit here for a little and let this stretch sink in. Take one full round of breath, inhale, and exhale. And now slowly bend your knees, place your hands on the floor, and make your way to all fours. So that's your hands on the ground directly beneath your shoulders and your knees on the ground directly beneath your hips. We'll do a few cat cows. So inhale, lift your gaze up, and lower your back, arch your back down.

That's cow. And then exhale, move to cat, drop your head, lower your gaze, and arch your back upwards. Once more, with the breath, inhale to cow, Gaze up, arching your back down, and exhale to cat, drop your head, and arch your back up. All right, bring your spine back to neutral, and let's settle into our last stretch, child's pose. All you need to do for this from where you're at is drop your bottom back towards your feet. Lower your chest to the ground, lower your head to the ground,

and stretch your arms out on the floor in front of you. The more you reach your hands forward on the floor, the more you'll feel your back opening. And just settle in here. Again, enjoy this moment of peace and quiet and feel free to close your eyes if you'd like. Remember that reason you have to make the most of today. Remember that your body is here for you.

Even at moments when it seems to be failing, it's always found a way to hold on. And that just goes to show your subconscious wants you to succeed. It knows you can. Well, sadly, it's about time to wrap up. I'll leave you here in child's pose. Feel free to hang out here for as long as you'd like. And remember, you are strong, you are capable,

and you can handle anything that comes your way. Believe in yourself and search for the good in your day. It's always there, I promise. even though it may be hiding among some bad. Tomorrow in our meditation, we'll be using a breathing technique that builds on what we've done here today. So I hope to see you there.

I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I'll talk to you tomorrow, and until then, go out and have a fantastic day.