Wake Me Up: Morning Positivity - Wake Up & Stretch - Compassion

Episode Date: July 18, 2022

This morning, wake your mind and body with mindfulness and yoga designed to encourage compassion. 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 - 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

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. Hi there, welcome to Wake Me Up and to this wake up and stretch episode, where we'll get out of bed and prepare the body and mind. for a great day. This week, our theme is compassion. You know that each and every one of us is unique.

We all want different things out of life, and different things make us tick. When you cross paths with someone, showing them compassion by recognizing the path they're on and the struggles they have can allow us to be more accepting of our differences. And it will help bring a positive interaction for everyone involved,

So this week, we'll work on developing more compassion, not just for others, but ourselves as well. Now, I recommend you start this episode from bed, but if you're already up and about, that's just fine too. Wherever you are, just pause for a moment. Take a deep breath in, filling all the way into your lungs, hold it, and then release. Think about someone in your life who shares their struggles with you, the problems they have, and what they're going through, someone you know pretty well, and that you have a generally good relationship with. Take a moment just to appreciate this person, that they're a good force in your life, and

that the two of you carry each other's burdens to a degree. If I had to bet, you are pretty understanding of this person's frustrations. goals, excitements, and problems. You know them. You have an idea of who they are and what they want out of life. And that opens you up to accepting them for who they are. That's such a special feeling, isn't it? We don't have an endless amount of relationships of that kind of depth.

But that doesn't mean only our closest friends deserve compassion from us. We can apply this open-mindedness and open-heartedness, and open-heartedness to everyone else and ourselves. And through that, develop better relationships all around. So today, why not set an intention of compassion by approaching yourself and others with understanding and support? So take a big inhale, filling up with compassion for yourself

and everything you're going through. Exhale and release. Once more now, inhale, filling up this time with compassion for others. And exhale, release. Now there's a great day ahead. So if you're in bed, roll over and make your way to standing up. Now that we're all up and out of bed, let's move to our stretches. And as always, just a quick word of warning.

Don't do any of these stretches if it's painful or if you're not able. feel free to do something else if you prefer. My stretches are just suggestions. You should do whatever feels right to you. And if you're ever confused about a stretch or you'd like to see a visual guide, you can find a link to visuals of the stretches IQ on Wake Me Up in the show notes.

Today, let's do some stretches that will encourage compassion. So we're going to be opening our chest and our heart a lot. we'll start standing up straight and first we'll just open the chest so inhale and open your arms out wide spreading across your chest feeling that stretch reaching your arms all the way to the walls

and then exhale close your arms wrap them around you and give yourself a big hug we're going to do that two more times so inhale reaching wide, opening across your chest, stretching as far out as you possibly can. And then exhale, close your arms, wrap them around you, give yourself a hug. Once more now, inhale, reaching out wide,

and exhale, wrap yourself up. All right, let your arms relax back down. And let's do another heart opener, a standing back bend. Take an inhale and reach your hands up and over your head, reaching just a bit back behind you too. Your hips will slide forward a few inches. You'll feel your back bending and a stretch across the front of your torso. Let your gaze follow your hands up and back too.

Now, if you need some more low back support, you can drop your hands down and bring your palms to your lower. back. By pressing your hands there, you'll offer a little more low back support. Now exhale, release your hands, come back to neutral. Again, we're going to do that two more times. So whichever variation you did, inhale and either reach your arms up and back or place them on your lower back, feeling that light bend in your back. Now exhale, release, come back to neutral, try to Drop your hands. Once more, inhale, reaching your hands up and back,

letting your gaze follow them, and feeling that nice, gentle back bend. Now exhale, release, and come back to neutral. All right, now for our last stretch, we'll do a good old forward fold. So inhale, reaching your hands to the sky. Reach as far as you can. And on your exhale, fold forward at your waist.

Just let everything hang towards the ground. No need to force it or push it. Relax here and just breathe. You can even close your eyes for a moment. And just appreciate this time to yourself while you loosen up your body for the day. Take one full round of breath here. Inhale and exhale. slowly begin to roll all the way back up to standing,

and when you get there, roll your shoulders up, back, and down. Well, friends, that's all for today. I hope your mind and body are nice and warm and ready to get the day started. Remember your intention for today. To be compassionate, not only to others, but to yourself.

Seek to understand, not to judge or jump to conclusions, and hopefully that will make your day a great one. I'll see you back here tomorrow for our meditation on compassion. Until then, go out and have a fantastic day. As a wake me up listener, you know the value of a great morning routine, free of distractions. That's why you need to know about the Wake Me Up premium feed. It offers ad-free listening to the entire Wake Me Up catalog, plus monthly bonus content.

In just a few taps, you'll be listening distraction-free in literally any podcast player. You can try it free for seven days. Check out the show notes and follow the link for the Wake Me Up premium feed to learn more and sign up now. I really appreciate your listenership, love, and support. And I hope you have a great day. Thank you.