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

Episode Date: July 4, 2022

This morning, wake your mind and body with mindfulness and yoga designed to reduce loneliness and improve connection with others. 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. If you've listened to the show for a while, you know I'm a musician. And I'm excited to tell you that the new music you hear in this episode was made. by yours truly. I hope you enjoy it.

Good morning. I'm Tyler. 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 good day. Our theme this week is connection. Increasingly, we are more and more isolated. With the availability of information, entertainment, and work all online, plus the effects of the pandemic. It's no wonder that many of us feel a bit lonely at times, a bit disconnected. So this week, we'll work on feeling more connected. Now let's get started. I recommend you start this episode from bed, but if you're already up and about, that's just fine too.

Wherever you are, let's all just pause for a moment. Appreciate the opportunity of this day, this chance at life. And let's take a few deep breaths. So inhale, filling all the way up. Hold it at the top for just a second. And then release. Notice the sensations of your body, especially in places where it's connecting with something else.

Like your body touching the bed or the air on your skin. Take another deep breath in. Hold it. and then release. Even though we can often feel disconnected, that's an emotion that lives in the mind. You are always connected to the world around you. You have no other choice but to be connected with it.

Your very survival depends upon it. So remember that whenever you're feeling alone, you are always connected. You are never truly alone. So take a big inhale, appreciating the air and the world that sustain you. Hold it at the top, an extra sip of air, and then exhale, release. Now, there's a great day ahead. So if you're in bed, roll over and make your way to standing up.

All right, friends, now that we're all up and out of bed, it's time for some stretches. And don't stretch if you're not able. Feel free to do something else if you prefer. My stretches are just suggestions. I'm going to queue some new ones today. So if you're ever confused about a stretch where you'd like to see a visual guide, you can find a link to visuals of all of the stretches I queue

on Wake Me Up in the show notes. Today, let's do some stretches that allow us to focus on connection. So let's do some stretches on the ground. Go ahead and make your way down. Start on all fours, your hands and knees on the ground. And perhaps you want to do this on carpet or a mat to make it a bit softer. So your shoulders should be right over your hands and your hips directly over your knees. Your spine should be neutral. And just feel yourself here. Activate your hands on the ground. Really press into the

ground. Feel that connection, that support. Now let's do a few cats and a few cows. Cow first. So inhale, lifting your head, looking up, and arching your back down. Exhale to cat. So drop your head and arch your back up. We'll do that a few more times. Inhale, cow. lifting your head, arching your back down. Exhale to cat, dropping your head and arching your back up. Really pushing into the ground here. Last one, inhale to cow, looking up, arching your back down. And exhale to cat, dropping your head, arching your back up.

Now release, bring your spine back to neutral. And let's come into child's pose. So sit your bottom back on your feet. And maybe you want to spread your knees apart a little bit more too. Drop your chest all the way to the ground in front of you. Relax your head down. Relax your arms down. And just pause.

Breathe. Feel the connection of your body with the ground. Feel that support. Everything you do, every move you make. Whether it's in yoga or in life, comes from the support of this ground beneath you. You are intricately, in every way, connected to it. Let's take two rounds of breath here. Inhale and exhale.

Once more, filling all the way down into the belly. Inhale and exhale. Okay, press yourself up and out of child's pose and turn over. And turn over so you're laying flat on your back. We'll do one more stretch before we wrap up. And that will be some spinal twists. So hopefully you're on your back now. Start with your legs out straight.

Bend your knees and bring them directly above your hips. Then drop your knees over to the right. Maybe your knees make it all the way to the ground. Maybe they don't. More importantly, keep your shoulders square on the ground. You're going to feel a nice twist through your core. Again, it doesn't really matter how far your knees can go. The most important thing is keeping your shoulders flat

and just feeling that twist through your core. Go as far as is comfortable for you. Now, I know this can be a difficult position to breathe in with your core and your chest a bit contracted. but just breathe as deeply as you can. All right, inhale and bring your knees back to center, directly above your hips. Exhale and reset for a moment.

Then let your knees fall over to the other side, taking that exact same twist in the opposite direction. Remember, keep that connection of your shoulders and your back with the ground. The twist starts from there. Remember, try to keep breathing as deeply as you can, even though it's a bit harder here. All right. Take an inhale and bring yourself back to center. Exhale and give your knees one big squeeze with your arms.

Squeeze them into your chest. Release. Well, that's all for our stretches. As you collect yourself, maybe think of one person in your life that you haven't talked to in a while. someone you appreciate and you'd like to catch up with, send them a message now or sometime today. Tell them you miss them, you appreciate them, and you want to hear about their life.

Take a little initiative to rebuild that connection. I'm sure it will be worthwhile, but our time is up now. I hope your body and mind are nice and warm and ready for the day. I'll talk to you tomorrow for our meditation. Until then, go out and have a fantastic day.