Wake Me Up: Morning Positivity - Wake Up & Stretch - Get Out of Your Comfort Zone | Overcome the Discomfort of Getting Out of Bed

Episode Date: April 17, 2023

This morning, use gentle stretches and a growth mindset to overcome the discomfort that often comes with getting out of bed in the morning.  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 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

Wake Me Up is made possible thanks to the generous help of our advertisers and premium supporters. If you'd like to support Wake Me Up, listen ad-free, and get access to the entire catalog plus bonus episodes, then follow the link in the show notes to sign up for Wake Me Up premium. Now before our episode begins, here's a quick word from our sponsors. Good morning and welcome to Wake Me Up. I'm your host, Tyler, as always, and I'm so thrilled that you're here today. for this wake up and stretch episode, where we'll do some mindfulness and light stretching to help prepare your mind and body for a great day.

This week's episodes are all based on a common theme, which is so important for living a full life, escaping the comfort zone. And all that means is getting outside of your norms, trying something new, putting yourself in situations that may make you feel a healthy sense, of discomfort. Because this is the only way we grow and develop as individuals.

It's how we stretch ourselves and our minds. And today, we'll start putting these ideas into practice in our morning stretch routine. Now, if you're in bed, I want you to roll over on your back. And if you're already up and about, that's just fine. Find a comfortable place to lie down on your back. And once you're there, just you're there, just that's just fine. Just begin by taking a big inhale. Fill deep into your belly.

As you exhale, bring your knees to your chest and wrap your arms around them. Give them a big squeeze and begin to just loosen up your lower back a little bit. Now extend your left leg back out long on the surface beneath you. But keep holding your right knee towards your chest. We'll just focus that stretch on the right side for a moment. And maybe you want to open the hip slightly by bringing the knee a little wider towards your right shoulder. Just hold here and breathe for a moment.

As we stretch, the body is naturally a little bit uncomfortable. We're putting tension on our muscles and joints after all. We might be a little stiff. But we stretch because we know it will make us feel better. And that's a perfect example. example of getting out of your comfort zone in healthy ways. All right, let's switch legs now. So extend your right leg back out long on the surface beneath you

and bring your left knee towards your chest, giving it a gentle squeeze, and again, just hold and breathe through this stretch. You might feel a little tension as you do these stretches, but there are long-term benefits to working through that discomfort. both physical and mental. Physically, like when we stretch or do a hard workout, our bodies are challenged.

That makes us stronger, more nimble, more able to physically carry out life. And it releases endorphins, feel-good hormones that make you more positive. The same applies to mentally getting out of your comfort zone too. You challenge yourself, you become more self-aware, you learn to deal with difficult situations and emotional. All of these things make us better humans.

Now inhale and bring both knees back to your chest. Exhale and give them one last big squeeze. We're all bound to deal with a little discomfort every day. And perhaps for you, that discomfort might be right now, not wanting to get out of bed. But remember, it will make you a better person if you work through that discomfort and get your day started. your day started. You'll feel better about yourself and you'll be glad that you did. So let's roll over

and make our way to standing up for a few more stretches and we'll get this beautiful day started. Now before we continue on with our stretches, I just want to provide a quick word of warning. You shouldn't do any stretches if you're not physically able to do them. I try to make these stretches as accessible as possible, but I know that we all have different bodies. So feel Feel free to adjust, modify, or do something else entirely. If you'd like to see a visual guide for any stretch, you can find a link for that in the show notes. All right.

Now that we're standing up, let's begin with one of my favorite stretches, a big forward fold. So inhale and reach your hands towards the sky. Reach as high as you possibly can. then exhale and fold forward at your waist. Release and just let everything hang towards the ground. First thing in the morning, it's often really nice to have a little bend in the knee. The hamstrings and the lower back often get tight while we sleep. And this helps to ease them through that initial discomfort.

There's no need to push yourself as hard as you can right when you start. In fact, I'd recommend against that. Now slowly roll all the way back up to standing, vertebrae by vertebrae. And once you reach the top, we're going to do that one more time. So inhale, reaching your hands towards the sky. Reach, reach, reach. And then exhale and fold forward. Relax your arms.

Relax your neck. Maybe you want to sway side to side. Maybe you want to bend one knee and then the other. or maybe you just want to sit still. Do whatever your body is asking for. Let's take one inhale and one exhale. And instead of rolling up, we're going to make our way to the ground.

So lower yourself slowly and carefully to the ground to all fours. So your hands are on the ground and your knees are on the ground. Shoulders directly above the hands, hips directly above the knees. We're going to do a few cats and a few cows. And we'll start with cow. So inhale and turn your head and your gaze up.

Arch your back down. Then exhale and do the opposite. Drop your head and arch your back up. This is a really wonderful way to warm up the spine. Let's return to cow. So inhale, turning your gaze up, arching your back down towards the ground. And exhale to cat, dropping the head, and arching the back up. Beautiful.

Now return to a neutral spine. Notice how your back feels. Hopefully, it's a little more nimble now. So let's turn to our final stretch, Child's Pose. And all you have to do from here is drop your body. back to your feet. Your chest will naturally fall towards the ground, as will your head. Reach your arms out long along the ground, and just relax.

Breathe. This pose especially can take a moment to settle into. So as you relax into it, notice how your body begins to work through this discomfort on its own. It softens into the pose. Well, we're almost out of time. So I'm going to leave you here if you want to remain in child's pose a little longer. If you're ready to get up and get your day going, then my all means, feel free to do that. And as you go about this day, try to notice when you feel discomfort, whether it's emotional or physical.

Take note of that discomfort and what's causing it. And try to consider how you can work through the discomfort. discomfort in a healthy and productive manner. If you begin to work on that skill in simple ways, like in your stretching routine or in your day-to-day habits, then I'm sure you're going to have a great day and a great life. I'll be back tomorrow for a meditation where we'll put these ideas into practice. I can't wait to see you there.

Until then, go out and have an absolutely fantastic. Day.