SET THE TONE FOR YOUR DAY
Some mornings I have time to do my full routine of meditation, MFR & a good long yoga practice, and other mornings I just need a quick fix to get my day started the right way. Yoga shifts the natural stagnation of a night of sleep and kick starts your circulation, digestion, metabolism. It also stretches and expands the muscles and tissues of the lungs and gives you better conditions to be able to breathe well and use your breath to navigate daily challenges throughout your day. Consciously breathing stimulates a cranial nerve called the vagus nerve, which brings the body into the rest & restore nervous system response, or the parasympathetic nervous system response. This creates optimal conditions for the functionality of the organs of the body – strengthening the immune system, increasing lung capacity, increasing circulation, aiding digestion and increasing overall wellbeing.
THE BENEFITS OF A MORNING ROUTINE
Setting aside time in the morning, and building it into your routine before the day gets started, ensures that you allocate some time for yourself and your wellness. Adding movement into your day at the end of a busy day is a great way to unwind but with the best will in the world the day might run away from you and you skip it or do it very late in the day which can affect your ability to sleep if your activity is too active. Try to follow the rule of active movement in the morning to prepare for the day and gentle movement at night to prepare for sleep.
EXPLORING QUICK GET UP & GO IN YOUR PRACTICE
This sequence is easy to follow and gives you the opportunity to flow with two pose mini flows to establish the breath, and a longer flow to link a lengthened breath with movement and encourage you to exercise your respiratory system. The more you focus on a steady lengthened breath in this longer flow, using the breath ‘+’ & ‘’-’ cues as a guide, the more energy you will bring into your body for the day ahead. If you are short on time, pick one or two of the seated poses. Don’t be tempted to pop up the minute you are finished and leave without doing a brief Savasana. Even if it is just three deep breaths to help you assimilate and embed the practice into your day it is worth it.
ALIGNMENT CUES
Have a read of the tips below and either print out the sequence or save it onto your device:
Use the breath guide in the sequence to help you link breath with movement in the flow. Inhale is indicated with a ‘+’, exhale is a ‘-”.
If there are specific poses that you would like to stay longer in, give yourself three deep breaths in those poses, and pick up the next pose with the allocated inhale or exhale as indicated by the sequence.
For a longer practice add in a Sun Salutations at the start of each mini flow or repeat each mini flow.
To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.
Ruth Delahunty Yogaru