Good morning.
Waking isn't always easy for the body or the mind.
As we age,
Suffer injury,
Illness,
Or just poor sleep,
Moving quickly from sleep to activity can be hard.
This morning stretch can be done in bed before rising and will move from your toes to your head to gently bring movement,
Blood flow,
And oxygen into your body,
Lubricating your joints before starting the day.
Lie on your back if that works for your body,
And if not,
Try lying on whatever side is comfortable and adapting the movements to work for you.
Start by bringing your attention to your feet.
Take a deep inhale from your toes to the crown of your head,
Slowly exhaling back down to your feet.
On your next inhale,
Point your feet and spread your toes as wide as you can.
Exhale,
Flex your feet and curl your toes.
Now point and spread,
Flex and curl,
Again on your own,
Moving with your breath.
One more time.
And now coming to stillness,
Begin to rotate your ankles.
First one direction,
And now the other direction.
Roll out the cracks and the pops.
Perhaps rotate one foot and then the other.
Now letting that go and moving into your hips,
Flex your feet again,
Toes pointing up to the ceiling.
Slide your right leg along the bed like you're stamping on the wall in front of you.
Slide your right leg back and slide your left leg forward.
Now alternate back and forth.
Inhale,
Exhale.
Inhale,
Exhale.
Right,
Left,
Stretching your hips from side to side.
And on your next inhale,
Lift your knees and bring the soles of your feet flat onto your bed,
A little wider than hips distance apart.
Exhale,
Inhale and exhale to drop your right knee in towards the center of your body,
Towards your other knee.
Inhale your knee back up and exhale your left knee in.
Inhale up,
Right knee,
Left knee.
Now move back and forth like windshield washers,
Pressing down toward the bed to feel a stretch in your outer hip.
Once more.
Now coming to stillness,
Bring your attention to your spine.
Stretch long from your tailbone all the way up to your crown.
Inhale and press your hips and shoulders to arch your back.
Exhale,
Curl,
Pressing your spine down.
Inhale,
Arch your back,
Opening up through your collarbones.
Exhale,
Curl,
Tucking hips and spreading your shoulder blades.
Continue feeling that undulating wave move throughout your whole middle body.
Now relaxing your spine,
Bring your attention to your hands.
They can be down at your sides or resting on your body.
Inhale,
Spread your fingers wide.
Exhale,
Slowly curling your hands into fists.
Inhale,
Spread your fingers.
Exhale,
Slowly make a fist.
Once more.
And on your next exhale,
Stop halfway,
Squeezing your fingers in like claws.
Take a breath here and exhale,
Bringing your hands into fists once again.
Rotate your wrists in one direction.
And now in the other,
Breathing in and out.
And then releasing your hands back down to your body or your sides.
Coming to your shoulders,
Begin to roll your shoulders forward,
Inhaling and exhaling.
Now pause and rotate in the other direction.
Bring that to stillness and take your attention up to your neck.
Take a long inhale and on your exhale,
Look to the right,
Pressing your ear down towards your pillow.
Inhale back to center,
Rotate to the left,
Pressing your left ear down towards the pillow.
Inhale center,
Right,
Center,
Left.
Once more on your own.
Now coming back to center.
Bring the attention to the crown of your head and inhale.
Exhale from your head down to your neck,
Your shoulders,
Through your spine and your hips,
Your knees,
Your ankles and all the way out the soles of your feet.
Inhale back up from your feet through your body and up to the crown of your head.
Release that and come back to your normal breathing.
Drop your knees over to the side of your bed and swing your feet down and push yourself up to a seated position.
Bring both hands down to your sides.
Inhale and lift your arms up,
Touch your palms overhead and exhale,
Twisting to the right.
Release your left hand down to your right knee and your right hand can rest on the bed behind you.
Inhale,
Exhale.
Inhale back to center,
Lifting your arms back up overhead,
Touch your palms.
Exhale,
Twisting to the left,
Dropping your right hand to the left knee and your left hand behind you.
Inhale,
Exhale.
Inhale back to center and exhale your hands back down to your sides.
Now place your feet on the floor.
Feel the surface through all four corners of your feet.
Exhale to ground down into that surface.
Inhale to rise,
Lifting arms up overhead and touching palms.
Look up.
Turn your palms to face out and flex your wrists.
Exhale your hands back down to your sides,
Stretching out to the two sides of your room as far as you can.
Stretch,
Stretch,
Stretch and come down.
One last inhale.
One last exhale and have a wonderful day.
