Good Morning Yoga: Gratitude For The Day Ahead

A gentle morning yoga sequence to wake up and meet the day with an open, grateful heart. As we move through life, there is the tendancy to hold onto unresolved emotions, stressors, and past grief deep within the tissues of the body. This manifests physically as tight, achy joints, stiff muscles, and swollen glands. This 28 minute hatha-inspired yoga warm-up has been designed to loosen up areas of tension, improve lung capacity through deepened breathing, and remove blockages that have developed as a result of stored traumas. This slow-paced morning sequence is suitable for any level of yogi, as well as those suffering from arthiritis and physical limitations.

Transcript

Come to a comfortable seated position.

Somewhere quiet.

You can take about 10 or 15 minutes just for yourself this morning.

And then when you find this space,

Come to a comfortable cross leg position.

And allow your hands to fall gently on your knees,

On your thighs.

And close your eyes down heavy.

Feel both sit bones pressing evenly into the earth underneath you.

And do a mental scan all the way up the length of your spine.

All the way up and past the crown of your head.

Take a nice deep full breath in.

And a full breath out.

Feel yourself settle.

On your next in breath,

Inhale to draw your shoulders up towards your ears.

And as you exhale,

Gently roll them back behind you.

Feeling an openness through the front of your chest.

And create a little bit more length through the back of your neck by tucking your chin slightly and extending up through the crown of your head.

Take another couple deep full breaths in and out here.

And as you exhale,

Slowly drop your chin down towards your chest and hold it here.

Breathe into the space you are creating through the back of your neck.

The tops of your shoulders,

Your upper back.

And just notice any tension or tightness that you may be holding onto in this area of your body.

And use the next couple of deep full breaths in and out to move more into a place of softness.

Allow each breath to dissolve,

Melt away any remaining tightness.

Take one last deep breath in.

Full breath out.

And then slowly begin to draw your chin back up through center and up towards the ceiling,

The sky above you.

Keeping the eyes closed.

And be extending your lower jaw up towards the ceiling to further increase the sensation,

The openness through the front of your throat.

And all awareness,

All attention comes to this space right at the center of your throat.

Your throat chakra,

Your source of communication,

Of expression,

Of honesty and truth.

And just taking another deep full breath in.

Complete exhale out here.

Last inhale,

Filling up.

And as you exhale,

Gently return your head back to center,

Chin drops.

So it's parallel to the earth.

And gently release your right ear to your right shoulder.

Your right arm comes up and overhead,

Finding your left ear.

And then walking those left fingertips out beside you onto the earth as far as you can reach them well.

Maintaining both sit bones,

Pressing evenly into the mat,

Into the earth.

Feel one long line of energy from your fingertips all the way up and past the crown of your head.

And really press that left shoulder down and away from your ear,

Finding more space,

Increasing the sensation through the left side of the neck.

Notice whatever part of your body is speaking to you the loudest right now.

And watch the next couple of breaths breathing in and out from this area of sensation.

Inspire air into your lungs one last time.

Fill up,

Create space.

And exhale to draw that left shoulder down.

On your next in-breath,

You return your head back up through center.

And slowly release left ear to left shoulder.

Left arm comes up and overhead,

Finding the right ear.

And then walking those right fingertips out beside you as far as they will reach.

And really pressing,

Drawing down through that right shoulder to create more space and one long line of energy from fingertips all the way up and past the crown of your head.

You've gotten yourself into the pose.

The only thing left for you to do right now is to take three deep,

Full breaths in and out,

Nourishing every muscle,

Every tendon,

Every cell.

Sending fresh blood flow to all these areas of your body.

Take one last inhalation.

Fill up.

Exhale,

Release.

And then slowly,

Slowly begin to draw your head back up through center,

Releasing that right hand.

Coming back to that central position with your spine straight and long,

Just do a quick mental scan.

Check in with your eyes closed.

And on your next in-breath,

Slowly begin to draw your arms straight out in front of you.

Palms face down towards the earth.

Arms are extended out even parallel to the earth underneath you,

Straight out from the shoulders.

Eyes are closed and both sit bones press evenly into the mat.

Your arms are active and strong.

On your next breath in,

Extend your fingers out as wide as they will go.

Feel space between each and every finger and your thumbs.

And as you exhale,

Contract the fingers,

Curl in and ball them into a little fist.

Inhale,

Fill up,

Extend,

Find length through the fingers,

And exhale to contract and draw them in.

In-breath,

Extend out.

Out-breath,

Contract and curl in.

Inhaling,

Filling up,

Finding space.

And exhaling to deflate and move into that space,

Squeezing the fingers into a fist.

Take one last deep breath in,

Find space,

Really extend the fingers out.

And then exhale to contract,

Curl them in,

And hold them here for just a moment.

And then begin to make some small rotations with the wrists in one direction.

With your eyes closed,

Arms are still strong and active out in front of you.

And then maybe making those rotations connect to your breath.

So with your eyes closed,

Begin to see if maybe you can exhale as you draw the wrists down to the base of that rotation.

Inhaling to draw them back up.

Exhaling down and around,

And inhaling up towards the top.

And just really feeling into this motion,

Slow,

Steady,

Mindful movements.

There is no hurry,

There is no rush.

And the next time you come to the top of that rotation,

Pause.

Hold steady and slowly switch directions,

Exhaling to release the wrists down and inhaling to draw them all the way back up.

And just allowing your breath to be the rhythm that guides these rotations.

Noticing,

Checking in,

Is this side,

This direction any different than the last?

And just maybe becoming aware for the first time today of the asymmetry in which your body meets the world.

The next time that your wrists come to the top of that rotation,

Hold still.

And then release the fingers back out one more time and turn your hands so that your palms face up towards the sky.

Take a deep breath in and a full breath out.

Draw your shoulders down and away from your ears.

And on your next inhalation,

Inhale to bend at the elbows and draw your fingertips in towards your shoulders,

Your collarbones.

Exhale to extend them back out.

So the upper arm remains exactly where it is.

The lower arm bends at the elbow and contracts to draw in with every in-breath.

And extend out with every exhalation.

Slow,

Steady,

Mindful movements.

Inhaling fingers in towards the shoulders and exhaling to release them back out.

The biceps and triceps are active and engaged.

In-breath and out-breath.

Take one last deep inhalation in.

Draw your fingers in towards your shoulders and hold them here,

Resting in this place.

And then take a deep breath in and a full breath out.

And then gently draw your elbows together to touch in front of your chest.

On your next in-breath,

Send those elbows straight out and back behind you,

Really pressing,

Drawing the chest forward.

And as you exhale,

Bring the elbows back to touch in front of your chest and inflate the space between your shoulder blades.

This slight and gentle arch through the upper back.

Inhale,

The elbows come straight out to the east and west directions and behind you,

Pressing the chest forward.

And exhaling to contract,

Bring the elbows together to touch in front of you,

Filling up that space right at your bra line or in the area between your shoulder blades.

In-breath,

Elbows come back behind you,

Press the chest forward and exhale to contract and curl in.

Move through two more complete inhales and exhales with your breath as your guide.

On your next in-breath,

Extend out one more time,

Press the chest forward,

Draw the shoulders back and hold here with the eyes closed.

This feeling,

The openness through the front of the chest,

Maybe the sensation through the shoulders and arms after being active for so long.

Trying not to label anything as pain or discomfort,

It's just a sensation and it will be over after this last full inhalation.

And exhale to draw the elbows together to touch one more time in front of the chest.

Straighten up through the spine but leave the elbows where they are touching in front of you.

Find length through the crown of the head.

And on your next in-breath,

Draw your elbows up towards the sky and around and back behind you,

Creating really big circles through the shoulder joints.

Our shoulders are ball and socket joints.

They have a really big range of motion.

See if you can find the edge.

Imagining that you have a paintbrush on the end of each elbow and you're drawing the biggest circles you can on walls to three and nine o'clock of you.

The next time that your elbows come together to touch in front of you,

Hold them here for a moment.

Hold still.

And reverse the direction,

Inhaling to draw them down,

Around and up.

And exhaling all the way through and back down.

Connecting your breath to this movement.

That's what transforms this exercise,

This physical movement into yoga.

Using your breath to connect your mind,

Your body,

Your heart center.

And just taking a couple last deep rotations,

As big circles as you can create.

And the next time that your elbows come together to touch,

Slowly release your hands back down to your knees and thighs.

If your eyes are not already closed,

Close them now.

And just feel and notice the happenings within your own body in this moment.

Feel the effects of a few deep breaths and a few movements.

Maybe you feel a tingling sensation through your chest and shoulders and arms.

Maybe you feel a warmth.

Maybe you can feel your heart beating or the blood cursing through your veins.

Just feel and notice.

Keeping your eyes closed on your next in breath,

Draw both arms up and overhead.

Palms face towards each other.

Fingers are spread really nice and wide.

Notice if your shoulders are drawing up towards your ears.

And if they are,

Gently release them down.

And just feel the difference in the space between your earlobes and the tops of your shoulders.

Take a full breath in and reach up through your fingertips.

And as you exhale,

Bring your left hand to the outside of your right thigh.

Your right arm comes behind you to act as a kickstand,

Coming into a seated spinal twist.

Next in breath,

Take a full breath in,

Grow taller through the length of your spine.

Grow up.

And as you exhale,

Twist a little bit deeper,

Really drawing that right shoulder back behind you.

Take another deep breath in,

Find length,

Grow up.

And as you exhale,

Twist a little bit deeper,

Wringing out,

Rotating.

Last time breathing in,

Growing up.

And then exhaling to twist and move into your fullest expression.

Maybe your chin draws over top of your back shoulder,

If that's comfortable on your neck.

Resist the urge to twist any deeper.

Close your eyes down,

Hold here.

Resist the urge to fidget or move.

And all awareness,

All attention comes to the gentle rise and fall of your abdomen.

These twists are such powerful poses in wringing out,

Detoxifying,

Purifying these organs right at the center of our body.

You've gotten yourself into the position.

All that is left for you to do in this moment is to breathe deeply.

Take one last deep belly breath in.

Complete exhale out.

Squeeze your belly button towards your spine.

Remove any stale or stagnant air from the base of your lungs.

And then inhale to return yourself back up to center.

Arms come up and overhead.

And exhale,

Centering breath here.

So drawing the shoulders down,

Getting yourself into a strong foundation with a straight spine.

Take a full breath in.

Reach up through fingertips.

And exhale to rotate in the opposite direction.

Right hand finds the outside of the left knee or thigh.

And the left arm comes behind you to act as a kickstand.

Take a full breath in.

Find more length through your spine.

And then exhale to twist and wring out,

Drawing that left shoulder back behind you.

Take another breath in.

Fill up.

Grow tall.

Exhale to twist a little bit deeper.

Last breath in,

Filling up,

Finding length.

And then exhaling to twist into your fullest expression.

Maybe your chin comes over top of that back shoulder.

The eyelids are falling heavy and closed.

Resist the urge to go any deeper,

To twist any more.

And just bring your all attention to your stomach,

That spark right at the center of your being.

And watch the gentle rise and fall of your belly.

All that matters is the next breath in and the next breath out.

Take one last deep breath in.

Full breath out.

Inhale draws you all the way back to center.

Arms come up and overhead.

Palms face towards each other.

Fingers are spread wide.

Take another deep breath in.

And exhale,

Draw the shoulders down.

Try to find a little bit of softness amidst all the effort.

And then turn your palms to face forward.

And slowly,

Slowly begin to hinge forward at the hips.

Releasing your body to fold over top of your cross legs and walking your hands forward.

Just as far as you can go.

Keep both sit bones pressing evenly into the mat,

Into the earth underneath you.

And then closing the eyes down and releasing your forehead in the direction of the earth.

It does not need to touch.

It's just the intention,

Always moving towards something.

And likely right now in this position you're feeling quite a bit of sensation through the outer hips,

Through the glutes,

Maybe through the outer thighs or through the low back.

Identify the area within your body that seems to be holding on,

That feels tighter than anywhere else in this moment.

And encourage this area to effortless.

Using your breath to quiet your body and quiet your mind.

Every inhalation collects some of that tension,

That tightness,

That stiffness.

And with every out breath you send it out and away from you,

Moving more into softness.

Surrender.

And encouraging every muscle within your body to be a little bit more passive.

Relax.

Notice if you're holding tension through the jaw,

Through the shoulders,

Through the hips.

And just using those deep,

Full inhalations and exhalations to dissolve,

Melt away any remaining tightness.

Give yourself permission to let go.

Take one last deep breath in.

Feel the space between your shoulders inflate as you inhale.

And then exhale,

Slowly allow your chest to melt down towards the earth.

And then begin to draw your body all the way back upright,

Returning back to that seated cross-leg position.

Palms come to rest on the knees,

On the thighs.

And just feeling and noticing if you feel any different than you did just 20 minutes ago when you came to sit in this position.

Maybe you feel exactly the same.

But maybe you feel a little bit lighter,

A little bit more open,

A little bit more alert.

And if you do,

Just take comfort in knowing that this is always available to you.

That you created this.

And this home,

This space inside of you is somewhere that you can always return back to.

In moments when the outside world seems full of distraction.

And then gently bring one hand to rest over top of your heart.

And one hand to rest over top of your belly.

And maybe feeling your heart beating under the palm that's resting on your chest.

Feeling the rise and fall of your belly like a balloon with the hand that rests on your stomach.

And thinking of one thing,

The first thing that comes to mind when I say the word gratitude.

Something that makes you so lucky to be you.

Maybe it's one thing or maybe it's many things.

Maybe it's one person or many people,

An experience,

Whatever it is that comes to mind first and foremost.

And just notice for a moment what it feels like to be grateful.

Not just as an intellectual idea,

But as an experience within your own body.

What does thankfulness feel like?

And if nothing else,

Feeling gratitude for the two most precious gifts that you are holding within your palms right now.

A heart that beats and lungs that breathe without you even asking them to.

Gently bringing your palms together into a prayer position in front of your chest.

Allowing your thumbs to rest gently on your heartbeat.

Unbowing your forehead gently in the direction of your fingertips.

The light in me honors the radiant light in you.

Namaste.

Thank you.

Reviews

This is such a lovely practise, especially for the morning. Many thanks

A very peaceful and gratitude filled start to my day. Thank you and Namaste.

Not all the pose positions were available to me but with modifications I was able to experience the release of tension and promotion of well being in my body and mind. I'm grateful for your guidance 😊

Very grounding, peaceful connecting to my heart and breath
.

Perfect! I love this meditative movement. Thank You!🙏🏻

Ended with a beautiful feeling of centredness. Thank you.

Excellent. I have been trying to find a morning yoga session as this one is perfect thank you 🙏🙏

Thank you i move so little with head burried innlaptop all day workingbfrom home. Trying to get myself more active in a morning to start my day this did the trick gently and beautifully thank you namaste 🙏🏼😊💜

💖omgosh who knew how much I needed this, so beautifully guided💖

That was amazing. I will be doing this every day!

I enjoyed this calm mindful movement yoga focusing most on the upper body (arms, neck, shoulders, back, twist). She links the breath with movements and being present with the sensations. I felt more spacious afterwards. Namaste

Beautiful guidance and teaching experience! I look forward to sharing and doing this again and can’t wait to check out your other work. Namaste

I have a wonderful sensation in my body and mind after doing this practice

That felt amazing! My arms are shaking and I am thankful 🙏🏻

Amazing, thankyou. I cried at the end from release of tension and feel lighter now. Thankyou for offering this practice.

Such a perfect practice for mornings, so glad I found it. Thank you for offering and sharing this 💖

I felt tight and muscles hurt from tension but by the end was relaxed and grateful. Namaste

It was good. Felt lighter on shoulders and abdomen. Very nice!

Thank you Natasha for this beautiful practice. It has helped me release a lot of tension in my neck and shoulders. ❤️🙏✨

40 years ago began Hatha with yoga adept. She taught this deep, simple flow. Body delighted, mind still and heart filled with Love and gratitude. Wonderful morning asanas. 🙏🌎🙏❤️.