7 Best Morning Yoga Poses to Start Your Day

Yoga in the morning is a recipe to a successful life. There are enormous benefits of performing yoga asanas in the morning. It is also scientifically proven that yoga work as a natural stimulant to set you up for a productive day. As our mind is clear and receptive to positive ideas and messages in the morning, the yoga poses accelerate our energy, waiting to be stirred up after a long siesta. You’ll start your day wide-awake and full of life.

So, perform this 30-minute sequence which will not only encourage the use of mindful breathing and gentle movement but will also ensure that your day begins with ease and joy.

7 Best Morning Yoga Poses to Start Your Day

1. Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutations)

This ancient yoga pose has numerous benefits and as the name suggests that bowing down in front of the mighty source of light and energy, sun. This is immensely beneficial for losing weight, skincare, improving blood circulation, and hair care. Furthermore, this pose stimulates abdominal muscles, respiratory system, lymphatic system, spinal nerves and other internal organs.

This is how you do it:

• Start by standing at the edge of your mat. By keeping your feet together, you must relax your shoulders and expand your chest. Lift both your arms up while inhaling. Then, exhale, and bring your palms in front of your chest in a prayer position.
• Inhale. Lift your arms up and back, and stretch your whole body, right from the heels to the tips of the fingers.
• Now, bend forward from the waist while exhaling. Make sure your spine is erect. As you inhale, bring your hands down on the floor and beside the feet.
• Now, inhale, and push your left leg back, on the toes. Now, bend your right Knee, and place your arms next to your feet. Turn your face forward.
• Exhale, and lift up your hips and tailbone. Your chest must face downwards to form an inverted V.
• Now, gently bring your knees down to the floor, and Exhale. Take your hips back, and slide forward, in such a way that your chin and chest rest on the floor. Raise your butts slightly. You will observe that the hands, feet, knees, chest, and chin touch the floor.
• Now, slide your body forward. Raise your chest up in the snake Position. Ensure that your elbows must be bent, and your shoulders must be placed away from the ears. Turn your sight upwards.
• Lift up your hips and tailbone while exhaling.
• Inhale, and push your right leg back. Bend your Left Knee, and place your arms next to your feet. Turn your sight forward.
• Bend forward from the waist and exhale. Keep your spine erect. While inhaling, bring your hands down on the floor and beside the feet. Now, Exhale.
• Inhale, and lift your arms up and back, making sure your biceps are close to your ears. Your effort through this pose must be to stretch your whole body, right from the heels to the tips of the fingers.

Recommended Reps: 8-10 times with both sides.

2. Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)

Triangle pose engages every part of the body, strengthens the core, opens the hips and shoulders and stretches the legs. It helps relieve lower back pain, stress and sluggish digestion.

This is how you do it:

• From a standing position with the legs 2 feet apart, turn the right toes to the right wall and the left toes inwards. Inhale and press the left hips out to the left as you slide both arms to the right parallel to the floor.
• Exhale and rotate your arms only, raising the left arm up and resting the right hand against the right leg, with the palms facing forward.
• Press into the feet, pull up the knee caps. Reach the fingertips away from each other, bringing the arms into one straight line with the shoulders stacked on top of each other. Press the left hip forward and the right hip backwards.
• Breathe and hold for 3-6 breaths.
• To release: inhale and reach the raised hand up towards the ceiling as you press down into the feet using the whole body to lift back into 5 pointed stars.
• Repeat on the other side.

Recommended Reps: Perform the movement both sides for 5-6 times.

3. Utkatasana (Chair Pose)

Chair pose is not as simple as it sounds. However, this pose activates the core and the legs and challenges your mind to stay present and positive. And, performing this asana is an amazing way to generate heat in the body and quickly build energy.

This is how you do it:

• Start by standing in Tadasana. Raise your arms perpendicular to the floor while inhaling.
• Now, exhale and bend your knees, trying to take the thighs as nearly parallel to the floor just like you’re sitting on an imaginary chair.
• The knees will project out over the feet, and the torso will lean slightly forward over the thighs until the front torso forms approximately a right angle with the tops of the thighs. Keep the inner thighs parallel to each other and press the heads of the thigh bones down toward the heels.
• Firm your shoulder blades against the back. Take your tailbone down toward the floor and in toward your pubis to keep the lower back long.
• Stay for 40 seconds to a minute. Come out of this pose by straightening your knees with an inhalation, lifting strongly through the arms.
• Exhale and release your arms to your sides.

4. Natarajasana (Dancer Pose)

This asana is inspired from immortal dance of Lord Shiva. His dance symbolizes cosmic energy. And, the backbend opens the heart space and creates a surge of beautiful energy.

This is how you do it:

• From standing, shift your weight onto your right leg.
• Bend your left knee and hold the inside of your left ankle with your left hand.
• Gently lift your left leg and press your ankle into your hand to open your back.
• Reach your right arm straight up. Hold for 6 to 10 deep breaths, then repeat on other side.

Recommended Reps: Perform the action for 8-10 times both sides.

5. AdhoMukhaSvanasana (Downward Facing Dog)

If you want to have an ultimate all-over, rejuvenating stretch, then this yoga pose should be a must do in your daily yoga routine.

This is how you do it:

• Come onto the floor on your hands & knees. Put your knees below your hips and your hands slightly forward of your shoulders. Spread your palms, slightly turned out, and turn your toes under.
• Lift your knees away from the floor while exhaling. At beginning, keep your knees slightly bent and the heels lifted away from the floor. Stretch your tailbone away from the back of your pelvis and press it lightly toward the pubis. Against this resistance, raise the sitting bones toward the ceiling, and draw the inner legs up into the groins.
• Then with an exhalation, push your top thighs back and stretch your heels onto or down toward the floor. Straighten your knees. Firm the outer thighs and roll the upper thighs inward. Now, arrow the front of the pelvis.
• Now, press the bases of the index fingers actively into the floor. From these two points, raise your inner arms from the wrists to the tops of the shoulders. Firm your shoulder blades against your back, then widen them and draw them toward the tailbone. Make sure to Keep the head between the upper arms; don’t let it hang.
• Hang in this pose from 1 to 3 minutes, depending on your body flexibility. Then, bend your knees to the floor with an exhalation and rest in Child’s Pose.

Recommended Reps: Perform this movement for 6-8 times for a good whole body stretch.

6. ParivrttaUtkatasana (Revolved Chair Pose)

This pose is quite similar to the chair pose but with a little twist. Moreover, a squeeze and release effect on your digestive system and internal organs so they help promote detoxification. Furthermore, great way to strengthen and lengthen the leg muscles, this challenging posture also lengthens and improves mobility in the spine.

This is how you do it:

• Begin standing with big toes together, outer edges of feet parallel.
• Now, bend your knees and sink your hips back like you’re sitting down in an imaginary chair. Reach your arms high, framing your face. This is a chair pose.
• Lengthen through your spine while inhaling. On your exhale, take your hands together at the center of your chest in a prayer position.
• Now, twist to the right, placing your left elbow outside of your right thigh, looking up over your right shoulder. Come back to chair while inhaling, and on your next exhale do the same twist to the left.
• Come back to chair on your next breath.
• Repeat this, linking your breath to your movement for 1 minute at a quick, steady pace but maintain the perfect form.

7. Virabhadrasana III (Warrior 3 Pose)

The warrior pose explains its function automatically. Not only it activates the legs and core, but also provides encouraging feelings of confidence, determination and willpower.

This is how you do it:

• Starting in a High Lunge with your right foot forward, arms on either side of the ears, shoulders distance apart and palms touching.
• Activate your core by lifting your pelvic floor muscles and drawing the lower belly in and up.
• As you exhale, fold from the hips lowering your torso & arms a little so that they are diagonal with the floor and just focus on a point on the floor just in front of your mat.
• While inhaling, root down through the front foot and put your weight forwards, raising the back foot from the floor.
• Straighten the standing leg as you bring your upper body and left leg parallel to the floor. Grip the toes down to the floor.
• Engage your standing leg, without locking the knee and keep your hips in a equal level.
• Extend out through the raised foot and the hands.
• Stay for 5-8 breaths.
• To come out of the pose, bend the standing leg as you exhale and step back into High Lunge, with total control. Step forward to Mountain Pose while you inhale.
• Repeat on the other side.

Recommended Reps: Perform the movement for 8-10 times.

In closing, we would urge you to perform 3-4 asanas from the list to make your mornings refreshing and wonderful. It’s interesting to notice the difference in your body after performing these asanas just for 20-25 minutes.

You Might Also Like:

• Yoga for Anxiety: 7 Best Yoga Poses to Relieve Anxiety
• Yoga for Insomnia: 7 Yoga Poses to Help You Sleep Better
• Top 5 Yoga Poses to Tone Your Buttocks
• Yoga for Constipation: 6 Best Yoga Asanas to Relieve Constipation
• 6 Simple Yoga Poses to Increase Height
• Yoga for Immunity: 5 Effective Yoga Poses To Boost Your Immune System
• Yoga for Hips – 10 Best Yoga Poses to Keep Your Hips Tight and Strong