6 Yoga Poses to Start Your Day

Whether your job requires you to be on your feet all day or sit at a desk, you can benefit from practicing yoga before heading to work to feel more energized. These poses will help improve your alignment and clear your head so you can start your day feeling refreshed. These simple postures take less than ten minutes.

1) Easy Pose


Begin by sitting cross-legged or on your heels and rest your palms on your knees. Facing your palms up helps you receive energy while facing palms down allows a more grounding feeling. Take a deep breath in through the hose, hold it at the top, and then let it go, breathing out the mouth. Take three controlled breaths this way counting 4 seconds on the inhale, hold for one second, and exhale out for 4 seconds.


2) Cat and Cow Pose

Once you’ve taken a few breaths, make your way to the tabletop position. Wrists under shoulders and knees align with your hips. Breath in and look up, arching your back like a Cow. Breath out to push your palms to the floor, round your back like a Cat. Flow through the cat and out breath movement for three breaths.


3) Thread the needle pose


Breathe in while you reach your right arm up, breathe out while you thread your right arm across through the opposite armpit and lay your arm flat on the ground while extending your left arm straight. Repeat the same to the other arm to balance out. This helps open up the obliques and stretch out the shoulders.

4) Downward Facing Dog Pose


Place your hands just a few inches forward and push back into downward dog. Shift your hips up high. Your head should hang between your arms, feet about shoulder distance apart and try to bring your heels as close to the ground as possible. Take a breath here.

5) Halfway lift pose


Breathe in and lift halfway up so your legs and torso are at a 90-degree angle. Place your hands on your shins with a straight back with the crown of your head stretching long. This warms up your spine and is a helpful pose for people who sit at a desk all day at work and may have a tendency to slouch.

6) Forward Fold pose


Breathe out, and fold back down just like Rag Doll pose. Hanging your head and arms heavy,  reach for the ground. Legs straight with just a micro-bend to protect your knees. Let your thoughts go and hang heavy.