(Photo: Yoga with Cassandra)
This 10-minute morning yoga practice is designed to help you release the tightness and tension you feel in the morning. The following poses focus on your hips and lower back through seated hip-opening stretches and then transition into some twists that support your back. There’s also strengthening work for your core in some unexpected variations on everyday poses.
If you find that you can’t stretch very far in these poses, don’t worry. Your body relaxes during the 10-minute morning yoga exercise.
10 minute morning yoga for lower back and hips
We work with a different affirmation in each practice. Today we work with, “I deserve to be loved and respected.” So keep this thought in mind throughout your practice and your day and keep coming back to it.
No props are required during this morning yoga class, although you are welcome to use them.
Turtle pose
You start in a variation of the butterfly or bound corner pose. Normally, in this seated forward bend, your feet are quite close to your hips. Although in Turtle you slide your heels much further away and keep your knees bent at just over a 90 degree angle. This makes the pose much easier on your lower back. As you tilt forward and release, simply relax. You want it to be a passive fold, so let gravity do the work.
If your chest is close to the mat, one option is to tuck your forearms under your legs, palms facing up. Breathe here.
Lift up again slowly, it’s very slow here. Help your knees return to center and place your feet on the mat. Hold your feet, ankles, or shins as you round your back, contract your core, and lower your chin to your chest. You’re looking for a large stretch along the spine. Then sit up straight again.
Seated pigeon pose
Straighten your legs and cross your right ankle over your left knee in a seated version of Pigeon Pose. You can bring your hands back for a little support. You may start to sway back and forth slightly while stretching your right hip and glutes. This is also a stretch for the lower back. See if you can lift your chest a little higher and stay there for a few breaths.
Straighten your left leg, cross your legs, then repeat on the other side.
Downward Facing Dog
When you step into your first downward-facing dog of the day, your hands will be shoulder-distance apart, your feet will be hip-distance apart, and you’ll want to lift your hips up and back. Bend your right knee much, keep your left leg straight and push into your left heel to stretch down the back of your left leg. Then switch sides.
Three-legged dog
From Downward Dog, lift your right leg and extend it towards the sky, bend your knee, open your hip and extend here.
Low dropout
Bring your right foot forward between your hands toward the top of the mat. Lower your back knee to the mat and lift into a Low Lunge, reaching your arms past your head.
Low lunge twist
You will incorporate a twist here by taking your hands together at the heart and crossing your left elbow to your right knee. You try to press your elbow into your thigh with your hands together as you rotate your chest to the right. Continue lowering your hips toward the mat as you try to lift your chest away from your thigh.
Seated twist
Come back to center and as you bring your fingertips down, look at the mat and then step or slide your left knee behind your right foot. Sit back so that your sit bones are on the floor and your right foot crosses over your left thigh. Lift yourself up and wrap your left arm around your right leg and bring your right fingertips behind you as you widen across the chest into a seated twist. You emphasize lifting the lower back and lengthening along the spine. No fainting. No rounding.
Happy baby pose
Come back to center, bring both legs straight out in front of you and reach your arms forward as you slowly lower yourself all the way back to the mat. You want to tighten your abs and take your time lowering all the way to the mat. Pull your knees toward your stomach, squeeze them a little, and maybe rock back and forth a little.
Get into Happy Baby Pose by grabbing your feet, ankles, or shins and stacking your ankles over your knees. You can rock back and forth a little here and massage your lower back.
One-legged bridge pose
Release your feet and place them flat on the mat while keeping your knees bent. Press your heels into the mat and lift your hips into Bridge Pose. Lean on your left side and see if you can lift your right leg and extend it diagonally, keeping your thighs parallel so that your right leg reaches forward. Then switch sides.
Come back to Bridge Pose and lower your hips all the way down to the mat.
Downward Facing Dog
Come back into Downward Dog and hold here, or you can inhale as you slide forward into Plank, exhale into Chaturanga, inhale into Cobra or Upward Dog, and then exhale into Downward Dog.
Then repeat the sequence on your left side, starting with Low Lunge Twist and then moving into Happy Baby and Bridge Pose. You can skip the Downward Dog.
Constructive rest
From Bridge Pose, take your feet as wide as the mat and rest your knees together. Breathe here. Come back to your affirmation. We won’t get into a full Savasana because it can be tempting to fall back asleep, but pause here for a moment.
Then drop your knees back and forth in a windshield wiper motion. When you’re ready, turn to one side and use your arms to push into the mat and lift yourself up. Come sit for a long time and close your eyes. Take a few breaths here. Pause here and see how you feel after your 10-minute morning yoga session to exercise the lower back and hips. This class is part of a 30-day morning yoga class Challengewith more short morning exercises and which you can start at any time.
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