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This 10-minute morning yoga for beginners practices doesn’t require you to be able to balance or be flexible or even have any pre-existing experience of yoga. It’s essentially a short stretching sequence that helps you feel better in your body. All of the stretches are simple and meant for the true beginner and several can even be practiced in bed.
The poses don’t require much strength or effort, yet they still activate your primary muscles. The first half of the class focuses primarily on your legs, including some hamstring and hip stretches. Then you’ll move into the upper body with some chest stretches. Although it’s only a 10-minute morning yoga for beginners practice, you can still take your time as you find a version of the pose that works for your body.
10-Minute Morning Yoga for Beginners
The following practice is suitable for all experience levels. No props are required. All you need is yourself and your mat.
Constructive Rest
You’re going to start lying down on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, about hip-distance apart. Shrug your shoulders down and away from your ears, palms facing upward. Take a moment to ground yourself and get settled, taking a few slow breaths in and out through your nose. Feel the connection between your lower back and the mat but allow for a slight gap between your lumbar spine and the mat.
Start to draw your navel toward your spine and feel a little core engagement. Continue to feel your breath go all the way to your lower belly while maintaining the connection of your lower back and the mat.
Ankle Circles
Pull your right knee toward your belly, stretch your left leg straight on the mat. Roll your right ankle as if you’re tracing some circles, maybe flexing and pointing through your toes. Then reverse the direction of your circles. Keep reaching long through your left leg, really pushing down into your left heel and reminding your lower back to push down into the mat. Relax your head and shoulders
Reclined Twist
Cross your right thigh across our body toward the left. Take yourself into a twist by stacking your right hip over the left one and reach your right arm straight out to the side. Try to release your right shoulder blade toward the mat. Find a nice, easy breath here.
Come back to center and switch sides. So you want to straighten your right leg and pull your left knee toward you and trace some circles with your left toes. As you roll your ankle, lengthen your right leg and try to push the back of your right knee into the mat. Draw your shoulders away from your ears. Reverse the motion of the circle and the next time you exhale, find a twist.
Cross your left thigh over your body and use your right hand to guide it. Reach your left arm out to the side and push your left shoulder blade into the mat. Take a big breath in here and release back to center.
Bridge Pose
Bend both knees with your feet flat on the mat with your feet hip-distance apart. Push your feet into the mat, squeeze through your seat, and lift your hips, low back, and mid back off the mat in Bridge Pose. Push into your big toes and hug your inner thighs toward each other. Relax your neck. Relax your jaw. Take a big breath in and lift your seat a little higher. Exhale as you roll down, inch by inch, nice and slow.
Reclined Figure 4
Cross your right ankle over your left knee in a figure-4 shape. Push your right thigh and knee away from you, and then reach your arms on either side of your left thigh and see if you’re able to pull your left knee toward your chest. Try to relax your head and shoulders so you’re only using a little bit of arm strength as you get a big stretch through that right glute. It might feel good just to kind of rock a little bit side to side.
Reclined Pigeon Pose
Release your left foot and back down flat on the mat and straighten your right leg up toward the ceiling. Hold on to the back of that leg, wherever is appropriate, and alternate flexing and pointing through your right foot. You can interlace your fingers behind your thigh or calf or you can use a strap, a belt, or a long-sleeved shirt to help your grip. You’ll notice this can really change the sensation of the stretch.
Find Reclined Figure 4 and Reclined Pigeon on the second side. Cross your left ankle over the top of your right knee, and when you’re ready, pull your right thigh in, going as deep into the pose as feels appropriate and comfortable this morning. You’re not trying to push yourself. This is meant to be a gentle stretch. You can rock a little side to side.
Take that hamstring stretch again by extending your left leg up toward the ceiling but it doesn’t need to be perfectly straight. You can definitely take a bend in you left knee here. Alternate flexing and pointing through your left foot. One side might feel a little tighter and that’s normal. Release your right foot back down to the mat.
Knees to Chest to Sitting Cross-Legged
Pull your knees toward your belly and just rock along the length of your spine so you can come to sitting with your ankles crossed or, if that’s not comfortable, roll onto one side and sit cross-legged.
Downward-Facing Dog
Place your hands shoulder-distance apart at the top of the mat. Step your feet back so they’re feet are hip-distance apart and lift your hips toward the wall behind you where it meets the ceiling. You can absolutely have a big bend in your knees here in Downward-Facing Dog. As you reach your chest toward your thighs, relax your neck so your head can hang heavy. Spread your fingers wide and push into your fingertips and knuckles. Alternate bending one knee and straightening the other leg.
Plank Pose
Shift yourself forward into Plank Pose, or the top of a push-up, with your shoulders over your wrists and your body in a straight line. Lower your knees to the mat.
Cobra Pose
Bend your elbows and lower onto your belly. You can bring your knees down to the mat first, if you’d like, and then lower your chest. Slide your hands back slightly, push your palms into the mat, and reach your tailbone toward your heels. Lift your chest, hug your elbows in, and bring your chest forward in Cobra Pose.
Child’s Pose
Exhale and press your hands into the mat and shift your hips back to Child’s Pose. Bring your big toes together and bring your knees as wide as you would like them to be. The wider they are, the more intensely you’ll feel this stretch through the inner thighs. Walk your hands forward and bring your forehead down to the mat. Stay present with yourself here for a few more breaths.
Seated Neck Stretches
Walk your hands toward your knees and sit cross-legged or any way that is comfortable to you and works for your lower back and your hips. Before you finish your 10-minute morning yoga for beginners, bring your left hand to your right knee and lower your left ear toward your left shoulder. You’re working on stretching the right side of your neck. Stay here or crawl your right fingertips farther away from you for a more intense neck release here.
Lift your head back to center and bring your right hand behind you as you turn your chest to the right in a twist. Reach the crown of your head up. Stay tall through your spine as you breath here.
Come back through to center. Repeat on the other side so your right hand rests on your left knee. This time lower your right ear toward your right shoulder and stay here or stretch your left arm out.
Lift your head and bring your left hand behind you as you twist to the left. Pull your lower belly in and press your shoulders down.
Come back through to center, bring your fingertips to the mat behind you, and lift your chest. Think of squeezing your shoulder blades toward each other. Bend your elbows a little and imagine you’re trying to bring your elbows together to touch behind your back.
If you choose, bring your hands together at your chest in anjali mudra and take a long, slow breath out here. Consider how you want to feel today and how you want your day to go. Notice how just this 10-minute morning yoga for beginners practice of breathing and moving and being aware had a positive effect on how you’re feeling.
About Our Contributor
Kassandra Reinhardt is an Ottawa-based Yin Yoga and vinyasa yoga instructor whose YouTube channel, Yoga With Kassandra, has grown to 2.2 million subscribers and has more than 230 million views. Kassandra recently released her guided yoga journal, My Yoga Journey: A Guided Journal, her daily affirmation card deck, I Radiate Joy,and her book, Year of Yoga.
