A coffee is usually the first option to wake up in the morning, however, some simple exercises can be of great help to wake up in an active and healthy way.
The morning is the most productive time. People who wake up without problems often have time to eat breakfast, go for a run and do a lot of things in one day. After all, when you wake up early, the day immediately becomes very long.
But what if you’re not one to get up early and can barely open your eyes when the alarm goes off? With a simple set of exercises you can wake up in a real way, without additives and also awakening your spirit.
Surya Namaskar Complex
Surya Namaskar (from Sanskrit “Salute to the Sun”) is one of the most famous hatha yoga complexes. It is a sequence of asanas that are dynamically related to each other. Each of them is done by inhalation or exhalation. A cycle always ends in the position where it all started.
As the name of the exercise says, in doing so, we salute the sun. And to do this, of course, it is best in the morning (ideally before sunrise). That is why Surya Namaskar is so popular – it can easily replace the usual morning exercises.
What does the exercise of greeting the sun give us?
- Activation of sympathy (Surya Namaskar perfectly helps to perk up and wake up).
- High quality training, stretching the muscles of the whole body.
- A surge of vivacity and energy.
There are many options to perform the exercise, from the classic ones to the custom ones, but we are going to stop at two of the most famous.
Surya Namaskar in the tradition of Sivananda Yoga
We include the following image, and a description to perform each of the steps:
- Starting position: Tadasana: standing, with the feet together, the weight is distributed evenly between them. We collect the palms in namaste in front of the chest, and try to lower the shoulders and stretch the head looking up.
- Inhalation: raise both hands (if there are no problems with the lower back, you can make a gentle deviation to either side).
- Exhale: lower both hands to the ground (be careful, if, when performing an incline, your back is strongly bent, as it could be injured, the correct thing to do is go down to a position where we do not hurt the body), if it cannot be achieved what the third image above shows, we will bend our knees until we can touch the floor with our hands.
- Inhale: step back with your right foot, facing forward.
- Exhale- try to do the plank position but with your arms extended, and try to push the area between the shoulder blades up. Stay in that position for two full breaths.
- Exhale: lower your knees, chest, and chin toward the floor. The palms remain close to the shoulders. This position is Ashtanga namaskarasana.
- Inhale: transition to the next movement, stretching your arms, bringing your head up and sinking your torso until you touch the floor (or as close as possible).
- Exhale: In this position, try to keep your back straight. If you lack elongation, bend your knees or lift your heels off the floor.
- Inhalea: bring your left foot forward and leave your right leg straight.
- Exhala: perform an incline (Uttanasana), if you cannot complete it, bend your knees until you touch the floor with your hands.
- Inhale: raise both hands (we make a nice gentle deviation, if there are no problems with the lower back).
- Exhale- we return to the starting position – Tadasana.
Surya Namaskar is allowed to be used as an independent morning practice and as a warm-up, warm-up before other physical exercises or hatha yoga practice.
The regular performance of Surya Namaskar has a positive effect on the whole body: the body is strengthened, the work of the respiratory, circulatory, lymphatic, digestive and nervous systems improves.
Therefore, this is considered one of the best exercises for waking up in the morning, and its effects are wide-ranging throughout the day.