Do this Yoga Pose Every Morning to Improve your Day

Do you fall into the category of rolling out of bed after your 5th alarm goes off? Only to shuffle to the kitchen and make your coffee until you slowly start to resemble a human? If this sounds like you, then you are not alone. About one year ago we were in the habit of waking up and starting our day in the same way. Once we started seeing a therapist it became apparent that something in our draining morning routine needed to change. So that very next day we tried out the most simple yoga pose we could think of. To our surprise, our mental health completely transformed from that point forward. Since then, we have been doing this simple yoga pose every morning to improve our day.

That being said, we knew we needed to share this life-changing hack with you all. To make this article even sweeter we even reached out to our favorite psychologist to hear exactly why this easy swap works so well!

Image via @createcultivate

Reach your hands up to touch the sky and then back down to your toes – then repeat! 

This simple move is effective for just that reason: it’s simple! It’s a quick and easy way to feel control over your day and to ground your mind. You’ll get a great full-body stretch and the simple repetitive motion with a little focused breathing can clear your mind and help you feel ready to tackle the day…and your inbox! Repeat it 5, 10, or as many times as you need for a few minutes in the morning to start your day on a clear-headed note.

Image via @theyogabus.co

So why does it work?

Natalie Underdown, Ph.D., Executive Coach & Organizational Psychologist, The Nu Company explains,

“Whenever we as individuals or teams engage in rituals, repeated actions imbued with symbolism and meaning, we create tradition, safety and normalcy (all so needed and appreciated during the continued long-haul of the pandemic). These rituals create norms that we can look forward to that help us prepare for a busy day ahead, shake off challenges throughout the day, or decompress before we take our rest for the evening. Finding rituals that work for you and are aligned with your values is the trick”