Good Morning- Coffee and Stretching

Good morning!…..Or whatever time you are reading this!  I am not sure about you, but I go to bed at night, just so I can wake up to make coffee.  It may sound silly, but I am serious.  Do not mess with a girl and her morning coffee.  =).  Another thing I like to do in the morning is stretch.  I like to hear the snap crackles and pops from being curled up at night.  I take a moment to check emails on the phone, see what the verse of the day is, and check Instagram.  Then begins the "ahhhh, uhhhgg, owww" sounds.  

The stretching done in my room is different from what I do in the kitchen.  Just think, junior high/high school gym class stretches.  Remember asking your friend, "Hey, are you dressing out?"  Point to the next friend, "Are YOU dressing out?"  because let's be honest, we never wanted to be the ONLY one not doing what were suppose to.  Oh to be a teenager.  

So now that I am all stretched out, I head down stairs to start the more exciting part of my morning!!!  Deciding if I want drip or french.  =)  #firstworldproblems.  Here are pictures of what I do.

Plank: Make a straight from your spine to your heels.  Imagine pushing the floor away from you.  Tuck your tailbone in and pull your belly button towards your spine.  

Upward Dog: Sink your hips to the floor, look up and do your best to pull the shoulders away from the ears.  Do this by pushing the floor away from you.  

Downward Dog:  Lift your hips up.  Imagine a string pulling your tailbone towards the ceiling.  Try not to bend your arms.  Stay strong and aim your armpits to the floor.  

Lift your leg up high and long.  Keep your spine long and pulling your armpits to the floor.  Put your strength into the pointer finger and palms in order to stay strong.  

Runner's Stance: Pull your lifted leg between your hands and use your hand to balance.  Keep the back leg strong, the heel pulling back and knee up.  Be sure to keep your front leg at 90 degrees- knee over ankle.  

Warrior 1: Lift arms over head, biceps next to ears.  Shoulders down and hands reading to the ceiling.  

Place hands down and glue your left shoulder to the left knee and raise right arm to ceiling.  

Switch arms

Hamstring Stretch: Straighten the front leg and bring the back leg in closer.  Bend at your hips and touch your forehead to your shin.  Repeat the sequence starting from plank.  What you do to one side you must do to the other.  

 

Feet together with a flat back rise all the way up.

  

Half Moon or Side Stretch: Clasp your hands and release your index fingers, keep the biceps next your ears, elbows straight.  Inhale and bend to the right.

…and to the right.  Breathe….in and out….(I will not think of the hamburger, I will not think of the hamburger.)

Clasp your hands behind you, press your palms together and pull your shoulders down.  Remember to hold your belly button in!

Lastly, bend at the hips and slowly bring hands above your head.  Move slow….

To release from this position: Lift up your head, release your hands and come up to standing.

Ahhhhh…feeels so much better and just in time for coffee.  I love mornings.  It's the beginning of something new.  We get this gift everyday, the opportunity to do things differently from yesterday---change what we need, keep what we like, and accomplish more.  

Be sure to breathe through your stretches.  May sound crazy, but holding your breath is so easy to do when something hurts or we are in uncomfortable positions.  I guess that can apply to life situations as well.  Know that it won't last forever and whatever we go through will only make us stronger.

Kale and coffee!

Jeanine Faith