The Yoga Sequence We're Starting Our Days With RN

There are all kinds of ways you can start your day. And as joyful as it is to hit snooze for the ninth time, there are other ways to find joy in your am's.

“The first hour of the morning is crucial,” writes Louise Hay, American motivational author.  “How you spend it will determine your experience of the rest of your day … When you get up in the morning, it’s important to do a ritual that feels good to you and to say something to yourself that makes you feel good. Set in motion the best day possible for yourself."

And what better to get your moves on than a morning yoga routine?

Emily McCarthy (@emilymccarthy), a holistic wellness coach and yoga teacher at Humming Puppy, says it comes down to intention: what kind of day do you want to have?

A morning practice should be one that energises and awakens, she tells us, "whereas in the evening, it would be more ideal to have intent on grounding, settling and calming the nervous system. This intentional work can be achieved in both the yang (dynamic) and yin (passive) styles of yoga."

We quizzed McCarthy on the yoga sequence we should be starting our days with...

How important is it to set an intention for your class?
"I feel quite strongly about intention in practice. Without planting a seed of reasoning, our asana (poses) practice is just movement. And these ancient teachings are based upon much more than just breaking a sweat. I like to think of yoga intention setting as manifestation in movement! It’s beautiful and holistic."

What should you look for in a morning sequence - any moves that shouldn’t be skipped?
"An all-round practice is optimal for mornings. An opportunity to explore all planes of movement in motion. Start with grounding yourself with intention for your day. Begin to extend your spine, bend it, twist it, mobilise your central axis as best possible and fire up that core. Practice your inversions (these can be simple variations), your standing balances, seated postures … And you can never skip savasana! Create as much balance within your physical body to kick start your day."

Take us through your favourite morning routine - what are the sequences we should be moving through?
"My favourite morning routine would always include pranayama, expansive arm movements, spinal rolls, deep lunges and hip openers. Anything to help unstuck tightness incurred during sleep. Every day is different.

"Start in child’s pose, with your knees wide and your arms extended forward, for several deep breaths. Gather your energy and get ready to move.

"Practice each pose for 5-10 breaths (unless mentioned). Then repeat two more times, moving more quickly and taking one breath per pose."