🎯 Today’s Mission:

To successfully complete today’s mission:

✅ Take a couple of minutes to stretch.

✅ Write down the stretches you will do tomorrow morning in your journal.

✅ [OPTIONAL] Share with us, in the Morning Routine Challenge Support Group how your morning went.

✅ Complete the form at the bottom of the page when done.

The Sleekgeek 21-Day Morning Routine Challenge is sponsored by Vitaforce.

💡 More Info:

❓ How to complete the mission

You have seen in it numerous movies and adverts — the main character wakes up and has a big stretch. Arms out wide, back arched and a satisfied smile on his face. Nothing beats a good stretch first thing in the morning.

Stretching reduces stiffness and lengthens your muscles; it also can release endorphins and improve circulation.

According to Healthline, along with making us feel good, stretching also has several other benefits such as:

Improved flexibility. Stretching can help lengthen your muscles and improve your range of motion.
Better circulation. Regular stretching may have both short-term and long-term benefits on your circulatory health.
Reduced injury risk. Improving your range of motion can potentially decrease your risk of muscular injury.
Less back pain. Stretching your muscles can help ease and prevent back pain by strengthening your back muscles.
Improved athletic performance. Improved joint movement and flexibility may help boost your athletic ability.
Less stress. Many people find stretching relaxing. Stretching activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which can help induce calmness.
Better posture. Tight muscles can pull your body into poor posture. Combining a stretching program with core strengthening may help improve your alignment.

🤓 How?

Here are some simple stretches that you can do as soon as you wake up to prime your body for the day ahead.

Child’s Pose

Begin on all fours on the mat, with your knees directly under your hips but your big toes touching. You can widen your toes if having them touching puts any pressure on your knees.
Inhale and feel your spine grow longer.
As you exhale, take your butt back to your heels and tuck your chin to your chest.
Rest here, with your forehead on the ground and your arms outstretched. You can also put your arms next to your body, palms resting up if you prefer.
Hold this for 5 deep, even breaths.

Cat/Cow

Push up from Child’s Pose onto all fours, the top of your feet flat, shoulders directly over your wrists, and hips directly over your knees.
As you inhale, drop your belly, letting your back arch but keeping your shoulders rolled back and down (this is Cow). Look slightly upward toward the ceiling.
As you exhale, press your hands into the ground and round your upper back (this is Cat).
Continue moving, arching on your inhales and rounding on your exhales, repeating this for 5 breaths.

Downward Facing Dog

From all fours, push into your hands, straightening your arms as you raise your hips and straighten your legs. Note: You may want to inch your feet and hands a little farther apart, as a longer stance is normally more comfortable and beneficial. Your heels don’t have to be touching the ground here and won’t be for most people. “Working toward the ground” (not being on your tiptoes) is fine.
As you exhale, press into your hands and roll your shoulders down and back, moving your shoulder blades down your back and your shoulders away from your ears.
Your spine should be neutral here.
You don’t want your upper spine working too hard, your shoulders hunched, or your belly dropping too far toward the floor in a swayback.
Take at least 5 deep breaths here, bending one knee and then the other as you do, to gently open up the back of each leg. Settle into the pose by not moving your legs for at least 2 deep breaths.

One Legged Dog

In Downward Dog, be sure you are grounding fully and evenly pressing into both hands, and take a deep inhale, lifting your right leg as you do.
When your leg is as high as you can comfortably get it while keeping your hips level with the ground, exhale and let your right leg bend, with your heel moving toward your butt, and then turn so that you can open the right side of your body.
Take two deep breaths here, taking the time to let your hip and side open up and lengthen.
Straighten the right leg as you square your hips back toward the mat, and gently return it to the ground as you exhale.
Switch sides.

Warrior I

Beginning in Downward Dog, lift your right foot and bend your knee toward your nose.
Plant your right foot between your hands or, if needed, behind your right hand. (If you can’t get your foot as close to your hand as you’d like, simply set it down, grab your ankle with one hand, and help move it forward. Or you can rise to stand and inch it forward.)
Once your right foot is planted, rise to stand as you inhale deeply. Right now, both feet should still be toes pointing toward the top of your mat.
If your foot didn’t go as far forward as you’d like for this pose, inch it forward now. When your stance feels stable, pivot your heel all the way to the ground, so your back foot is flat on the ground and at about a 45-degree angle. Your heels should align if you were to draw a line from one to the other.
Your back leg is straight and your front leg bent, knee over ankle. As you sink your hips a little bit more, deepen the stretch, inhale and lift your arms over your head, palms facing each other but still parallel, at shoulder width. Take 3 deep breaths.
When you’re ready, you can go back into Downward-Facing Dog to switch legs. Or you can lift your left heel up, making your feet parallel again, then step forward with your left, take a deep breath and as you exhale, step your right foot back to be the back foot.

Mountain Pose

You can simply step your right foot forward from the previous pose or you can, from Downward-Facing Dog, look between your hands and step one foot, then the other up to meet at the top of your mat, and rise to stand. Your feet should either have your big toes just barely touching, your heels will be a little bit apart, or you can have your feet a few inches apart to improve your balance.
Relax your arms so they are resting at your sides but are still active. Your shoulder blades will be rolled down and onto your back, your neck elongated, and your palms facing forward to keep them engaged.
As you inhale and exhale here, shift your weight just the tiniest bit back and forth on your feet, to see if you really are standing equally on both sides. Consider lifting just your toes up and spreading them out, or maybe even seeing if you can get all 4 corners of your feet to take your weight equally.
Take 5 deep breaths here.

Standing Forward Bend

From Mountain pose, take a deep breath in, lifting your hands up and out, until they meet above your head.
As you exhale that breath, fold at your hip joints (not your waist), keeping your torso long and lifted as you do.
Your legs will remain straight, so you will place your hands wherever is most comfortable for you: on your shins, ankles, feet, or even the floor. You can also bring your palms to the backs of your calves or ankles. (Note: If none of those options feels OK for your body, hold opposite elbows.)
Keep your feet planted firmly and your hips over your heels. As you stay here for 5 deep, even breaths, remember to elongate your core and spine on your inhalations. Release into your bend with your exhalations. Fully relax your head and neck.
When you have completed five full breaths here, release your arms from wherever they were as you exhale, and rise back up, lifting from your hip joints and core, as you inhale.
Return to Mountain pose for 5 breaths to end the practice.