When I stooped to tie my shoelace toward the end of 2024, my partner said, “You’re moving very stiffly,” and he was correct. Like many others, I work at my desk for hours on end, and by the time I finish, my muscles are usually tense.
In my daily routine, stretching typically receives little to no attention. I rarely find the time for a dedicated flexibility session, however I might get in some guided stretches before and after an exercise class or perform a back stretch while I wait for my lunch to warm up.
I made the decision to dedicate five minutes each morning to stretching because I was determined to make 2025 the year of change. I pulled out my mat and began practicing yoga after seeing Yoga with Bird’s five-minute morning yoga session for those with hectic schedules.
Although five minutes may not seem like much, it’s more than enough time to stretch your entire body.
My hips and back, which frequently feel stiff after sleeping, were greatly relieved by the nearly three-minute child’s posture that opens this practice.
After that, the exercise gradually transitions into cobra posture, downward-facing dog, cat-cow, and forward fold, all of which put my spine through crucial motion patterns like flexion and extension.
Here’s what I discovered after doing yoga for 30 days.
Stretching doesn’t need to be difficult.
Many of the poses in this practice are regarded as beginner-friendly yoga stretches that anyone may perform.
Even though I’ve been doing yoga for almost ten years, I still found these basic poses to be gratifying and useful for relieving stress. My entire body felt notably more relaxed by the end of the session, and my muscles felt lighter.
My flexibility quickly increased.
My increased flexibility is certainly not surprising, but I was taken aback by how fast I noticed improvements. I couldn’t touch the floor in a forward fold at the beginning of this task. A week later, I could reach the floor, and thirty days after that, I was able to put my hands on the ground with ease.
It helped me concentrate better.
The most surprising advantage was this. It can take me up to forty minutes to really get up and start going, even though I consider myself a morning person.
Including stretching in my regimen gave me a sense of direction for the day. I also felt more productive after moving first thing. I’ve also observed that I do my morning chores faster and with more focus.
Purchase yoga mats.
When performing these stretches, I find it helpful to have a soft, supportive surface beneath me. The choices listed below are all from our list of the top yoga mats and are perfect for poses like the one above.
