Morning routine with yoga – even 10 minutes can work wonders
How do you start the day? Up and at ’em? Allow yourself a conscious morning routine before diving into the chaos of daily life. Simon Kersten, our yoga coach and former pro tennis player, explains why this is important. Join in on the short yoga session!
Do you sometimes feel stressed, unmotivated or tense? Or all of the above? You’re not alone. The current Swiss Job Stress Index shows that almost 30% of all Swiss workers are stressed and emotionally exhausted. But what does that have to do with a healthy morning routine? A lot, in fact. Because how we start a fresh, new day has an influence on our well-being.
What does the ideal morning routine look like?
A healthy morning routine includes exercise, nutritious food and mindfulness. Which area you should place a greater focus on and what does you the most good differs from person to person. Going for a jog in the forest, taking a cold shower, meditating, dancing, stretching, eating an Ayurvedic breakfast – what’s important is that you take some time for yourself every morning and avoid letting yourself get stressed out by the things on your to-do list. «If you start off with a hectic morning, you’ll be less composed for the rest of the day,» says Simon Kersten. The Helsana coach was a professional tennis player in his younger years.
Today he trains budding yoga teachers, among other things. «Yoga helps boost your energy levels and composure for the day ahead,» says Kersten. «It’s a wonderful way to combat stress.» Yoga breathing techniques bring calm, correct shallow breathing and loosen tense muscles. Tip: set yourself your first small goal and incorporate breathing exercises into your new morning routine – 10 minutes are enough to begin with. As time goes on, you can make the exercise longer.
The “Morning Yoga” session helps combat tiredness and prepares you for the day’s tasks.
Morning yoga – 10 minutes for combating tension and stress
In a video tutorial, Simon Kersten shares exercises from the Helsana Coach app that help with opening up your ribcage, stretching your shoulders and making room for your heart. The short yoga session helps release upper-body tension that comes as a result of the shoulders slumping forward and the neck, throat and shoulder area becoming stiff after extended periods of sitting throughout the day. All you need is a yoga mat and 10 minutes of your time. You’ll finish up feeling relaxed, have mental clarity and be full of energy. So come on and join in!
Sequence of exercises – what you’ll see in the video
- Calm down with a short meditation
- Sun Salutation to warm up and activate your muscles
- Main part: yoga flow to open up the heart and shoulders
- A little breathing exercise to finish and recentre yourself
Simon Kersten was a professional tennis player for many years. Nowadays, he’s passionate about yoga and all kinds of HIIT (high-intensity interval training). He founded athleticflow together with his wife Nora and combines yoga and HIIT in a new kind of training. He gave the editorial team advice and input for this article.
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