The following exercise routine was developed for Recovery Direct as a yoga based morning routine that anyone can do. Tamzin Williams and Steve Barloz led morning groups that were designed to get the blood flowing and to awake the nervous system starting by flexing the spinal chord, focusing on your breath and connecting with your bodily sensations.

Opening Our Early Morning Welcome To You

We would like to invite you to move from the world around you to the world within you

Begin Today’s Session

• Lengthening the spine, hands relaxed on the knees, chest lifted, chin slightly in
• Closing your eyes or softening your gaze to in front of you
• Focusing on your breath; inhale and exhale through the nostrils
• Meeting yourself exactly where you are both mentally & physically
• Scanning your body and identifying with any sensations experienced such as in your back, knees or other areas, that may be stiff or tense

Visualising a mindful intention for the day ahead

• Begin visualizing your day…
• Visualizing your morning, afternoon, evening and bedtime.
• Visualizing the various situations that will unfold throughout your day
• Visualizing the people with whom you will connect
• Now start to feel your way into the day
• What you wish to bring to the world or create
• Inhale deeply pause the breath feel the fullness of your lungs the uplifting nature of your heart and exhale

1^st Exercise – Pelvic Lifts

Benefit: This exercise releases abdominal stress! It gives you an immediate boost of energy throughout your body that lasts well into the day. It also stimulates your thyroid. It allows you to breath deeper and adds to your energy level. It moves the energy from the lower spine to the upper spine.

Spinal fluid in the lower spine up to the neck is stimulated

Begin

• Lying on your back
• Arms by your side – palms facing down
• Your knees bent so your feet are flat on the ground
• Press into your feet
• Inhale as you lift the pelvis up off the floor
• Exhale as you come back down
• Important note: Engage in your core muscles when lifting up. Push your lower back into the mat when coming down.

To End

• Hold the posture with the pelvis lifted up
• Inhale as you suspend the breath and squeeze the pelvic floor muscles
• Release and exhale

Relax

• Relax extend the legs straight out
• Palms face up
• Deep breathing

2^nd Exercise – Leg Lifts

Benefit: work on the digestive area (also emotion have to be digested), spark energy at the navel point

Good now we’re going to begin leg lifts

Begin

• Lying on your back
• Arms by your side- palms facing down
• If there’s no strain in your lower back you can inhale both legs up
• Inhale Up
• Exhale down
• If there is any strain at all begin with one leg at a time or you can place your hands & arms facing downwards underneath the lower spine and buttocks for extra support.
• Important note: Push the lower spine towards the floor to make sure that there’s no strain

To End

• Hold the legs up
• Inhale as you suspend the breath and squeeze the pelvic floor muscles
• Release and exhale

Relax

• Relax the body
• Palms face up
• Deep breathing

3^rd Exercise – Piston Legs

Benefit: Concentrating your awareness at your navel point helps to build energy around your third chakra.

This is our point of personal will. This is where we bring our personal will into the right alignment and we really strengthen the core of our body

Begin

• Lying on your back
• Palms face down
• We are going to piston the legs in and out
• Inhale exhale
• Important note: Push the lower spine towards the floor to make sure that there’s no strain

To End

• Hold both legs straight out
• Inhale as you suspend the breath and squeeze the pelvic floor muscles
• Release and exhale

Relax

• Roll gently back and forth on the spine just a few times and then we’ll come up on to our feet

4^th Exercise – Cat / Cow

Benefit Flexing and extending the spine can help improve circulation in the discs in your back. It’s a basic motion, but one that benefits in supporting your back and easing pain and maintaining a healthy spine, especially if you spend a lot of time sitting.

Begin

• Start on your hands and knees, aligning your wrists underneath your shoulders and your knees underneath your hips.
• Think of the spine as a straight line connecting the shoulders to the hips.
• Try visualizing the line extending forward through the crown of the head and back through the tailbone.
• This is the position of a neutral spine.
• Keep the neck long by looking down and out.

Inhale and Arch for Cow Pose

• Tilt your pelvis back so that your tailbone sticks up.
• Let this movement ripple from your tailbone up your spine so that your neck is the last thing to move.
• Your belly drops down, but keep your abdominal muscles hugging your spine by drawing your navel in.
• Take your gaze gently up toward the ceiling without cranking your neck.

Exhale and Round for Cat Pose

5^th Exercise – Side Bend

Benefit: This exercise simply targets working on your spinal flexibility and the nervous system connections.

Begin

• Feet are about hips distance apart on the mat
• Hands are going to remain sort of by the sides of the body
• Inhale to your centre
• Stretch down to the side exhale
• Inhale Exhale inhale exhale inhale exhale
• Take your time
• Always inhale to centre and Exhale down to the side
• And inhale up and exhale

To End

• Stand Tall with arms relaxed by your sides
• Inhale as you suspend the breath and squeeze the pelvic floor muscles
• Release and exhale

Relax

With your eyes closed return to your centre position standing and slowing your breathing down to normal neutral zone. If you want to you can take a second and put your hand over your belly button and simply notice your breathing returning to a normal steady rate again.

6^th Exercise – Alternating Arm Swings

Begin

• Now we’re going to take our right hand onto our heart
• And we’re going to inhale Left
• Twisting
• Exhale right
• Inhale left
• Exhale right
• Inhale
• Exhale
• Now we’re Twisting
• Open the body
• This should feel very nice
• Inhale left
• Exhale right
• Inhale to centre
• And exhale
• All beautiful
• You should be feeling very alive and very awake right about now

To End

• Stand Tall with both hands on your heart eyes closed
• Inhale as you suspend the breath and squeeze the pelvic floor muscles
• Release the arms and exhale

Relax

Standing tall and letting your arms gently fall to your sides. Releasing any tension in muscles throughout your body.

7^th Exercise – Arm Sweeps

Benefits: Activates the nervous system allowing us to feel more refreshed and energised for the day.

Begin

• Standing
• Feet are about hip-distance apart
• Knees slightly bent
• Inhale as you sweep your arms up over your head
• Exhale as you sweep your arms down

To End

• Stand Tall with arms relaxed by your sides
• Inhale as you suspend the breath and squeeze the pelvic floor muscles
• Release and exhale
• Come to sit down on the mat
• Eyes closed
• Deep Breathing as you draw your attention inwards
• Allow everything from the exercise routine to now settle
• Noticing the effects of your practice today

End And Enjoy Your Day