Getting out of bed each day: what a drag! Maybe one of you reading right now is the type who leaps up to carpe diem. But if you’re like most of us, you groan and hit the snooze button. This longing to hibernate will only intensify as the weather gets colder.
Turns out there may be a way to linger in bed while also getting your mind and body right for the day: Yoga, right there on the mattress.
While taking regular 60-90 minute yoga classes is ideal, not everyone has the time. “People are always looking to fit in a little bit of yoga and there’s a lot of different places and ways you can do it,” says Rebecca Weible, the founder of Yo Yoga! Studio in NYC. “It doesn’t always have to be on the mat.”
Here are four easy poses Weible suggests doing while you’re waking up in bed. Hold each one anywhere from about one to five minutes.
Variation on Legs-up-the-Wall
This pose is fairly self-explanatory. Lie on your back in bed with your legs up against the wall or headboard, as close as you can get. Bring your feet together while bending your knees and spreading them out to the side, forming a triangle, for a gentle hip opener and lower back stretch.
Child’s Pose
Lie on your stomach, placing one pillow between your knees and thighs and another supporting your torso from the pelvic bone up. Keeping your back straight, spread your knees open while having your toes still touching and stretch your arms out in front of you. “Child’s pose is a very soothing sensation for a lot of people because it reminds us so much of being in the fetal position,” says Weible. “There’s a sense of peace and calm that carries into adulthood.”
Back-bend
Position your pillow horizontally under your back so that your head and rear are on the mattress and then arch your back for a gentle back bend.
Hand-to-foot pose
Lie on your back and bring your right knee into your chest, interlacing your fingers around the back of your right thigh as you stretch your leg up to the ceiling. Repeat with the left. Hold this pose for 30 seconds to a minute.
