Move first in the morning!!

As a Pilates teacher I often am up bright and early to teach classes and clients.  I try to make it a point to get to the studio early enough that I have a little time to move a little myself before I start teaching, so that I’m a little more awake in my brain and body.  Sometimes I forget how great this early morning movement time is for my body….until there’s a day when I don’t have to teach bright and early.  On a weekend or day off when I am not up moving around first thing during my day I often have a moment mid morning or mid day when I realize that my body just feels “creaky”.  And by creaky I mean my body feels tight, I’m not moving with as much ease as normal and my energy levels are not as high as normal.  That’s when  I have that realization that I skipped my morning movement time!  So I take a few minutes (yes that’s it…maybe 5-10 minutes tops if I have the time) and I move my body in a variety of ways.  Usually I do something as simple as:

• rolling through my spine with Pilates roll ups and rolling like a ball
• I do some extension exercises like swan
• some sort of gentle side stretch

The difference in how my body feels is kind of amazing.  So my suggestion for you is to play with a morning movement routine!  It doesn’t have to be complicated and you can do it in your pajamas or maybe before you even get out of bed.  Find some simple movements you can do each morning to wake up your body and try to make a habit of it everyday.