10-Minute Morning Yoga to Ease Tension in Your Hips and Back

"Although in Turtle, you'll slide your heels much farther away and keep your knees bent at a little more than a 90-degree angle. This makes the pose much easier for your lower back. As you tilt forward and release down, you're simply relaxing down. You want it to be a passive fold, so let gravity do the work. If your chest is close toward the mat, an option is to thread your forearms underneath your legs, palms facing up. Breathe here."

"This 10-minute morning yoga practice is designed to help you release that tightness and tension that you feel in the morning. The following poses focus on your hips and lower back through seated hip-opening stretches and then progressing into some twists that support your back. There's also strengthening work for your core in some unexpected variations on everyday poses. If you find that you can't stretch very far in these poses, don't worry."

A 10-minute morning yoga practice releases tightness and tension in the hips and lower back through seated hip-opening stretches, gentle twists, and core-strengthening variations. The sequence begins with a modified Butterfly called Turtle, with heels slid away and knees bent to reduce lower-back strain, encouraging a passive forward fold. Options include threading forearms under the legs when the chest reaches the mat. The flow continues with seated pigeon variations, supported back twists, and unexpected core challenges built into familiar poses. An affirmation, "I deserve to be loved and respected," reinforces self-worth during and after the practice.

Read at Yoga Journal