Morning Yoga Routine
Wake the spine standing and on all fours, warm up with sun salutations, and finish steady on one leg. Pick 5, 10 or 20 minutes and follow the figure, the breath circle and the chime.
17 poses · breathe 3 s in, 3 s out
Stop if something hurts, and check with a doctor before starting if you have a health condition, are pregnant or are recovering from an injury. Easier versions for knees and wrists are under each pose. SourcesTerms
The 10-minute sequence
| # | Pose | Hold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 breaths0:24 | |
| 2 | 4 breaths0:24 | |
| 3 | Standing Side BendRight side | 4 breaths0:24 |
| 4 | Cat-Cow Sore wrists? Make fists, or rest on your forearms. Knees: fold a blanket under them. | 6 rounds0:30 |
| 5 | Cobra Pose Lower back or wrists complain? Use sphinx instead, on your forearms. | 5 breaths0:30 |
| 6 | Downward-Facing Dog Sore wrists? Come onto your forearms (dolphin). Bend your knees as much as you like. | 5 breaths0:30 |
| 7 | 5 breaths0:30 | |
| 8 | Low LungeRight side | 5 breaths0:30 |
| 9 | Sun Salutation A Bend your knees in the folds. Lower to your knees in the plank. | 3 rounds1:02 |
| 10 | 6 breaths0:36 | |
| 11 | Warrior IIRight side | 6 breaths0:36 |
| 12 | 4 breaths0:24 | |
| 13 | Triangle PoseRight side | 4 breaths0:24 |
| 14 | Tree PoseLeft side Foot on the ankle or calf, never pressed against the knee. A hand on a wall or desk is fine. | 5 breaths0:30 |
| 15 | Tree PoseRight side | 5 breaths0:30 |
| 16 | Chair Pose Knees complain? Sit back less, and keep your knees behind your toes. | 6 breaths0:36 |
| 17 | 4 breaths0:24 |
What the 10 minutes look like
You start standing: four slow breaths in mountain pose, then a side bend each way. On all fours, six rounds of cat-cow move the spine forward and back, cobra and downward dog open the front and back of the body, and a low lunge on each side stretches the hip flexors. Only then come three sun salutations, with your knees bent in the folds. Warrior II, triangle and tree pose wake the legs and your balance, chair pose adds a little heat, and you finish where you began, standing tall. The circle paces 3 seconds in and 3 seconds out.
Why the forward folds come later
Your spinal discs take up water while you lie down at night, so they are fuller and stiffer first thing. In a study of volunteers and spines, Adams, Dolan and Hutton (1987) found that bending forward in the early morning puts much more stress on the lower-back discs and ligaments than the same bend later in the day. In a randomised trial of people with chronic low back pain, those taught to avoid full forward bending in the early morning had less pain than those who weren’t (Snook et al., 1998).
So this routine moves the spine first in ways that load it lightly: standing side bends, cat-cow on all fours, a gentle backbend. The folds inside the sun salutations come a few minutes in, with soft knees, and there are no deep seated forward bends in the 5 or 10-minute versions.
What to expect from it
Yoga is a gentle way to move before the day starts. Reviews summarised by the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) find it helps with perceived stress, and it is about as safe as other exercise when done sensibly (Cramer et al., 2015). We don’t claim more than that: it won’t replace sleep, and it isn’t a weight-loss workout.
The 20-minute version adds warrior I, extended side angle, a deep squat, a seated twist, bridge and a short rest at the end, so it can be your whole practice for the day.
Sources
- Adams, Dolan and Hutton, Diurnal variations in the stresses on the lumbar spine (Spine), 1987
- Snook et al., The reduction of chronic nonspecific low back pain through the control of early morning lumbar flexion: a randomized controlled trial (Spine), 1998
- NCCIH (NIH): Yoga: What You Need To Know, 2023
- Cramer et al., Adverse events associated with yoga: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (American Journal of Epidemiology), 2015
How this works: Method, 4 sources, Checked against 2 worked examples,
How this works
Method
Each flow is a sequence of poses from the exercise library, held for a number of breaths or repeated in rounds, on both sides where a pose has sides. The timer paces every breath (2.5 seconds in and out by default; the time-of-day routines set their own, down to 4 in and 6 out at bedtime) and gives a few seconds to move into each pose, and the minutes shown are those seconds added up. The time-of-day routines are ordered so the effort builds and then settles: upright and on all fours first in the morning, standing to lying down in the evening, the floor only at bedtime.
Sources
- Adams, Dolan and Hutton, Diurnal variations in the stresses on the lumbar spine (Spine) (1987)
- Snook et al., The reduction of chronic nonspecific low back pain through the control of early morning lumbar flexion: a randomized controlled trial (Spine) (1998)
- NCCIH (NIH): Yoga: What You Need To Know (2023)
- Cramer et al., Adverse events associated with yoga: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (American Journal of Epidemiology) (2015)
How it’s tested
2 worked examples for this page are checked by automated tests before every release: given the inputs, the tool must show the expected answer.
Limits
Stop if something hurts, and check with a doctor before starting if you have a health condition, are pregnant or are recovering from an injury.
Privacy
On your device. Nothing you enter or open leaves this browser. About privacy labels
Changes
- The guided player keeps time with the screen locked, picks up at the same pose after a reload, and Back shrinks it to a bar instead of closing it.
- Yoga by time of day: morning, afternoon desk, evening and bedtime routines in 2–3 lengths each, slower breath pacing in the evening, easier versions for knees and wrists, and 7 new poses.
- First version: guided follow-along flows with a 3D figure, a breath-paced timer, a chime and spoken pose names.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I do yoga straight after waking up?
You can, gently. Move around for a minute or two first (make a drink, open the curtains), then start. This routine begins standing and on all fours and keeps your knees bent in the forward folds, because the lower back is stiffest to bend forward early in the morning.
Which length should I pick?
Five minutes if you only want to loosen up, ten for a proper wake-up with sun salutations, twenty if it is your yoga for the day. The length is part of the link, so you can bookmark your version and open it straight from your home screen.
Can I do morning yoga without a mat?
Yes. A rug or carpet is fine, and bare feet grip best in the standing poses. The low lunge puts one knee on the floor, so fold a towel under it. For downward dog on a slippery floor, bend your knees and keep your hands wide.
Is morning yoga better than evening yoga?
We know of no good evidence that one time of day is better for yoga in general. Choose the time you will keep doing: this routine is built to wake you up, while the evening and bedtime routines are built to slow you down.