10-Minute Daily Morning Stretching Routine for Flexibility

I’ve designed a short and sweet 7-day morning stretching routine that involves performing static stretches for 10 minutes every day.

This program involves performing five stretches daily, each taking 2 minutes of your time.

Spending 1-2 minutes on each stretching exercise provides better results than doing plenty of exercises.¹ Page P. Current concepts in muscle stretching for exercise and rehabilitation. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2012 Feb;7(1):109-19. PMID: 22319684; PMCID: PMC3273886, ² The ideal stretching routine – Harvard Health Publishing

So, I recommend following this 10-minute daily stretching practice if you want to treat your muscles with tender stretches every morning, feel relaxed during the day, and enhance your balance and flexibility over time.

10-Minute Morning Stretching Routine to Get Flexible

Monday

1) Child’s Pose: 20-second hold followed by 10-second rest x 3 times. Rest for 30 seconds, then move to the next exercise.

The child’s pose stretches the shoulder, hips, and upper body muscles.

2) Cobra Pose: 20-second hold followed by 10-second rest x 3 times. Rest for 30 seconds, then move to the third exercise.

The cobra pose improves posture and makes the posterior body flexible.

3) Knees-to-chest Stretch: 15 seconds hold per side x 3 times, no rest between switches. Rest for 30 seconds, then be ready for the next exercise.

Knee-to-chest activates hamstring muscles, improves hip mobility, and strengthens abs.

4) Spinal Twist: 15 seconds stretch on each side x 3 times, followed by 30 seconds rest.

Spinal twist improves torso and hip flexibility and reduces stiffness around the lower back.

5) Shoulder Stretch: 15 seconds stretch per side x 3 times, followed by 30 seconds rest.

The shoulder stretch facilitates stress around your delts and improves shoulder mobility.

Tuesday

1) Downward-Facing Dog: 15-second stretch followed by 15-second rest x 3 times. Rest for 30 seconds before moving to the next exercise.

It stretches the entire body, particularly the hamstrings and lower back, and makes your body more flexible.

2) Standing Forward Bend: 15-second stretch followed by 15-second rest x 3 times. Take a 30-second break, then move to the next exercise.

It helps strengthen your hamstrings and lower back and improve the posterior chain flexibility.

3) Cat-Cow Stretch: Hold for 10 seconds each during cat and cow poses. Repeat five times, then move to the next exercise after 20 seconds of rest.

It helps relieve shoulder, spine, and neck stiffness and improve alignment.

4) Seated Forward Bend: 15-second stretch followed by 15-second rest x 3 times. Relax for 30 seconds the perform the last stretch of the day.

This exercise helps improve your shoulder, hamstrings, and spinal flexibility.

5) Glute Bridge Hold: 15-second stretch followed by 15-second rest x 4 times. That’s the end of day 2.

It reinforces the gluteal muscles, builds a strong backside, improves hip mobility, and eases lower back stress.

Wednesday

1) Warrior I Pose: Stretch for 15 seconds per side x 3 times, with no rest between switches. Rest for 30 seconds, then start the next exercise.

It activates several muscles throughout the body and helps improve balance, posture, and flexibility.

2) Garland Pose: 15-second sit, followed by a 15-second rest x 4 times.

The Garland pose strengthens the glutes, legs, and adductors and enhances lower body functionality.

3) Supine Spinal Twist: Hold for 15 seconds per side x 3 times. Rest for 30 seconds, then move to the next exercise.

The spine flexing exercise promotes your hip mobility, bolsters your abdominals, and minimizes the chances of lower back strain and injury.

4) Warrior II Pose: Hold for 15 seconds per side x 3 times. Rest for 30 seconds and then start the fifth exercise.

It helps build flexible hips, improve balance and stability in the lower body, and enhance functional fitness.

5) Head-to-Knee Pose: Hold for 15 seconds on each side x 3 times. That’s the end of the day 3.

It decently stretches the hamstrings and lower back, supports better spine alignment, and eases tension in your posterior chain muscle.

Thursday

1) Reverse Warrior Pose: Spent 15 seconds per side x 3 times. Rest for 30 seconds and then move to the second exercise.

It stretches and strengthens multiple upper to lower body muscles, particularly the legs, glutes, adductors, shoulders, back, and abs.

2) Superman Pose: 20-second pause, followed by 20 seconds of rest x 3 times.

It reinforces the lumbar spine, makes the lower half flexible, and contributes to better posture.

3) Pigeon Pose: Stretch for 15 seconds per side. Repeat three times, rest for 30 seconds, and then start the fourth exercise.

This exercise helps stretch the hip flexors, groins, and glutes and helps ease stiffness in the hips.

4) Lunge with Spinal Twist: Hold for 15 seconds on each side x 3 repetitions. Take a 30-second break, and then go for the last exercise of the day.

It is a multi-joint stretching exercise that engages the hips, back, shoulder, core, and legs and levels up balance and flexibility.

5) Camel Pose: 20-second pause, followed by 20 seconds of rest x 3 times. That’s the end of day 4.

This exercise helps build upright posture, elevate mobility, and develop a flexible physique.

Friday

1) Crescent Lunge: Hold for 15 seconds on each side x 4 times.

It engages several muscles throughout the body and helps build strength, balance, and flexibility.

2) Lying Windshield Wiper: Hold for 5 seconds on each side, perform 3 reps, then rest for 30 seconds x 2 times.

3) Quad Stretch: 15 seconds per side x 4 times.

The quad stretch increases flexibility and range of motion and relieves tension in the anterior thigh.

4) Archer Squat Hold: Stretch for 15 seconds per leg x 4 times.

The Archer squat trains the adductors and lateral thighs and increases flexibility in the lower body.

5) Seated Side Stretch: 15 seconds hold per side x 4 times.

This exercise simultaneously engages multiple muscles, such as the legs, hips, obliques, back, adductors, and shoulders, and helps build a pliable body.

Saturday

1) Triangle Pose: Spent 15 seconds on each side x 3 times. Rest for 30 seconds and then move to the second exercise.

The triangle pose is an integrated full-body stretching exercise that helps enhance balance, flexibility, and body awareness and eases stiffness or tension.

2) Lying Locust Pose: 15-second pause, followed by 15 seconds of rest x 4 times.

The locust pose works similarly to Superman, with additional emphasis on the middle and upper back.

3) Seated Bird Dog: Hold for 15 seconds per side. Repeat three times, rest for 30 seconds, and then start the fourth exercise.

The bird-dog primarily reinforces the hamstrings, glutes, back, and abdominals and promotes balance, flexibility, and mind-muscle connection.

4) Extended Side Angle: Stretch for 10 seconds per side x 3 times. Take a 30-second break, then perform the last exercise. (1.5 minutes)

It stimulates multiple muscles throughout the body, relieves stiffness, and develops balance and pliability.

5) Wheel Pose: 10-second pause, followed by 20 seconds of rest x 4 times. That’s the end of day 6.

The wheel pose strengthens forearms, abs, and back, improves wrist and shoulder mobility, stretches the torso and legs, and elevates overall flexibility.

Sunday

1) Dolphin Pose: 20-second pause, followed by 20 seconds of rest x 3 times.

It helps build fit hamstrings, abs, and shoulders while enhancing your hip’s mobility.

2) Standing Bird Dog: Hold for 10 seconds on each side, followed by 10 seconds of rest. Repeat 3-4 times.

The standing bird is also known as the Warrior 3 pose. It stretches several muscles while improving flexibility and balance.

3) Gate Pose: Stretch for 15 seconds on each side x 3 times. Take a 30-second break, and then start the next exercise.

It activates the entire side body from the hips to the armpits, including the abdominal muscles, spine, and hamstrings, creating flexibility and openness.

4) Bow Pose: 10-second pause, followed by 20 seconds of rest x 4 times.

It mainly engages the legs, glutes, back, and shoulders, making the spine and legs flexible and helping achieve an upright posture.

5) Archer Push-up: 10-second stretch on each side, followed by 10 seconds of rest x 4 times. That’s the end of day three.

Benefits of Stretching in the Morning

Stretching is a crucial part of a fitness program as it helps improve flexibility, balance, and body awareness.

You can do stretching at any time of the day, but doing it in the morning can benefit you in several ways, such as:

• Eases Muscle Tension: Muscles tend to be stiff in the morning, so stretching first thing in the morning can help ease that stiffness and open up your muscles. It helps keep your muscles relaxed later in the day.
• Enhance Blood Flow and Cardiovascular System: Stretching gets the blood flowing throughout your entire body, from the brain to the toes. It even has some long-term benefits for your cardiovascular system.³ Kruse NT, Scheuermann BW. Cardiovascular Responses to Skeletal Muscle Stretching: “Stretching” the Truth or a New Exercise Paradigm for Cardiovascular Medicine? Sports Med. 2017;47(12):2507-2520. doi:10.1007/s40279-017-0768-1
• Improve or Maintain Posture: Doing stretches in the morning relieves muscle stress, helps you feel relaxed, and allows you to sit more comfortably with an upright posture.

Should You Stretch Every Morning?

Yes, stretching every morning helps ease tension and stiffness throughout the body, helps you feel active during the day, and reduces the risk of strain or injuries.⁴ The importance of stretching – Reviewed by Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing

However, keep the activity time around 10-15 minutes per day, perform a variety of exercises that work the entire body, and spend no more than 2 minutes on each exercise.

Can You Stretch on an Empty Stomach?

You can stretch on an empty stomach, as stretching exercises, like cardio and weightlifting, don’t require much energy.

Stretching sessions generally last 10-20 minutes, and they are less intense as well, so it is okay to stretch in the fasted state.

Who Should Avoid Stretching Exercises?

People with injuries should avoid stretching as it can worsen their condition.

Overweight people will also find performing the exercises mentioned in this program challenging.

I also suggest pregnant or breastfeeding women not to perform these stretches.

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References

• 1
  Page P. Current concepts in muscle stretching for exercise and rehabilitation. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2012 Feb;7(1):109-19. PMID: 22319684; PMCID: PMC3273886
• 2
  The ideal stretching routine – Harvard Health Publishing
• 3
  Kruse NT, Scheuermann BW. Cardiovascular Responses to Skeletal Muscle Stretching: “Stretching” the Truth or a New Exercise Paradigm for Cardiovascular Medicine? Sports Med. 2017;47(12):2507-2520. doi:10.1007/s40279-017-0768-1
• 4
  The importance of stretching – Reviewed by Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing