Experienced the daily yoga routine endorsed by the popular internet yogi for morning flexibility-here are my genuine reflections
Adriene Mishler, a renowned yoga instructor, has released a new video on her YouTube channel, Yoga With Adriene. The video features a morning mobility routine designed to help with stiff and achy muscles, particularly after workouts.
The 20-minute routine provides an excellent full-body stretch, particularly for the hips and shoulders. Mishler encourages slow movement during the routine, which felt beneficial for the author's stiff joints and helped in relaxation. No equipment is needed for the routine, but a towel or yoga mat can provide support for the knees.
To complement this routine for joint health, it's recommended to incorporate exercises that focus on joint circulation, stability, flexibility, and alignment awareness. Here are some key exercises:
- Hip and Knee Joint Mobility and Strengthening Movements: Gentle movements that improve circulation and maintain range of motion around hips and knees. These may include mindful engagement of the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and inner thighs to build stabilizing muscle strength around these joints.
- Full-Body Joint-Friendly Exercises: Low-impact exercises that are joint-friendly and suitable for all fitness levels help improve joint function, prevent arthritis, and enhance overall joint health. Examples include controlled twisting, finger stretches, and ankle rotations.
- Balance and Strengthening Poses: Incorporate balance challenges like Utkatasana (Chair Pose) variations, which build lower body strength and joint stability, especially in thighs and glutes.
- Back and Spine Mobility: Yoga poses such as Downward Facing Dog help stretch and strengthen back muscles supporting spinal joints, which complement morning routines for full-body joint wellness.
To integrate these exercises with Adriene’s routine, start with her mobility flow to awaken and lubricate joints. Follow with hip and knee strengthening exercises focusing on slow, deliberate muscle engagement to protect the joints. Add joint-friendly full-body movements incorporating balance and gentle ranges of motion. Include spine and back stretches such as Downward Dog to maintain back joint flexibility and reduce stiffness.
For personalized guidance, especially if you have joint pain or limitations, consider therapeutic yoga classes focused on joint health like those targeting hips and knees, which also provide modifications and breathwork support.
The author, who has a long-standing knee injury and needs to maintain joint and muscle strength due to spending a lot of time sitting and years of overtraining, found significant relief after performing the routine. The author also felt significantly less stressed after the routine. Adriene Mishler's YouTube channel is considered one of the best for yoga, making her new video a valuable addition to any yoga practice.
The author, with a long-standing knee injury, found relief after practicing Adriene Mishler's morning mobility routine, which includes a 20-minute stretch focused on the hips and shoulders. To further promote joint health, the author incorporates exercises that focus on joint circulation, stability, flexibility, and alignment awareness, such as hip and knee joint mobility and strengthening movements, full-body joint-friendly exercises, balance and strengthening poses, and back and spine mobility exercises. The author also feels less stressed after the routine, highlighting the potential benefits of combining yoga with a holistic approach to mental health and wellness.
