3 steps to stop pain and stiffness in the morning.
It all begins with an idea.
This is the 3 step routine I use every morning, to help address the pain and stiffness we sometimes experience first thing in the morning. This routine is based on neuroscience, spinal anatomy and neuroscience, and is tried and tested in different scenarios, including early starts, slow mornings or an early wake up from our toddler!
First things first - get up as soon as the alarm goes off and head for the living room (for bonus points, look out towards the sun). Don’t let sleep take you again; this will crush your cortisol spike, and we NEED to take advantage of this. Our cortisol spike will help with mood, energy, and alertness (handy to help us get into good sleep at night too).
Activate - timing (2 minutes): Once you’re in the living room, look out the window and start with this easy stretch routine. Start by standing tall and doing these 3 times on each side: tilt your head left to right, rotate your head trying to look over your shoulder both ways, then look up and down. Now, shrug your shoulders all the way to your ears then back down into your back pocket; repeat three times. VOILA! Neck and shoulders unlocked for the day. Now, put your hands on your hips and high knee march slowly on the spot for 10 steps each leg. After, put a hand on the side of your leg and slowly see how far you can slide it down the leg again, 3 times each side. Now, the finisher! Hands on the front of your legs and slide them down until you feel resistance. When you are at the bottom of your bend, imagine your spine is a stack of blocks (don't worry, no toddler will come by and kick it down); slowly come up trying to stack one part of your back up at a time, feeling the stretch as you do!
Hydrate - timing (1 minute): Once this is done, drink a glass of water with a pinch of salt in it (trust me, absolute game changer). This will balance your hydration at the start of the day and give the muscles you just activated the electrolytes they need to stay loose and flexible throughout the day. Muscles that do not have a proper electrolyte balance will stay contracted for longer.
Move - Timing (2 minutes): Go for a walk; I don't mean 15 minutes or a couple of kilometers. Literally, a couple of loops of the front yard or some laps of the living room. The act of walking; all the small twists and rotations at the spine bring a lot of awareness and nutrients to the spine, which flushes away inflammation that builds up and causes that stiffness in the morning.
These three actions are the way i kick off every morning, rain hail or shine. When you get these right, you will not only feel the change in your body, but you'll also notice how much easier it is to get everyone fed, dressed, packed, and in the car. Getting through the morning routine whilst stiff and sore is the worst kind of compound interest; every difficult task just makes the next one worse.
These steps come from neuroscience (muscle activation and proprioceptive awareness), human physiology (optimal hydration for muscle function), and spinal anatomy (spinal inflammation and blood supply). With the study I’ve completed and the real-world testing I’ve done in my own home, these simple steps will get the morning working in your favor. Give this a consistent 5 mornings in a row to start noticing the differences.
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