Warmin' up the old Buick

And by Buick, I mean your body. I mean my 41-year-old body, first thing in the morning 😑 Turns out there is some physiology to why we are so stiff and creaky straight out of bed, and there are some ways to help warm the old Buick up. You'll be feeling like a snazzy zippy new convertible in no time!

In this week's practice I share a 10 minute series of stretches which I call "just barely yoga" that I do just about every day to wake up my body. It's a series of joint rotations, then stretches that engage a lot of the muscles - think, your dog, cat or any animal after they wake up. I have shared this practice several times now as part of Sunrise Yoga on the Beach with my neighbors and recently cousins at my family reunion. The general consensus is, "damn this feels good!" My favorite comment I got was from a neighbor's friend who was graduating from medical school in days and she said "I know better. I need to do this more!"

So, how do these stretches do such a good job of waking up our bodies first thing in the morning? First, the joint rotations. Our joints are lubricated by synovial fluid - an egg white-textured viscous liquid that keeps our hard bones from rubbing up against one another and helps all the components of our joints move freely. Movement helps to get that fluid moving. Synovial fluid also carries nutrients (like the blood) so movement helps to get vital cellular building blocks to our joints and get the cellular garbage moving on out through the lymphatic system. Thus, tons of benefits from simple joint rotations/flexion!

Second, the full body stretching. If you haven't heard of the fascia, you're in for a wild ride my friends. Fascia is like the sausage casing for all of our connective tissues - muscles, tendons, cartilage- there's even fascia on our internal organs! This fascia is all connected like a giant web throughout the whole body. Think of (or try right now) tugging on the hem of your shirt...when you tug on that part of the shirt, you're creating tension throughout a wide portion of the fabric of that shirt. That is how the fascia works!!

Another important feature of the fascia is that its elasticity decreases in periods of stillness/lack of movement. That rusty-ol-Buick feeling first thing in the morning?? Your fascia has stiffened while you sleep. So by doing literally any kind of stretching, but especially stretching that engages as much of the fascia as possible, you're waking up a critical web of tissue that keeps your body intact and connected!!

Now, think of your pet, or your favorite wild animal (especially mammals). What do they do when they wake up from a nap? They stretch out!

Animals instinctively wake up their fascia - so should we!!

It's important for me to share some interesting bonus effects I have experienced since I started doing this practice just about every morning. I don't do anything on my phone except put on some relaxing tunes (Floating Through Space on Spotify is my current fave) until I have done my morning body wake up and anything else I feel like I need to start my day - some yoga, breathing, and of course Morning Pets for my pup Theo once he comes downstairs (he likes to sleep in 🤣).

Waking up my body with intention has led to me:

• Peeing when I notice I have to pee
• Drinking water when I am thirsty
• Discerning when I'm hungry what I actually need to eat (I mean I still had a Pop-Tart yesterday, but I had it consciously as a lovely treat 🍬)
• Taking more little stretch breaks throughout the day
• Resting, relaxing and taking breaks when I feel tired

In summary - these morning practices have helped me to feel a little less rusty as I start my day, and helped me to listen to and respond to the signals from my body for the rest of the day! Give it a shot and let me know what you think, I love feedback and collecting all the evidence of how beneficial this simple practice is to encourage others to give it a shot 🥰

I also have to give a shout out to my teacher who shared these practices in a training I did recently. Dr. Arielle Schwartz is a trailblazing pioneer and expert in how yoga helps individuals recover from traumatic experiences. In her Applied Polyvagal Theory for Yoga for Trauma Recovery Training, she taught us that these little practices can lead to more embodiment - noticing what's going on in our body and responding with agency - which is something that can be disrupted after traumatic experiences. She has an amazing YouTube channel with all kinds (and all lengths) of practices for yoga for your nervous system - check her out!!

With no further ado, here is this week's practice. I hope you enjoy, and Theo makes another appearance so enjoy the bonus of seeing his scruffy little butt in there again 🤣

Thanks for taking some of your precious time to read this, and (hopefully) do the practice too! I sincerely hope it is of benefit to you 😊 Please feel free to share this newsletter or my YouTube channel (or both!) with anyone you think might also benefit.

In deepest gratitude,

💕Carly