Morning Movement: Essential to optimizing performance and longevity
~ Coach Ryan Ellis

Being snuggled up under our cozy blankets, often with our loved ones curled up next to us, can be a difficult place to drag yourself out of. But hey, you have to get up eventually. So let's rise early enough to truly make a positive impact on our whole day, and believe it or not, your next sleep as well..

Morning movement doesn't have to be a hard charging, heart pumping, grind of a workout. As a matter of fact its best if it's not. It can be a gentle yoga flow, few mobilization movements, or.. pounce back in bed onto your loved one and wake them up in the most pleasant of ways ;)  

There is a tremendous amount of research that is telling us that in order to optimize our day, morning movement is essential - following of course, your morning mineral cocktail as outlined in a previous BA Buzz. We want to get that blood flowing and down regulate the parasympathetic nervous system (rest & digest). While key parasympathetic actions take place during sleep (digestion, detoxification, cellular regeneration etc),  motion, circulation, and excretion (sympathetic nervous system responsibilities) take a back seat, and we need to get them going! 

This small commitment to yourself in the mornings reap incredible rewards.

• You're starting your day off on a wave of positivity that energies you for the whole day.
• It gives you a moment of reflection and mindfulness that few of us take the time to have.
• It re-synchronizes of the bodies circadian rhythms (especially important when changing timezones, or making any alterations to your waking/sleeping schedule). 
• Improved function of organs of elimination (liver, kidneys & lymphatic system).
• It lengthens and oxygenates sleep shortened tissues.

Now there are many many ways to accomplish this (sometimes your loved one won't want to wake up before the sun), so be creative, or keep it simple and just move... walk, jog, stretch, roll, bounce, skip, play..
Some of us have chronically tight tissues or problematic areas due to lifestyle or injury and can benefit from a morning protocol that is specific to setting up your day to be pain free - enter shameless plug here - we at Body Architects are experts at prescribing these. 
In a perfect world you'd be able to be out in the sunshine for your morning movement. So a morning walk outside or drag your yoga mat onto the deck, lawn, or front porch for whatever your movement routine might be. You will not regret it.