20 Ways to Brighten Your Year With Mindful Wellness

4. Take time for morning breathing exercises

Waking up is hard to do, especially on those days where it’s so toasty warm in your bed. But there’s a few tricks in order to jumpstart your brain and body without ever having to leave your king-sized comforter.

Some people do morning yoga, others take time for a mindful meditation session. But there’s some very simple breathing exercises you can do in order to de-stress and start the day off right. Just make sure you don’t drift back off to sleep.

Start by lying on your back, and getting a feel of your tummy just below the ribcage. Breathe in as deep as you can, feeling the belly expand like a balloon. Hold in for a few counts, then slowly release through your mouth. Make all the morning and moaning noises you’d like, there’s no one around to hear. Do this for a few breaths. You can also do a technique called “4-7-8 breaths.” Breathe in slowly for 4 seconds. Hold for 7, breathe out silently for 8. Doing this a couple times will help ease your stress and give you a good start to the day.

For more breathing techniques, you can check out this website. Happy breathing.