Sunrise Starter
A gentle wake-up for stiff mornings — five shapes that unfold the body before the day begins.
In the simplest words
Five easy moves to turn your body's lights on in the morning: stand tall, do cat-cow, make a mountain, be a cobra, then stand tall again — taller than before!
Practise along
Step through the postures at your own pace with the arrows, or press play and let each posture time itself. Arrow keys work too.
Mountain stand & stretch
Breathe naturally
Stand tall; on an inhale stretch the arms overhead and rise to the toes, exhale to lower. Three times.
Learn this pose →Posture 1 of 6
What it is
Curated for the first ten minutes after waking, when Surya Namaskar still feels like too much: stand tall, wave the spine loose, stretch the back line, open the chest, and finish standing — taller than you woke. It also works beautifully as the warm-up before your first Surya Namaskar rounds.
Where it comes from: Curated by Dharamkira from the classical poses on this page — a sequence, not a scripture.
Rounds & rhythm
Once through, slowly; repeat the cat–cow and mountain if the back asks for more.
What it is kept for
Waking the spine, warming up for Surya Namaskar, mornings after poor sleep.
Before you practise — health first
All-gentle. Move within comfort, keep knees soft in the folds, and skip the cobra with back pain or pregnancy (rest in child's pose instead).
Every posture, in order
Mountain stand & stretch
natural breath
Stand tall; on an inhale stretch the arms overhead and rise to the toes, exhale to lower. Three times.
Cat
exhale
On all fours, exhale and round the spine to the ceiling, head easy.
Cow
inhale
Inhale, dip the belly, lift chest and tailbone. Keep flowing cat–cow with the breath, six rounds.
Mountain / Down-dog
natural breath
Tuck the toes and lift the hips into the upside-down V. Pedal the heels; five slow breaths.
Cobra
inhale
Lower down and rise into a soft cobra on the inhale; exhale down. Twice.
Stand into the day
natural breath
Walk the feet to the hands, roll up to standing, and take three tall breaths. Good morning.