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HandoutHandout 1: Supply & Shopping List
Handout 1: Supply & Shopping List ### Beginner Yoga for Stiff Mornings
Listen—before you spend a dime, read the whole list. Most of this you already own. I mean that.
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What You Actually Need (Budget Tier)
A towel. A regular bath towel, folded long, is your strap. It works exactly as well as the $12 version with a buckle. I still use a towel half the time.
A rug or carpeted floor. If you've got carpet in the living room, you have a yoga mat. Not glamorous, but your knees won't know the difference for gentle stretching.
A couple of sturdy books. Hardcovers, stacked, are your blocks. Phone books if anybody still has one. Your body, your rules on how high you stack them.
A wall. Free. You'll use it more than you'd think.
Clothes you can bend in. That's it. Doesn't need to be special "yoga wear." Sweatpants are fine. So are jeans if they've got some give, though I don't love denim for this.
That's the whole budget list. You could start tomorrow morning with what's already in your closet and not spend a cent. No pretense here — I'm tight with a dollar and I think yoga got expensive for no good reason.
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Nice-to-Haves (If You Want to Spend a Little)
A real yoga mat, $15–$25. My daughter-in-law Jessica got me a nice one for my birthday and I fussed at her about the price for a solid week before I admitted I love it. A mat mostly earns its keep by not sliding around on hard floors, which carpet doesn't have a problem with anyway. If your floor is tile or hardwood, this one moves up the list.
A foam block, $8–$12. I tried to 3D print my own to save the money. Printed three. The last one cracked under my knee mid-pose and I gave up and bought the foam one, grumbling the whole drive home. Sometimes cheap-and-bought beats free-and-homemade. Learn from me.
A proper strap, $8–$10. Nicer than a towel because it won't slip, but a towel does the job. This one's genuinely optional.
A small cushion or folded blanket. For sitting poses if your hips are tight (most of ours are — that's why we're here). A couch pillow works fine.
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Local-ish Shopping Notes
- Macey's and Costco both carry basic yoga mats and blocks in the fitness aisle, seasonally. Costco's tend to run cheaper for the size.
- Sporting goods stores around American Fork and Lehi will have the nice-to-have stuff if you want to see it in person before buying.
- Don't order anything fancy online before class one. See what you actually want first. I'd rather you save your $20 than buy a strap you never touch.
- If you're up the canyon a lot or gardening at our elevation, your joints already know what dry air and hard water do to them. A cheap mat with a little grip is worth it if your hands or feet tend to slide — dry skin plus a slick floor is not a good combination.
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One Thing I'll Say Twice
You do not need to buy anything to show up week one. Bring a towel and wear pants you can bend in. That's genuinely enough. We'll figure out the rest together. 😊
HandoutHandout 2: Your Cheat Sheet for Stiff Mornings
Handout 2: Your Cheat Sheet for Stiff Mornings
Print this, stick it on the fridge, or tape it to your closet door. You don't need to remember everything from class. Just come back to this.
No pretense here. This is the short version.
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The Five Moves That Actually Matter
1. Cat-Cow On hands and knees, arch your back up like a scared cat, then let your belly drop and look up a little. Slow. Back and forth, maybe eight to ten times. What it does: wakes up the whole spine before it has to do anything else that day.
2. Forward Fold (seated or standing, your choice) Just bend forward from the hips, knees soft, let your arms hang. Don't force your hands to your toes. Nobody's grading you. What it does: hamstrings and low back, the two things that seize up overnight.
3. Hip Opener (the "pigeon thing") I don't know the official name and it doesn't matter. One leg bent in front of you, other leg long behind. Sit tall or fold forward over it, whichever your hip allows THAT day. What it does: hips are where most of us store our stiffness. This one gets in there.
4. Gentle Twist Seated or lying down, knees to one side, shoulders staying flat if you can. Breathe. Switch sides. What it does: low back relief, especially if you slept wrong (we all sleep wrong sometimes).
5. Child's Pose Knees wide, sit back toward your heels, arms stretched out front, forehead down. This is the rest position. Go here anytime you need to. What it does: nothing fancy. It's just kind to your body.
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The Rules I Actually Care About
- Go SLOW. This is not the workout world. If you're breaking a sweat, you're doing too much.
- Ache is fine, sharp is not. Sharp pain means stop, back off, try again gentler tomorrow. Your body, your rules.
- Keep breathing, don't hold it. I'm not going to give you a fancy count. In, out, don't clench up. That's it.
- Five minutes daily beats sixty minutes once a week. I mean this one. Consistency is the whole trick.
- You don't need equipment. A bath towel works as a strap. A stack of books works as a block. Save your money.
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A Note on Mornings Specifically
Your body is stiffest the first thirty minutes you're upright, especially if it's cold in the house (and up here, mornings get cold even when the day won't stay that way). Don't skip straight to the hip opener. Do cat-cow first, always. Warm the spine before you ask the hips to do anything.
I stretch before I go out to the garden for this exact reason — used to wreck my back bending over tomato cages at six a.m. Now I fold forward first. Fewer groans in the dirt.
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If You Only Remember One Thing
Slow beats hard. Every time, for stiff mornings especially. You're not too old and you're not too broken to feel better than you do right now. Everybody starts somewhere stiff. I did too. 😊
WorksheetHandout 3: Your Own Five-Minute Morning Routine
Handout 3: Your Own Five-Minute Morning Routine
By now you've felt the difference between a stiff morning and a stretched one. This handout is so you can build your own little routine and keep doing it after the class ends. That's the whole point, really — you moving on your own, not needing me.
Fill this in as we go. No pretense here, just a checklist.
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Step 1: Pick Your Poses
Circle the ones that felt best in YOUR body this week. Everybody's different, like fry sauce — some people need the hip stuff, some people need the shoulders.
- [ ] Cat-Cow (the "being a cat on purpose" one)
- [ ] Child's Pose
- [ ] Forward Fold (standing or seated)
- [ ] Gentle Twist, seated
- [ ] Pigeon thing (hip opener — don't ask me the real name)
- [ ] Neck rolls, slow
- [ ] Shoulder rolls / arm reaches overhead
- [ ] Legs up the wall (or up a chair seat if the wall's a stretch)
Pick 3 to 5. That's plenty. You don't need all eight every day.
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Step 2: Write Your Order
List them in the order you'll actually do them, easiest first:
- _______________________
- _______________________
- _______________________
- _______________________
- _______________________
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Step 3: What You'll Use
Remember — you do not need to buy anything.
- Mat or rug: _______________________
- Strap (towel, bathrobe tie, whatever): _______________________
- Block (stack of books, a firm couch cushion): _______________________
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Step 4: When
Be honest with yourself here. Consistency beats duration, every time. Five minutes daily beats an hour on Saturday.
Time of day: _______________________ Right before or after: _______________________ (coffee, letting the dog out, whatever anchors it)
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The Rules I Want You to Keep
- Go SLOW. Nobody's timing you.
- Ache is fine. Sharp means stop. Pain is information, not a badge.
- Breathe. Don't hold it. That's the whole cue, I'm not fancy about it.
- Your body, your rules. If a pose doesn't work today, skip it. Try again tomorrow.
- Five minutes counts. Even on the busy days. I learned that one the hard way — skipped two weeks once for a printer project and woke up one morning and couldn't lift the coffee pot. Don't be me.
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One Line for the Fridge
Write yourself a note, something short enough to actually read at 6 a.m.:
_______________________________________________
Mine used to be "just the mat, Kelly, that's all." Yours can be whatever gets you down on the floor.
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That's it. Fold this up, stick it somewhere you'll see it, and give yourself two weeks before you decide whether it's working. It was nothing for me to write this up — you're the one doing the bending. 😊
HandoutHandout 4: When Things Don't Go Right — Troubleshooting Guide
Handout 4: When Things Don't Go Right — Troubleshooting Guide
Beginner Yoga for Stiff Mornings — Utah Community Learning
No pretense here. Everybody hits snags. Here's the stuff that trips people up most, and what to do about it.
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1. "I can't touch my toes." Good. Nobody could at the start, including me. Bend your knees in forward fold, as much as you need to. The stretch is the same, you just get there with less drama. Give it two weeks before you judge yourself on this one.
2. "My hands don't reach the floor in half of these poses." Use a block, or don't buy anything, just stack a couple books or grab a rolled towel. Your body, your rules. Nobody's handing out points for flexibility.
3. "I hold my breath without noticing." Everybody does this, me included, and I'm not going to pretend I've got fancy breathing cues for you. Just... don't hold it. If you notice you're stuck, let a breath out through your mouth like a sigh. That usually unsticks it.
4. "I wobble like crazy in the standing poses." Tree pose humbles me weekly. Stand near a wall or a chair back for the first while, lightly touching it, not leaning your whole weight on it. Balance comes with practice, not with trying harder in the moment.
5. "It hurts." Listen — ache is fine. Ache means the muscle's working. SHARP pain, or anything pinching in a joint, means back off immediately. Pain is information, not a badge. No pain no gain is garbage advice for this kind of movement.
6. "I feel it more on one side than the other." Totally normal. Most of us are lopsided from years of favoring one hip, one shoulder, whatever. Spend a few extra breaths on your tighter side. Don't force it to match the other one in one sitting.
7. "I did great for a week and then skipped ten days and now I'm stiff again." Yep. I did this myself over a winter, buried in a project, and one morning I couldn't lift the coffee pot. Consistency beats duration. Five minutes daily beats one long session a week, every time. Get back on the mat today, not "starting Monday."
8. "My knees hurt on the floor poses." Fold a blanket or towel under them. Hard floors are hard floors, no shame in padding them. This is not cheating, this is common sense.
9. "I get dizzy or lightheaded standing up from a forward fold." Come up slow. Really slow. Around here at 4,600 feet some folks notice this more than they expect. If it happens, just pause on your way up, hand on a chair if you need it.
10. "I don't know if I'm doing the pose right because I don't know what it's called." Doesn't matter what it's called. I don't know half the fancy names either and never will. What matters is whether you feel it where you're supposed to feel it — hip, low back, shoulders. If you're not sure, that's what class is for. Ask me. I'll watch you move and tell you straight.
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One last thing — if something on this list keeps happening for weeks and isn't budging, that's worth mentioning to your doctor, not just muscling through. Stretching helps a lot of stiffness. It's not a fix for everything, and I'd rather you know that than get hurt proving a point. 😊
podcast_scriptClass podcast — episode 1
Audio coming soon — show notes below.
JESS: —okay so that's the fourth person this week who's asked me if they need to buy a mat before day one.
KELLY: You do not.
JESS: That's what I told them but I figured we should just say it on here so people stop worrying about it.
KELLY: A towel works. Bath towel, folded up, that's your mat for week one. See how you like it before you spend money on anything.
JESS: This is the podcast for Beginner Yoga for Stiff Mornings, by the way, in case anyone clicked in wondering what they walked into. I'm Jess, I do the class podcasts around here. This is Kelly.
KELLY: Hi. 😊
JESS: So Kelly, first session's coming up Tuesday morning. Tell people what they're actually walking into.
KELLY: Listen—no pretense here. Nobody's gonna ask you to hum. We show up, we move slow, we go home able to tie our shoes without holding our breath. That's it. That's the whole class.
JESS: You say that like it's a low bar but I feel like half the people signing up would call that a personal victory.
KELLY: It is! I mean I'm not being modest, it really is. I couldn't touch past my knees in a forward fold when I started. My friend Pat dragged me to this stretch class off a library DVD, and I went in figuring it'd be all incense and people talking about their energy. It wasn't. It was just slow movement done on purpose. Two weeks later I touched my toes and didn't even tell anybody. Just sat there on the floor grinning like an idiot.
JESS: I love that you didn't tell anybody.
KELLY: Well who am I gonna tell, I'm sitting alone on my living room floor. But it mattered to me. That's the thing people don't get about this stuff, it's not for showing off, it's just... you wake up and your body does what you ask it to. That's the whole win.
JESS: Okay, give me something people can actually try tomorrow morning. Something they don't need the class for.
KELLY: Before you get out of bed. Before your feet even hit the floor. Lie on your back, hug one knee into your chest, hold it, breathe, don't hold your breath, switch legs. Thirty seconds each side. That's it.
JESS: That's the whole tip?
KELLY: That's the whole tip. Your hips have been locked in one position for eight hours, they need a minute before you ask them to carry you to the coffee pot. I do this every morning, I've done it at 4,600 feet with my hard water and my dry air and cranky knees for years now. It works.
JESS: Is this the same coffee pot from the shoulder story?
KELLY: Different injury, don't get me started on that one. Wait, is that the one where I couldn't lift the—
JESS: No, save that one. Different episode.
KELLY: Fine. Fine, I'll save it.
JESS: Okay so tell me about pain. Because I know this is the thing people are scared of, especially if they haven't moved much in a while.
KELLY: Pain is information, not a badge. If it aches a little, fine, that's your body waking up. If it's sharp, you stop. Full stop. Nobody in my class is trying to prove anything. Your body, your rules.
JESS: You gonna tell the tissue story or is that off limits?
KELLY: Oh. Yeah, I can tell that one. Had a woman in one of my very first small classes, we were doing a hip opener, real gentle one, and she just started crying. Not upset-crying. She told me after, her hips hadn't moved like that since before her kids were born. Years.
JESS: What'd you do?
KELLY: Handed her a tissue and kept the music going. Didn't make a thing of it. That's not what she needed, somebody making a thing of it. She just needed to keep going.
JESS: That's kind of the whole class in one story, isn't it.
KELLY: I guess it is. People's bodies remember more than we think. You just give them room to catch up.
JESS: Okay, last thing. What's session two, for anyone listening who's on the fence?
KELLY: We'll do the cat-cow, we'll do some seated twists, real basic hip stuff. And I'll probably wobble through tree pose in front of everybody because balance poses are my weak spot and I'm not gonna pretend otherwise.
JESS: You'll let people laugh at that?
KELLY: I'll let people laugh WITH that. There's a difference. Come Tuesday, 8 sharp. I'll be there at 7:45.
JESS: Of course you will.
KELLY: Show up on time or don't bother. 🌞
podcast_scriptClass podcast — episode 2
Audio coming soon — show notes below.
JESS: —so I told her, there's no way you got your foot behind your head in week two, and she goes—
KELLY: I did not say behind my head. I said next to my head. Big difference, Jess.
JESS: Fine, next to her head. Okay. Welcome back, everybody, this is episode two, we're talking about morning stiffness today, which, if you're listening to this at six a.m. with your coffee, hi, we see you.
KELLY: We do see you. That's most of my class, honestly. People who wake up feeling like they slept wrong on every single joint at once.
JESS: So let's talk about that. Why mornings specifically?
KELLY: You've been laying still for seven, eight hours, hopefully. Everything's cooled down, the fluid in your joints hasn't moved, and then you just... stand straight up and expect your hips to cooperate. They don't. Listen—your body's not broken, it's just cold. Like an engine.
JESS: Like a car up the canyon in January.
KELLY: Exactly like that. You don't gun it right off the ignition, you let it warm up a second. Same idea here.
JESS: Okay, I want to get to the tip, because I know people skip ahead to find it, so let's just give it to them now.
KELLY: Fine. Here's the one thing. Before you even get out of bed, while you're still laying there, hug both knees up to your chest, real gentle, and just rock a little side to side. Not sit-up, not crunch, just rock. Thirty seconds. That's it.
JESS: That's the whole tip?
KELLY: That's the whole tip. You don't need my class for that one. Your body, your rules, just try it tomorrow morning before your feet hit the floor.
JESS: I love how simple that is.
KELLY: Simple's the point. Everybody wants some big complicated routine and honestly the complicated ones are how people hurt themselves. Slow and boring works. I've said that a hundred times.
JESS: You have. Okay, can I get the story out of you? The garden one?
KELLY: Oh, the garden thing, sure. So I've got my beds up at the house, and at our elevation the dirt dries out fast, and the water's hard as anything, so I'm out there a lot fussing with things. And for years I'd go straight from bed to bending over tomato cages at six in the morning.
JESS: Cold engine.
KELLY: Cold engine, straight into second gear. And I'd groan the whole time, my husband used to laugh at me, said I sounded like a screen door. So now I fold forward on the mat first, just hang there a minute, let gravity do the work, before I even go out to the garden. Fewer groans in the dirt now.
JESS: I love that phrase. Fewer groans in the dirt.
KELLY: It's true though. Same idea as the knee-hug thing. Warm up before you ask your body to do the actual work.
JESS: Can we talk about the forward fold a little more, since you brought it up?
KELLY: Sure. Most people, when I say forward fold, they picture some yoga person with their palms flat on the floor and their nose at their shins. Forget that. Bend your knees as much as you need to. Let your arms just hang. You are not trying to touch anything. You are trying to let your spine and your hamstrings say good morning to each other.
JESS: Say good morning to each other. I'm putting that on a shirt.
KELLY: Please don't.
JESS: Too late, already ordered. Okay, so next session, what are we doing?
KELLY: Next time we're doing the cat-cow, which sounds silly, I know, but it's the single best thing for a stiff back first thing in the morning. My granddaughter caught me doing it on the living room floor once and asked if I was being a cat on purpose.
JESS: What'd you tell her?
KELLY: Told her yes, obviously, and made her do ten of them with me. Now she asks to do it before school sometimes. Little thing likes to be a cat with grandma, I guess.
JESS: That's the sweetest thing you've said all episode.
KELLY: Don't make it weird.
JESS: Okay, okay. So next session, cat-cow, more spine stuff—
KELLY: And we'll talk about knees, because I know half the people listening are worried about their knees on all fours, and there's an easy fix for that, we'll cover it.
JESS: Perfect. Alright, that's episode two. If you try the knee-hug thing tomorrow morning, tell us how it goes.
KELLY: Or don't, no pressure. Just do it either way. 🌞
JESS: See everybody next time.
podcast_scriptClass podcast — episode 3
Audio coming soon — show notes below.
JESS: —okay wait, say that part again for the mic, the thing about the shoulder and the coffee pot.
KELLY: Oh. Yeah. So this was a couple winters ago. I was deep into a printer project, some contraption for the garden, and I just... stopped stretching. Two weeks, no mat, nothing. Told myself I was too busy.
JESS: Classic.
KELLY: And then one morning I go to lift the coffee pot and my shoulder just says no. Wouldn't lift past here. I stood there in my kitchen at six a.m. holding my arm like an idiot.
JESS: Did it scare you?
KELLY: It annoyed me more than scared me. Because I KNEW better. I'd already done the work to fix this stuff once. And here I was, right back where I started, over a coffee pot.
JESS: So what'd you do.
KELLY: Five minutes. Right there on the kitchen floor before I even got dressed. And I've done five minutes every day since, even the busy days. Especially the busy days, honestly.
JESS: That's kind of the whole class in one story, isn't it.
KELLY: It's the whole thing. Consistency beats duration. I'd rather you do five minutes every single morning than one big hour on a Saturday you feel guilty about.
JESS: Okay, so for anybody listening who isn't even signed up yet — what's one thing they could do tomorrow morning, no equipment, no class, just... try it.
KELLY: Sit up on the edge of the bed before your feet even hit the floor. Just sit there a second. Then round your back like a scared cat, then arch it the other way, real slow, ten times. Cat-cow, basically, sitting instead of on the floor.
JESS: That's it?
KELLY: That's it. Takes ninety seconds. Wakes up your spine before gravity does. My granddaughter Kaylee caught me doing the floor version once and asked if I was "being a cat on purpose."
JESS: Ha—
KELLY: I said yes and made her do ten with me. Now she asks for it before school sometimes. Which I pretend isn't the highlight of my week but...
JESS: But it is.
KELLY: It was nothing. Anyway. Point is, you don't need a mat for that one. You don't need me for that one. Do it in bed, do it on a kitchen chair, whatever.
JESS: I love that it's the opposite of intense.
KELLY: That's the whole opinion I've got about all of this. Slow beats hard. Everybody wants to sweat and push and I understand why, the fitness world sells it hard. But for stiff mornings especially, gentle wins. Every time.
JESS: Alright — coming up next session, what are we doing?
KELLY: Hips. We've done shoulders, we've done the back some, next time we're doing hips properly. That's the one that gets people. I had a woman cry a little the first time we opened up her hips, first class I ever ran. Good cry. Just hadn't moved that way in years.
JESS: Should people be nervous?
KELLY: No. Go slow, listen to your body, your rules. If it's sharp, stop, if it's just an ache, that's information, that's fine. Nobody's grading you. There's no pretense here.
JESS: Bring a towel?
KELLY: Bring a towel, bring a couple books if you've got 'em, don't buy anything special. See you Thursday. 🌞
FlashcardsPrintable flashcards — Beginner Yoga for Stiff Mornings
Print it, fold it, stick it on the fridge.
Flashcards: Beginner Yoga for Stiff Mornings
Cut these out along the lines. Fold once, keep in your bag or your nightstand drawer — wherever you'll actually see them again. I've had my set held together with a paperclip for two years now. That's fine. They still work.
FRONT BACK Why slow beats hard, first thing in the morning Your joints are like a jar lid that's been sitting a while — you don't crank it, you warm it up first. Slow movement gets fluid moving into stiff spots. Hard movement on a cold body just tells your muscles to clench tighter. What you actually need to buy for this Nothing. A towel folded up, a couple of books off your shelf, and floor space. That's the whole list. If someone's trying to sell you gear for this, that's your cue to walk away. Pain vs. ache — how you tell them apart Ache is dull, spread out, and eases up once you're moving. Pain is sharp, sits in one spot, or gets worse the longer you hold it. Ache, keep going gently. Pain, stop. Not "push through it." Stop. The one rule about breathing Keep breathing. Sounds obvious, but almost everybody holds their breath the second a stretch gets uncomfortable. If you notice you've stopped breathing, that's your body telling you you've gone too far — ease back till the breath comes easy again. Bed stretches, before your feet even hit the floor A few ankle circles, pointing and flexing your feet, maybe hugging one knee to your chest — all while you're still lying down. Gets things moving before gravity and weight-bearing get involved. Cat-cow On hands and knees, you arch your back up like a cat stretching, then dip it down and lift your head, slow, back and forth. It's silly-looking and it works on the whole spine at once. Slow neck and jaw releases Small, unhurried tips and turns of the head, plus opening and closing your jaw a few times. We carry more tension in the jaw than people realize — mine used to click every morning till I started doing this. Rolling out wrists and ankles Small circles, both directions, on joints that don't get much attention until they're the ones complaining. Takes thirty seconds. Worth it before you pick up a coffee mug or step down stairs. Shoulder rolls and shrugs Up, back, down, slow — like you're trying to shrug off a bad night's sleep, because you are. Don't rush this one; the slower it is, the more it actually does. Arms overhead and side reaches Reaching up, then leaning gently side to side. Opens up the whole side of your ribcage, which nobody thinks about stretching until it's tight. The doorway chest opener Forearm on the doorframe, gentle lean forward through the doorway. Stretches the chest and front of the shoulder — the stuff that's tight from years of hunching over a steering wheel or a phone. Threading the needle On hands and knees, you slide one arm underneath the other and let your shoulder drop toward the floor. Gets into the upper back and between the shoulder blades, a spot most stretches miss entirely. Knee hugs and gentle rocking Lying down, hug both knees to your chest, maybe rock a little side to side. Feels like nothing fancy. It's one of the most useful things in the whole routine for a tight lower back. "The pigeon thing" A hip-opening stretch where one leg is bent in front of you and the other stretches back. Deep stretch — go in slow, and use a folded towel under the hip if the floor's unkind to you. Seated figure-four stretch Sitting down, cross one ankle over the opposite knee, lean forward slightly. Same hip benefit as pigeon, much gentler entry — good one for a truly stiff morning. Low lunge with a book under the knee One foot forward, other knee down on a folded book or towel for cushioning. Opens the front of the hip, which tightens up something fierce from sitting. Forward fold, without touching your toes You don't reach for your toes. You bend forward as far as is comfortable and let your hands hang, even if they stop at your knees. The goal is the stretch, not the finish line. Standing side bends Reach one arm overhead and lean gently to the opposite side. Simple, and it wakes up muscles along your sides you forget you have. Gentle seated twists Sitting tall, hand on the opposite knee, twist slowly at the waist and look over your shoulder. Good for the whole spine — go slow, don't force the twist further than it wants to go. Tree pose Standing on one foot, other foot resting on your ankle or calf, hands wherever feels balanced. Everybody wobbles. That's not you failing — that's the whole class, every single time. Your five-minute morning routine A short handful of these moves, done in order, before you start your day. Doesn't need to be long. Needs to happen. Why five minutes daily beats one long session weekly Your body responds to consistency, not intensity. Five minutes every morning does more for stiffness than an hour once a week ever will. Show up small, show up often. Stretching before the garden or the errands A few minutes of this before you go bend over flower beds or haul grocery bags saves you the ache later that afternoon. Prevention, not repair. Doing it on your own from here Once you've got the moves in your body, you don't need a class or a DVD anymore — you need five minutes and a floor. That's the whole point of teaching this. So you don't need me. ---
One more thing, since it always comes up: somebody in every session asks "am I doing this right?" Mostly what "right" means here is that you're breathing, you're not in pain, and you did it today instead of skipping it. That's it. That's the whole bar.
Memory helpsMnemonics & memory helps
Print it, fold it, stick it on the fridge.
Mnemonics & Memory Helps ### Beginner Yoga for Stiff Mornings
I'm not going to pretend these are fancy. I made most of them up half-asleep, thinking about my own knees. But they've stuck with me for years, so they'll probably stick with you too. Use whichever ones actually work — you don't get extra credit for using all of them.
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"Slow is the whole point" → SNAIL
Stiff mornings Need A Inch at a Lime — okay, that one's a stretch (pun intended), but picture a snail. Nobody yells at a snail to hurry up. It gets where it's going by just... continuing. That's the whole lesson. Slow isn't the warm-up to the real work. Slow is the work, especially first thing.
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"What you need to start" → T.B.F.
Towel, Book, Floor. That's it. That's the list. If you own a towel, a book, and some floor, you are fully equipped. I say this one out loud sometimes when I catch myself wanting to buy something to solve a problem. TBF. Towel, book, floor. You already have what you need.
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Pain vs. ache: "Ache stays put, pain moves or shouts"
Ache is a dull, general, "yeah I'm stretching" feeling — it stays where you'd expect. Pain is sharp, or it travels somewhere it shouldn't (down a leg, into a joint), or it makes you gasp or wince involuntarily. Short version I use in class: if it whispers, keep going; if it shouts, stop.
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Breathing reminder: "No holding, this isn't a photograph"
People hold their breath in stretches like they're posing for a picture. You're not. Nobody's taking your photo. If you notice you've gone quiet and still in the chest, that's your cue — exhale, and let the next inhale come on its own.
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Bed stretches, before feet hit the floor: "Wiggle before you wobble"
Toes, ankles, a gentle full-body stretch like you're trying to touch both ends of the bed, knees to chest — all before you stand up. The rhyme's silly on purpose. If it's stuck in your head, it's done its job. Wiggle before you wobble.
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Cat-Cow: "Mad cat, sad cat"
Round your spine up like a cat arching at a dog = mad cat. Dip your belly and lift your chin = sad cat. I know "cow" isn't a sad animal, technically, but nobody's ever forgotten which way is which after I put it this way.
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Neck and jaw releases: "Unclench the hinge"
Your jaw is a hinge. Most of us carry the day's tension right there without noticing. "Unclench the hinge" is your reminder to check — jaw, neck, the whole area — several times through the routine, not just once.
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Wrists and ankles: "The forgotten four"
Two wrists, two ankles — small joints, easy to skip, and they'll ache all day if you do. I call them "the forgotten four" because that's exactly what they are until they hurt.
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Shoulder rolls and shrugs: "Shrug it off, slowly"
You know the phrase "shrug it off" — meaning let something go. Same motion, same idea, just done slow enough to actually feel it instead of a quick nervous twitch.
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Doorway chest opener: "Open the door on your own chest"
You're using an actual doorway to open your actual chest. The pun is free. I use it every time and it still makes me smile a little.
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Threading the needle: "Sew it shut, then open it back up"
You thread your arm through like thread through a needle, which closes you up small, and then the stretch is what opens the upper back back out. Thread in, open out.
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Pigeon (the thing you weren't sure of the name for): "Pigeons sit funny"
That's genuinely it. Pigeons have that odd, hip-out, one-leg-forward look when they're settled on a wire. If you remember that pigeons just sit weird, you'll remember the shape of the stretch.
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Figure-four stretch: "Make a 4 with your legs"
Literally — ankle crosses over the opposite knee, and if you look down, your legs make the number 4. I didn't invent this one, but it's the single most useful visual I know for that stretch.
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Low lunge with book under the knee: "Book for a cushion, not for reading"
Just a reminder of what the book's for in this routine — padding, not homework. Keeps people from wondering why I keep mentioning books.
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Standing side bends: "Reach for something just out of reach"
Like you're trying to get a jar off the top shelf that's just slightly too high. That reaching quality is what makes the side bend work — not force, just a lean toward something.
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Tree pose wobble: "Wobbling is the pose, not a failure of the pose"
This might be the most important mnemonic in the whole packet. Say it to yourself the second you start swaying: wobbling is the pose. Trees move in the wind. That's not the tree doing it wrong.
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The five-minute routine: "Five and alive"
Corny, I know. But it's short, it rhymes, and it tells you the two things that matter: the time commitment (five minutes) and the goal (feeling alive enough to get on with your day).
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Consistency over duration: "Daily beats grand"
Five minutes every day beats a heroic 45-minute session you do twice and then abandon out of exhaustion. Daily beats grand. Say it when you're tempted to skip a day because you "don't have time to do it properly."
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One Last Memory Trick, For the Whole Class
If you only remember one thing from this whole packet, remember this sentence:
"Slow, breathe, ache not pain, every day."
That's the entire class in six words. Everything else is just details.
Cheat sheetOne-page note card — Beginner Yoga for Stiff Mornings
Print it, fold it, stick it on the fridge.
Beginner Yoga for Stiff Mornings ### Fridge Note Card — Kelly's Class
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Why slow beats hard: Cold, stiff muscles don't respond to force. Slow movement warms them up without pulling anything you'll regret by lunch.
What you need: Nothing. Floor, a towel folded up, maybe a couple of old books for under your knee. That's it.
Pain vs. ache — know the difference:
Ache (good) Pain (stop) Dull, spread out Sharp, in one spot Eases as you move Gets worse as you move Feels like "stretching" Feels like "warning" Breathing: Just keep breathing. Don't hold it. If you notice you've been holding your breath, that's your body telling you to back off a little.
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The Morning Routine (5 minutes, before your feet hit the floor)
- Bed stretches — reach, point your toes, hug a knee in. Do this before you sit up.
- Cat-cow — be a cat on purpose. Arch, round, repeat.
- Neck and jaw releases — slow circles, unclench that jaw.
- Wrist and ankle rolls — small circles, both directions.
- Shoulder rolls and shrugs — slow. Not the fast kind you do at your desk.
- Arms overhead, side reaches — like you're stretching for a jar on the top shelf.
- Doorway chest opener — forearm on the frame, lean gently through.
- Threading the needle — for the upper back, the part that always cracks.
- Knee hugs, gentle rocking — a little massage for your low back.
- Pigeon thing — hip opener, sit into it, don't force it.
- Seated figure-four — same idea, easier on cranky knees.
- Low lunge, book under the knee — the book is not cheating, it's smart.
- Forward fold — no toe-touching required. Bend your knees. Let gravity do some of the work.
- Standing side bends — reach up and over, both sides.
- Seated twists, gentle — wring yourself out like a towel, don't yank.
- Tree pose — we all wobble. Wobbling means you're doing it right.
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Consistency beats duration. Five minutes every single morning does more for you than one long session on Sunday you dread all week.
Use it before the real work starts — the garden, the errands, whatever your day actually asks of your body.
Eventually, do it on your own. That's the whole point. I'm not trying to keep you.
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You reached your knees today that you couldn't reach two weeks ago. That's the whole game — keep showing up.
Around the web
Sites we keep coming back to. Some picked by your instructor, some shared in class.
- Yoga (Wikipedia) ↗
A solid overview of yoga's history and philosophy if you want context beyond the poses we do in class.
- Hatha Yoga (Wikipedia) ↗
This is the tradition our gentle morning practice comes from, worth a quick read.
- Stretching (Wikipedia) ↗
Good background on why stretching helps stiff joints and muscles, especially first thing in the morning.
- Yoga Journal Pose Library ↗
A reliable pose-by-pose reference with clear photos, useful when you forget how something in class was set up.
- Yoga Journal Beginners Section ↗
Straightforward articles aimed at new students, good for building confidence outside of class time.
- Do Yoga With Me ↗
Free full-length gentle and beginner classes online, handy for practicing on days you can't make it in.
- Ekhart Yoga Articles ↗
Well-written explanations of alignment and breathing that go a bit deeper than what we cover in a single class.
Videos worth your time
Hand-picked by your instructor, with notes on what to watch for.
- Morning Yoga for Beginners - Gentle Morning Yoga - Yoga With AdrieneYoga With Adriene
Watch how Adriene keeps every stretch slow and low impact, which is perfect if your body feels tight when you first wake up.
- 15 min Gentle Morning Yoga for Beginners (NO PROPS)Yoga with Kassandra
Notice this one needs no mats or props, so students can try it right at their bedside before getting out of bed properly.
- Morning Yoga for Stiff Guys - No Flexibility RequiredSean Vigue Fitness
Pay attention to the modifications shown for tight hamstrings and stiff backs since this routine is aimed at people who are not naturally flexible.
Practice corner
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