With the downpour and gloom, a monsoon morning  for some proves to be the worst kind of mornings. It takes time to wake up and get started for a warmer and highly tedious day. But, with a slow start, it is highly possible that you almost see your day drag you to the end in a menacingly slow pace. However, with a few stretch exercise, the result would be different.

1. Neck Stretches: A long night’s rest on pillows does stiffen our necks. Release those muscles by moving your head in the up-down and sideways direction slowly. Progress by slowly rotating your head so that your ears touch the shoulders and the chin touches your chest. Do this in both directions.

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2. Back Stretches: Bend over and try touching your toes while keeping your feet flat and ensure your legs don’t bend from the knees. Clutch your butt muscles to come up to make sure you don’t arch your back. Once up, push your pelvis forward and bend over backward to your maximum arch. Come back to standing position slowly and repeat. With each repetition, try reaching closer to your toes while bent down and arching your back more when bending over backward.

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3. Arm Stretches: Stretch out your arms across the chest toward the opposite side and hold for a few seconds. Release and repeat with the other side. Now, stretch out your hand over your head and bend it from the elbow to touch the back of your neck. Hold your elbow with the opposite hand and stretch it as much as you can. Repeat the same for the other hand. With practice you will soon be able to reach the shoulder wing whilst doing this stretch.

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4. Leg Stretches: Take a big step and then lunge forward. It is one of the best ways to open up and stretch those legs. Hold the stretch for a few seconds before repeating it with the other leg. Once you feel more nimble, squat and hold for a few seconds. It is a good hold stretch to activate the lower body muscle group.

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5. Hip Flexer Stretches: Sit on the floor and bring your feet together, bend at the knees and soles touching. Draw them in as much as you can and then release your thigh muscles by slowly flapping your legs from the knees. Hold for a few seconds and then release. Repetitions of this exercise with help you gain better flexibility and motion from the hips.

These 5 stretches are targeted toward the five most used body muscle groups. A basic routine to get you started in the day. These stretches are also great to start off as a base warm up before any physical exertions.

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