A quick shower? Check. A cup of coffee? Check. The front page of the newspaper? Check. (JK. I know you’re probably actually reading BuzzFeed. I mean, 15 best cat videos? How could you not?)

We all have some sort of morning routine or another. Our routines are meant to set us up as best as possible for the day ahead. We shower for hygiene, caffeinate for non-bitchiness, and read articles to prepare us for the current events of the day. The morning is when I find myself most pressed for time, but I found that adding these six yoga poses to my everyday morning routine activated not just my body, but my mind, for a slow, gradual wake up . I am more alert, centered and confident after working through just a couple asanas and flows in the morning. It can take 10 minutes, it can take five. Whatever you have time for, I would recommend adding at least these few poses to your morning routine to leave you feeling loosey-goosey and give your body the proper wake-up that it deserves.

Urdhva Vrikshasana (Raised Arms Pose)

Easy, breezy, beautiful, Urdhva Vrikshasana. By firmly planting your feet and outstretching your arms toward the sky, you’ll stretch your core, shoulders, and give yourself a chance to center your breathing. Take your time in this pose, as much as you need. Close your eyes. Try alternating some side and back bends to stretch your obliques and elongate your spine.

Forward Fold

Next flow into a nice, loose forward fold. This will stretch the base of your spine as well as giving your hamstrings a little love, too. Remember to keep your knees soft!

Half Vinyasa flow

From Forward Fold, plant your hands shoulder-width apart. Be as chill about it as you wanna be — bring your feet back by either stepping back one by one, or giving a gentle spring to the back of your mat to bring you into Downward-Facing Dog. Really sink into this one, feel the stretch in your shoulders. Bounce slightly on your heels to continue elongating your hamstrings. Make sure you’re breathing out when you pull your shoulders over your wrists to tighten up into Plank. Keep your elbows close to your body as you lower into Chaturanga, then quickly bend your head and spine up into Upward Facing Dog. I personally love this stretch, because it really opens up my core and feels GLORIOUS. There’s a lot to be said for the spine stretch, too. I swear I gain an inch after this flow, an inch I need desperately. After Down Dog, I will sink into Child’s Pose for a moment or two, before beginning the flow again. I will usually perform this flow a couple times to get my blood flowing as well getting the full effect of the stretches.

Pigeon Pose

From Plank, I will lay one leg underneath me for Pigeon Pose. Or the best iteration of Pigeon I can do, since my hips are horribly inflexible, a problem I will attribute to being a climber. Yeah, that’s what I’m going with. My hip flexors are so tight, I swear they get sore sometimes just from walking, so a little Pigeon in the morning is a lifesaver for me.

Half Lord of the Fishes

Let’s get that back cracking! My joints have started a percussion band, and have begun to play me the song of their people every morning. My back, especially, makes quite a racket, so some Half Lord of the Fishes gets most of the popping out of the way, so it doesn’t act up and embarrass me at a later point. From Pigeon, I will sit back and start off slow into the stretch. Before I switch to the other side, though, I will also give a real quick, deep twist to reach the very bottom portion of my spine.

Camel Pose

I saved the best for last! As a climber, I have a very tight chest. If you climb, you’ll know the hunchback feeling we all seem to wake up with. At the very tail end of my brief yoga session, I always spend a little time in Camel, to really open up my chest. Allow your lungs to expand as fully as they can, to shake away the very last vestiges of sleep that may be hanging around your body. Cool down by rolling into a ball, and bringing your knees repeatedly into your chest. Cool! Perform a couple judo chops and maybe even a high ninja kick, because you’re now ready to conquer the day! HI-YAH!