Morning routine as a yoga instructor: Begin each day with an anti-aging vinyasa flow exercise routine

In the heart of London, Nick Higgins, the 40-year-old co-founder and head of teaching at Hotpod Yoga, begins each day with a unique yoga practice. This routine, a six-move anti-aging vinyasa flow, is performed in the steamy confines of his bathroom, mimicking the heated conditions of a Hotpod Yoga class.

The sequence includes deep lunges, forward bends, thoracic twists, and back bends, each transition seamlessly flowing into the next. The vinyasa sequence between each pose encourages movement with control and synchronization to breath.

In a high lunge, Higgins advises bending the front knee, keeping the back leg straight, and deepening the lunge by bending the front knee further. He then brings his hands together into prayer, twists the torso towards the front leg, and opens the chest. In a seated forward bend, Higgins instructs to fold the torso forward, bringing the chest and head towards the shins, and holding the legs to help deepen the stretch with each exhalation.

For back bends, Higgins offers two options: wheel pose or cobra pose. In wheel pose, he advises driving through the heels, pressing through the hands, and raising the upper back and straightening the arms into a deep backbend. As an alternative, he suggests the cobra pose, which involves lifting the chest off the floor, straightening the arms to arch the back, and lengthening the front of the body.

From warrior 2, Higgins instructs to straighten the front leg, turn the front foot to the side, hinge from the hips, fold the torso forward, and bring the hands to the floor.

Higgins' commitment to yoga is rooted in his belief that it is anti-aging and never overloads the body. He also acknowledges the importance of maintaining strength, muscle, and bone density as we age, and has started incorporating more muscle-building, weight-bearing exercises into his workouts.

However, Higgins cautions that practicing yoga in a steamy bathroom comes with its own set of risks. He advises being well-hydrated, avoiding heated yoga if you have certain medical conditions, and being mindful of your body, listening to its signals, and not overdoing it.

Inspired by influential figures in yoga such as Swami Sivananda, who popularized Pranayama, Yogi Bhajan, who developed Kundalini Yoga, and Bikram Choudhury, who created Bikram Yoga, Higgins' morning yoga routine is a testament to the transformative power of yoga and its potential to promote health and vitality at any age.

Morning routine as a yoga instructor: Begin each day with an anti-aging vinyasa flow exercise routine