BOOST ENERGY

‘For a perk-me-up flow, you want to gently stretch your body to warm up the joints and release tension in the muscles,’ says Clare Walters, master trainer at Third Space London.

1 Cat cow

(A) Start in tabletop position, with your wrists underneath your shoulders and knees underneath your hips. Inhale into cow pose, dropping your stomach down to arch your spine and gazing upwards. (B) Exhale into cat pose, rounding your back, tucking your pelvis under and dropping your head. Carry on moving through cow to cat for as long as you need to mobilise the spine and loosen the back muscles.

2 Downward dog

(A) From all fours, tuck your toes and lift your hips up and back to create a triangle shape (as pictured). (B) Keep your knees soft and tilt the bottom of your pelvis up so you feel a gentle stretch through your lower back and hamstrings. Imagine pressing the ground away with your hands and send your chest towards your thighs. Feel free to step from one foot to the other.

3 Twisted lunge

(A) Start in downward dog; step your right foot between your hands so your right knee is above your right ankle. (B) Keep your left hand on the floor and lift your right hand towards the ceiling; look up towards your right hand. If this feels too intense, drop your back knee to the ground. Hold for 5 breaths then switch sides.

4 Sphinx

(A) Lie on your front and rest your forearms on the ground so that your elbows are in line with your shoulders and your arms are parallel with each other.

(B) Inhale and lift your upper torso off the ground to come into a small backbend, lifting your stomach away from the floor. Stay here for 5 to 10 breaths.

5 Plank

(A) Place your hands on the floor underneath your shoulders and step your feet back, forming a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles. (B) Press the ground away with your hands so your shoulders are engaged. Squeeze your glutes and draw your stomach in. Hold for 10 breaths.