Yoga for Full Body Flexibility
Welcome to your flexibility journey! Take a moment to first honor yourself for being here and showing up for yourself. The journey to flexibility goes beyond the physical postures. It's a journey to accessing deeper layers within yourself. A way of releasing what no longer serves your body and creating space for new experiences.
You are already flexible, your practice serves as a guide to accessing what’s possible for you. Find patience for yourself as you go through the postures. Focus on the process and meet yourself where you are at, listen to your body and never force anything. The body will release when it is ready too.
Feel free to practice these postures as many times over and over again. There is no magic number on how many times you should do these poses. It all depends on your needs and timing. Flexibility is not an overnight process, it requires consistency and patience.
I wish you all the best in your process!
CHILDS POSE
Option 1 - Knees open
Option 2 - Knees closed
To Do This:
1. Knees spread open to outer edges of the mat.
a. Option to keep knees together.
2. Reach hips to heels, they do not need to touch to get the benefit of the pose.
a. Option to place pillows between the legs for a supportive option.
3. Hands walk forward.
4. Forehead rests on mat or a pillow.
5. Tune into the breath, taking a few deep inhales and few deep exhales.
a. Option to count inhales and exhales and hold breath at top of inhales and exhales.
How Does it Work:
Provides a sense of calm and stability. Great posture to tune inwards and begin to disconnect from the outside world. This helps to increase flexibility between inner thighs, outer hips and will lengthen your lower back. May also feel this in shoulders and other areas in your body. Everything is perfect as long as it is not a bad pain
LEGS UP THE WALL
Option 1 - Hips on Floor
Option 2 - Hips on a block or pillow
Please note photos are away from wall for demonstration of the pose. Take this facing the wall with glutes towards the edge of the wall to reach your feet up to the wall to relax. The further back you are away from the wall the more ease it will give to the hamstrings.
To Do This:
1. Meet in a lying position with your glutes on the floor.
2. Reach legs up the wall, allow the heel of your foot to find a grasp to the wall.
a. Option to place a block or pillow by lower back for extra support.
5. Place one hand on chest and one hand on belly, or rest both hands by your side.
6. Close your eyes if you feel comfortable to do so.
7. Let your breath stay in a natural movement and hold the pose for 1-3 minutes or as long as you would like.
How Does it Work:
A restorative yoga posture. Can help regain a sense of calm, especially after a long stressful day. It helps slow down the nervous system. This helps to passively support hamstrings and also release lower back. It is a gentle inversion.
FISH POSE
Option 1 - Gaze forward
Option 2 - Look back and open throat
To Do This:
Find a comfortable seated position, legs extended straight in front of you.
Hands placed slightly underneath hips.
Press firmly through the forearms to puff your chest upwards.
Option to let your head hang back, shifting your gaze back.
a. Common for this to feel uncomfortable in the beginning, with time and patience this may start to feel more natural as the throat stretches open.
With each inhale inflate your chest upwards. Imagine there is a string attached to your chest lifting you upwards & with each exhale hug the shoulders towards each other as the chest presses up.
Stay here for 3-5 deep breaths. Emphasize the exhale with a sigh.
How Does it Work:
Improves flexibility in the shoulders, muscles around the ribcage, back muscles, neck, and spine. Stimulates the organs of belly & throat. This helps improve posture from sitting at a desk, it reverses the rounding forward and opens your shoulders back.
Downward Dog
To Do This:
Find a plank pose with shoulders over wrist and feet hip width distance.
Lift your hips towards ceiling, creating an inverted V with the body, while pressing your chest towards the thighs. Hands and feet are hip width distance apart.
Fingers spread wide into the mat. Rotate the armpits towards your mat to create shoulder muscle activation. Shift gaze between the legs, releasing the crown of your head.
Gentle bend in the knees and lift the sit bones towards the ceiling.
Take a 3-10 deep breaths, releasing the tongue from the roof of your mouth, and sighing the air away on the exhale.
How Does it Work:
This is an inversion pose that can help with clearing the mind while improving hamstring, calves, achilles tendon and shoulder flexibility. Will also improve ankle mobility and overall circulation within the body, relieving stiffness and body aches. If dizziness occurs avoid the pose or see if shifting your gaze forward helps.
Rag Doll
To Do This:
Place feet hip width distance.
Welcome a gentle bend in your knees to meet your chest to your thighs.
Grab opposite elbows.
Release your head towards your mat, gaze between your legs and maybe close your eyes.
Let your head hang heavy, notice the pull of gravity over your body.
Shift the weight towards the front of your toes.
Option to sway from side to side, shifting the weight between legs.
Pause and breathe here for about 3-10 breaths.
a. A nice visual I like to take is imagining all the negative thoughts dumping out of the top of my head and falling onto the ground. Allowing yourself to feel a release from the body.
How Does it Work:
Great for relieving tension and quieting the mind. Helps slow the heart beat and rejuvenate the spine. Provides a hamstring, spine & lower back stretch, increasing flexibility. Releases muscles in the neck and shoulder. Overall, great for relieving tension in the lower back, improving digestion and clearing the mind.
Pyramid
Option 1 - Hands on block to help keep the spine long
Option 2 - Fold over your front leg to deepen the stretch
To Do This
Set feet up like you are on railroad tracks, hip width distance.
Shorten stance to where you feel comfortable having both legs extended. Welcome a bend in your front knee and/or back knee as needed. Hamstrings are delicate, never force anything. Back heel does not have to touch the mat.
Option to use blocks underneath hands for support. Keeping your spine lengthened long.
Option to fold over the top leg, keeping the integrity of the spine and hips squared, bring your forehead towards your front shin/knee.
Tune into the breath, taking about 3-10 deep breaths.
Repeat switching legs.
How Does it Work:
This is a deeper variation of a hamstring stretch. It actively stretches out both legs of the hamstrings, calves, hips and spine. Also helps to aid in digestion and strengthens the leg & spine while providing a stretch.
CAMEL POSE
Option 1 - Use blocks
Option 2 - Hands to heel for deeper backbend
To Do This:
Place knees hip distance with hips stacked over knees.
Option to use blocks by the side of your ankles or grab for the bottom of the heels as the toes curl for support.
Not pictured, but if you find that reaching for the blocks compromises your lower back, remove the blocks and place your hands to your lower back and keep your spine long and focus on lifting your chest up and squeezing shoulders back without leaning back.
Press chest up towards the ceiling (imagine a string attached to your chest lifting you up) while squeezing the shoulders together.
Notice if your hips are trying to push back as you lean back, keep pressing your hips forward to stay aligned over your knees while puffing the chest to the ceiling. Keep the bend through the upper back rather than lower.
Stay for about 1-5 deep breaths. Option to open your throat and look back, or keep neck neutral and slight gaze forward.
How Does it Work:
Another great yoga pose for correcting posturing. Rather than rounding forward, it reverses the effect by opening the chest and pulling the shoulders back. Camel stretches through the hip flexors and strengthens your shoulders, loosens up vertebrae, expands abdominal region helping with digestion.
BUTTERFLY POSE
Option 1 - No blocks
Option 2 - Add blocks underneath knees for support
To Do This:
Come to a comfortable seat.
Soles of feet touch together, knees spread open comfortable distance. If choosing props for underneath the knees there is also the option to place pillows in replace of the blocks as shown in the photo.
Grab hold of the feet.
Inhale lengthen your spine tall, pull shoulders down back and on the exhale slowly lean forward pausing when you feel a stretch. You might already feel an intense stretch just sitting up right, no need to lean forward. Focus on the breath and long spine.
If you find you are leaning back and having a hard time sitting up lie all the way down on your back and take this pose to a reclined position, referred to as reclined bound angle.
Hold this pose for about 15-30 seconds, taking deep inhales and exhales.
How Does it Work:
Relieves tension in lower back, increases flexibility and helps promote relaxation while clearing the mind. Ideal for those with tight hips from excessive sitting or high intensity workouts.
PIGEON POSE
Option 1 - Pigeon on floor for deeper stretch
Option 2 - Figure 4 on your back
To Do This:
Place right knee towards the top center on the mat while back leg extends long behind you. Make sure to pull the right heel right above the left hip flexor and flex right toes towards shin. (you can see in the mirror that my heel is toward my hip flexor)
Option to place a block or pillow underneath the hip for support.
Squeeze glutes together to help keep your hips squared. Notice if your hips try to scissor open.
Option to fold over the top leg.
Breathe in and out of the pose. Holding this pose longer than the other poses listed.
If this variation is causing discomfort, come to lie on back placing right ankle on top of left thigh by the knee. Flex right toes towards shin. Hug your knee in to intensify or walk the bottom foot out to lessen.
Switch legs and repeat.
How Does it Work:
Improves back flexibility by relieving tension in the lower back. Can help loosen muscles surrounding the glutes and outer hip. Also supports in digestion, mental clarity, and releasing tension and emotions from the body.
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