STRETCH GUIDE
Seated Hip Rotation Stretch
This stretch is great for office workers or anyone who sits a lot, targets the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus.
Instructions:
- Sitting upright in your chair, cross your right ankle over your left knee, pushing downward
- Flex your right foot, and feel a stretch in your right glute and outer hip
- If you don’t feel a stretch, slowly hinge forward at your waist and lean into the right hip
- Hold for 30 seconds, then switch sides
Child's Pose
This stretch has many benefits, including opening the hips, lengthening the spine, releasing pelvic, neck, and lower back tension. This stretch also has internal benefits such as helping with the flow of digestion and flexing the body’s internal organs.
Instructions:
- Start in a kneeling position. Touch your big toes together while sitting on your heels, keeping your knees in line with your hips
- Bend forward while exhaling, finishing with your torso against your thighs, forehead to the floor
- Keeping palms upward, relax your arms beside your body. Or keeping palms downward, stretch arms gently overhead on the floor
- Inhale and exhale for 30 seconds to a few minutes
Optional: Try crossing your ankles to isolate muscles in the front of the leg and give it a deeper stretch, switch legs after 30 seconds
Standing Quadriceps Stretch
This stretch targets the quadriceps femoral muscles, a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front thigh. It is also one of the strongest and largest muscle groups in your body, holding your weight when you’re upright and supporting the flexion of your kneecap. Tight quads can cause leg pain, lower back pain, and difficulty standing or walking. This stretch can help to relieve the tension that this muscle carries.
Instructions:
- Stand near a wall or a piece of sturdy exercise equipment for support
- Grasp your ankle and gently pull your heel up and back until you feel a stretch in the front of your thigh
- Tighten your stomach muscles to prevent your stomach from sagging outward, and keep your knees close together
- While maintaining posture, try pulling your ankle back and upwards for a deeper stretch
- Hold for about 30 seconds, shake out both legs and repeat both sides as needed. Gentle walking after stretching helps to balance out the body
Advanced Quadriceps and Hip Flexor Stretch
- Stand near a wall or a piece of sturdy exercise equipment for support
- Grasp your ankle and gently pull your heel up and back until you feel a stretch in the front of your thigh
- Tighten your stomach muscles to prevent your stomach from sagging outward, and keep your knees close together While maintaining posture, try pulling your ankle back and upwards for a deeper stretch
- Engage core muscles and pull the ankle up so that the right knee is in line with the hips, bending slightly forward
- Try to keep hips in line with each other, breathe deep and hold stretch for 30 seconds
- Release and repeat on the other leg
Wall Assisted Chest Opener
Targeting the pectoral and scapula muscles, this stretch is great for those who tend to hunch their shoulders, work a desk job, or have little physical activity.
Instructions:
- Take a standing position in a corner of your room and face the wall. Place your feet roughly 1ft away from the corner
- Place your palms and forearms against the wall, approximately at your shoulder level
- Keeping your forearms and palms positioned and your body straight, lean your body towards the corner. You should only lean until you feel a stretch across your chest, but not so much that it is causing any discomfort or pain.
- Hold it for 30 seconds
- Option to move the arms further upward the wall, maintain the same position of forearms and palms against the wall and repeat the leaning and hold
- Bring your arms back down to the starting position at shoulder level and repeat if need
Standing Wall Calf Stretch
This stretch is great for anyone who skies, snowshoes, or sits a lot. It targets the calf muscles, (specifically gastrocnemius and the soleus) The soleus muscle is key for the cardiovascular and lymphatic system, for it aids in returning blood to the heart, so stretching this muscle is very important!
Instructions:
- While holding on to a chair or wall, keep one leg back with your knee slightly bent and your heel flat on the floor
- Place the other foot forward, keeping as straight as possible, with toes pointed up
- Bend elbows, and lean forward until you feel the stretch in the back of your front leg
- Hold for 30 to 60 seconds
- Switch legs and repeat
Crescent Lunge
This stretch targets the hip flexors and quadriceps, which is beneficial for runners and cyclists, also those who tend to sit a lot during the day as this stretch also opens the chest, torso, spine flexion, and shoulders. This move helps with balance and stability in the core, and as a heart-opener, it is considered to be energizing.
Instructions:
- From a low lunge, drop your back knee to the floor. If your knee is sensitive you can place a yoga mat or blanket for more cushioning
- Bring your hands onto your right knee and your right knee directly over your right ankle
- Inhale and raise your arms above your head, keeping the arms in line with your ears
- To deepen into the lunge press firmly into your feet as you allow your hips to shift forward. As you do, your left thigh comes closer to the floor
- If comfortable, take the spine into a back-bend
- Hold for 30 seconds
- Exhale to release the hands down, re-frame the front foot, and release the pose
- Repeat
Chest Opening Stretch in Doorway
This stretch helps to target the pectoral muscles, specifically pectoralis major and minor. Useful for those who sit in front of a computer.
Instructions:
1. Position both arms on the other side of the door frame – roughly at hip/waist level
2. Now step forward through the door frame with one leg and look straight ahead. Keep core engaged
3. Let your arms straighten (as long as it’s not painful) and push off the back foot forward to increase the intensity of the stretch. Make sure to maintain a good posture, and to not stick your head out too far
4. Squeeze your shoulder blades and feel your chest opening up
5. Hold this stretch for 30 seconds and repeat if necessary
Hanging Chest Opener
This is an intenser version of a chest opening stretch. Targeting the upper back, scapula, pectoral muscles and also lengthens the arm (specifically biceps and triceps) This stretch is great for those who sit often, for this stretch helps to enable naturally better posture and movement.
Instructions:
- Start in a standing position, with hips shoulder width apart
- Move your arms behind you and interlock your fingers and move your arms slowly upwards
- As you lift your arms upwards you will feel a stretch in your chest and shoulders
- If possible start to bend over legs, keeping legs straight to feel a stretch in the hamstrings, if not possible bend knees slightly
- Make sure to relax the neck and chest, letting them hang to release any tension
- Hold for at least 30 seconds, breathing deep
- To get out of this stretch release the arms to your sides, then slowly vertebrae by vertebrae stand up, with the head coming to a neutral position last
Wrist and Finger Flex
Did you know that there are 34 muscles, and over 100 ligaments and tendons in your wrists and fingers? You use them every day and without stretching these muscles can become stiff and sore. Here are some ways to stretch them out:
- Curl fingers into a ball and then flex out wide
- Curl fingers into a ball and circle wrists clockwise for 15 seconds, then switch to counter clockwise
- Face palms towards you, then bend forward and backward, stretching the wrists.
Warrior 2
This well known yoga pose is a great one for lengthening the hamstrings and inner thighs, while stretching and strengthening the calves, pectorals, and abdomen. Also known to energize the body and mind, increasing concentration and stamina.
Warrior 2 Instructions:
- Stand in a wide position with your feet parallel and approximately three feet apart
- Extend your arms straight out from your sides. Relax your shoulders away from your ears
- Turn your left foot out 90 degrees, then bend your knee into a lunge. Be sure to keep your knee above your ankle and pointing over your toes
- Turn your head to the left and look over your fingers. Hold for 30 seconds
- Repeat on other side
Reverse Warrior
Reverse Warrior Instructions:
- Starting in Warrior 2 with the right knee bent, turn the palm of your right hand to face the ceiling
- As you inhale, lift your right arm up to the ceiling. At the same time lower your left hand and slide it down your left leg
- Firm your shoulder blades on the back and knit your lower ribs in, slightly engaging your core muscles
- Lift your chest as you come into a gentle backbend. Look to your raised hand or gaze to your back foot if you have neck or balance issues
- Stay in pose for about 30 seconds
- Repeat on other side.
Neck Rotation Stretch
This simple stretch is useful for everyone, especially those who tend to sit a lot or look at their phone often. This stretch helps to lengthen the neck muscles providing relief to a stiff neck.
Instructions:
- While keeping the back straight and shoulders still, gradually turn the head to the left as far as it can naturally go without increasing pain. Hold for 15-30 seconds
- Bring head back to neutral and repeat on the other side
Sitting Squat With Arm Stretch
This is a great stretch for people who tend to have little movement in their upper body, or people who bend over and sit lots. Stretches the back, hips, pectoral and glute muscles, as well as flexing the arm and spine.
Instructions:
- Stand in an upright position, with your knees slightly bend and your feet shoulder width apart
- Slowly lower down into a squat position, making sure knees do not go far over the toes
- Press butt further down, lower than the knee height, but still above ground
- Putt hands into a prayer position and if this is enough of a stretch stay here
- If willing to advance, take left arm down to the floor and extend right arm upwards, looking up at your fingers.
- Hold for 30 seconds
- Repeat with other arm
Gentle Overhead Hang Stretch
This stretch is great to improve posture and is very beneficial for those who tend to work bent over with their upper body. Targets the pectoral, and abdomen muscles. As well as flexing the back and arms.
Instructions:
- Stand tall with chest up, hips shoulder width apart
- Gently reach arms up, fingertips touching the door frame, stand on tiptoes if needed
- Hold for 30 seconds, repeat if necessary
