12 Stretching Exercises to Increase Your Flexibility

When reasoning astir stretching and learning really to go flexible, see you are doing much than conscionable elongating and strengthening your muscles. You are, successful fact, improving circulation of nan humor (lymphatic system), and optimizing nan extent of your breath, which further enhances circulation.

Stretching and yoga aren’t conscionable trends; they are practices that person been utilized by humans arguably for hundreds of thousands of years aliases more. In galore cases, modern humans person simply forgotten overmuch of their ancestry, and stretching/yoga is surely an integral part.

The pursuing stretching routines, if practiced consistently (every day, aliases a fewer times a week), will amended your beingness and intelligence well-being, truthful let’s get into them!

Here’s a breakdown of each nan exercises I’ve covered successful nan video:

1. Standing Hamstring Stretch

• Stand consecutive and gangly pinch your feet hip-width apart, knees conscionable somewhat bent, and arms by your sides.
• Exhale arsenic you crook guardant (think of a doorway hinge activity astatine nan hips), lowering your caput toward nan level (imagine nan apical of your caput being parallel pinch nan floor), while keeping your head, neck, and shoulders relaxed (do not tense up).
• Wrap your arms astir nan backs of your legs, aliases simply drawback and clasp nan backmost of your legs; holding anyplace from 45 seconds to 2 minutes.
• Bend your knees and slow “roll up” backmost to nan opinionated position erstwhile you’re done.

2. Downward Dog

• Start opinionated pinch your feet hip-width apart.
• While exhaling, hinge astatine nan hips and little your caput toward nan floor.
• Place your hands/palms connected nan ground.
• Step backmost pinch your feet while keeping a neutral back/spine and pinch your head/neck in-line pinch your shoulders and arms.

3. Deep Lunge and Twist

• Start opinionated pinch your feet together hep width apart.
• Take a ample measurement guardant pinch your correct foot.
• Bend your correct knee and driblet into a lunge, keeping your near limb arsenic consecutive arsenic you tin down you pinch your toes connected nan ground, truthful you consciousness a agelong astatine nan beforehand of your near thigh.
• Place your correct manus connected nan level aliases successful a believe position, and twist your precocious assemblage to nan correct arsenic you widen your correct limb toward nan ceiling (for a deeper stretch).
• Hold for 30 seconds to 2 minutes while taking slow and dependable breaths.
• Repeat connected nan different side.

4. Piriformis Stretch

• Sit connected nan level pinch some legs extended successful beforehand of you to start.
• Cross your near limb complete your right, and spot your near ft level connected nan floor.
• Place your near manus connected nan level down your body.
• Place your correct manus connected your near quad aliases your correct elbow connected your near knee (as shown), and property your near limb to nan correct arsenic you twist your torso to nan left.
• If nan spinal rotation causes backmost discomfort, region nan twist and simply usage your correct manus to propulsion your near quad successful and to nan right.

5. Figure Four Stretch

• Lie connected your backmost pinch your feet level connected nan floor.
• Cross your near ft complete your correct quad.
• Lift your correct limb disconnected nan floor. Grab onto nan backmost of your correct limb and mildly propulsion it toward your chest.
• When you consciousness a comfortable stretch, clasp there.
• Hold for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
• Switch sides and repeat.

6. 90/90 Stretch

• Sit pinch your correct knee bent astatine 90-degrees successful beforehand of you, calf perpendicular to your assemblage and nan sole of your ft facing to nan left. Keep your near ft flexed.
• Let your limb remainder level connected nan floor.
• Place your near knee to nan near of your body, and crook nan knee truthful that your ft faces down you. Keep your near ft flexed.
• Keep your correct butt feature connected nan floor. Try to move nan near feature arsenic adjacent to nan level arsenic possible. It whitethorn not beryllium imaginable if your hips are tight.
• Hold for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
• Repeat connected nan different side.

7. Frog Stretch

• Start connected each fours.
• Slide your knees wider than shoulder-width apart.
• Turn your toes retired and remainder nan soul edges of your feet level connected nan floor.
• Ensure your legs are maintaining astir a 90-degree perspective (squared off).
• Shift your hips backmost toward your heels.
• Move from your hands down to your forearms to get a deeper stretch, if possible.
• Hold for for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

8. Butterfly Stretch

• Sit gangly connected nan level pinch nan soles of your feet together, knees bent retired to nan sides.
• Hold onto your feet (or ankles), prosecute your abs somewhat to support an upright posture pinch dependable breathing, and slow little your assemblage toward your feet arsenic acold arsenic you tin while pressing your knees toward nan floor. Keep a neutral spine during this stretch.
• If you cannot little your torso, past simply clasp nan agelong and purpose to little your knees person to nan crushed gradually.
• Hold this agelong for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

9. Tricep Stretch

• Kneel, sit, aliases guidelines gangly pinch feet hip-width apart, arms extended overhead.
• Bend your correct elbow and scope your correct manus to touch nan apical mediate of your back.
• Reach your near manus overhead and grasp conscionable beneath your correct elbow.
• Gently propulsion your correct elbow down and toward your head.
• Switch arms and repeat.

10. Extended Puppy Pose

• Start connected each fours.
• Move your arms guardant a fewer inches.
• Push your hips up and backmost halfway toward your heels, aliases until you consciousness a heavy stretch.
• Push done nan palms of your hands to support your arms consecutive and engaged.
• Hold for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

11. Neck Stretch and Release

• Stand pinch feet shoulder-width apart, aliases beryllium down pinch your backmost consecutive and thorax lifted.
• Drop your correct receptor to your correct shoulder.
• To deepen nan stretch, mildly property down connected your caput pinch your correct hand.
• Hold for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

12. Standing Quad Stretch

• Stand pinch your feet together.
• Bend your near knee and usage your near manus to propulsion your near ft toward your butt. Keep your knees together.
• If you request to, put 1 manus connected a wall for balance.
• Squeeze your glutes to summation nan agelong successful nan beforehand of your legs.
• Hold for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
• Repeat connected nan different leg.

Conclusion

The cardinal return distant present is that consistency pinch your stretching routine, followed by good value sleep and lots of hydration, will instantly statesman to amended your value of life. Find which stretches consciousness nan champion successful your assemblage and adhd them to a regular daily you tin enjoy.

More connected How to Become Flexible

• Try These Flexibility Stretches to Enhance Your Daily Workout
• 9 Effective Quad Stretches to Reduce Pain During & After Workout
• 15 Important Benefits of Stretching Before, After, and During a Workout

Featured photograph credit: Scott Broome via unsplash.com