Written by Amy Notley
All you need is a towel or in my case a baby swaddle was perfect for these at home yoga stretches.
- Sit in easy pose or kneeling if that’s more comfortable for you. Drawing the navel to the spine to keep the core activated and lengthen all the way up the spine as you draw the shoulders down and back. Start with the arms stretched out ahead, taking grip of your towel or swaddle firmly. As you take a deep breath in through the nose start to move the arms upwards until they’re above head. On the exhale reach the arms behind the back making a full circle. Repeat from the back, inhaling on your way up to the sky and exhaling on your way forward and down towards the ground. This stretch will help promote shoulder mobility.
- Come to standing. Bring the towel or swaddle to the arch of the foot and press down firmly keeping the knee up towards the chest. You may want to extend the stretch by bringing the leg out ahead until it starts to straighten. This stretch will help release through the foot and hamstrings.
- For a deeper less balance orientated variation of the above hamstring stretch, lay on the ground and bring the towel or swaddle under the arch of the foot. Draw the navel towards the spine and relax the shoulder blades onto the mat. Stretch one leg at a time towards the sky until the leg is as straight as possible for your body. Micro-bend the knee to ensure you don’t hyperextend the leg.