10 STRETCHES FOR FLEXIBILITY & MOBILITY

LOWER BODY

Hip flexor stretch 

1. Start in a kneeling position with your right knee on the floor and your left leg bent in front of you.
2. Take a moment to find length through the body in a neutral position. 
3. Gently move your hips forward towards your front leg, bending through your front leg. Feel the stretch through the front of the right leg and in your hip flexors. 
4. Extend your right arm up above your head and lean towards the left to deepen the stretch. 

When we have tight hips, we limit our abdominal engagement, hip mobility and pelvis alignment.

Glute stretch

1. From here, extend your right leg out behind you.
2. Rotate your left knee outwards towards the left, bringing your left foot in front of you. Feel the external rotation in your left hip.
3. If this position causes pain, you can place your small Pilates ball under your pelvis.
4. Holding this position might be enough for you. Deepen the stretch by lowering your chest towards your front leg. 
5. Come back to your kneeling position before swapping legs.

This movement is great after your workout or at the end of the day when your body is warm.

Hamstring & Calf Stretch with Pike

1. Move into a 4pt kneeling position
2. Inhale and as you exhale, hover your knees above the ground, push your hips up into the air and straighten your legs.
3. Lowering your heels back and towards the ground will intensify the stretch in your hamstrings.
4. Try pedalling your feet, flexing one foot at a time will deepen the stretch in your calves and mobilise your feet and ankles. 

Inner Thigh & Adductor Stretch

1. Move to lay on your back. 
2. Place the insides of your feet together and let your knees open out wide.
3. Inhale and as you exhale, push the soles of your feet together.
4. Allow gravity to pull your knees towards the ground and feel the stretch inside your thighs.

Tightness in your thighs impacts the alignment in your feet, legs and pelvis.

1. Lying on your back, place your small ball underneath your pelvis, with your legs bent and feet flat on your mat.
2. Press your tailbone heavy and feel it extend over the ball. 
3. Ensure your pelvis is level in this position, by placing both hands on your hips.
4. With each breath, gently rock your pelvis back and forth, bringing your pubic bone up and then lowering down and away from the body over the ball. 
5. Repeat a few times through, before rocking your pelvis left and right.

This movement helps relieve tightness through your lower back and SIJ (sacroiliac joint) and helps bring awareness to the position of your pelvis. 

UPPER BODY

Swan stretch

1. Lie down on your stomach, positioning your legs slightly apart and internally rotating through hips with your big toes touching.  
2. Hands come beside your head with elbows close to your body.  
3. Inhale and as you exhale, press through your hands and forearms lifting the upper body up to find length through the front of the body.  
4. Increase the stretch by straightening your arms.

This stretch is great to do at the end of the day to reverse the forward flexion of the spine and open up through the front of your body.

Side openings

1. Move onto your side with your legs bent in, fingers interlaced behind your head with your hands supporting the back of your head. 
2. Bring your elbows forward towards your face. 
3. Inhale and as you exhale, open your top elbow towards the roof and continue to open as you rotate through the thoracic spine.  
4. Keep your knees and hips stacked and still.  
5. Hold this stretch for one breath in and as you exhale, draw the elbow back over the body, restacking your ribs and hips.
6. top rib back over bottom rib to the start position.

This stretch helps to find mobility and rotation in your spine and ribcage, improving your posture and breathing.

Torso stretch

1. Stay lying on your side and bring the small ball under your bottom rib.
2. Support your head with your bottom arm bent beneath your head.
3. Bring your top arm up and over to the floor above your head.
4. Take deep breaths, feeling the stretch down the sides of your torso.

Stretching the sides of your body is important for alignment through your torso and pelvis. This stretch is great to mobilise and bring awareness to your ribs.

Chest extension

1. Move onto your back and place your small ball or swiss ball beneath your bra strap.
2. Interlace your fingers and place your hands behind your head.  
3. Extend your upper body back over the ball, bringing your head to the ground.  
4. If you feel tightness or tension in this position, place a rolled up towel under your head to reduce the extension.  

This stretch is great to open up through your neck, chest and front of your body. It is great to do after an ab workout or at the end of the day to bring the thoracic spine into an extended position.

Deeper chest extension

1. Maintaining this position with the ball behind your back, extend the upper body back over the ball. 
2. Reach your hands up towards the ceiling and back above your head. 
3. Knit your ribs together to avoid your ribs flaring.
4. Move your arms back up and over towards your hips.

Lateral chest extension

1. Repeat this position, turning your palms together and opening your arms outwards, feeling the stretch through the front of your chest and shoulders.

This movement helps release your shoulder muscles, encouraging healthy alignment and mobility through your shoulder joints. 

TIP: BREATHING!

Breathing helps relieve tension, reduce stress and helps bring awareness back to the body.  Breathing can be done first thing in the morning to help you prepare for the day, before a workout to bring focus to your body and leave tension from the outside world, after a workout to cool down or before bed to unwind and help with a good rest. Practice your breathwork during a 5-minute relaxation series.

Follow these stretch workouts:

• Quick Stretch & Breathing – release the sides of your body the chest, glutes, hips and legs and finish with breathwork to relax and unwind.
• Mini Stretch 5 – release your shoulders, neck, chest, sides of your body and hips, bringing awareness to your ribs and encouraging mobility in the torso.