Hello! Thank you so much for checking out my Yoga Stretch series! If you watched the video I hope you found it helpful and if you haven’t watched it yet I encourage you to check it out. Down below you’ll find a list of all the poses, detailed breakdown and information, as well as reference images.
- Forward Fold
- Down Dog
- Three Leg Dog (w/ leg circles)
- Wide Leg Child’s Pose
- Toe Stretch
- Ankle Stretch
- Head-to-Knee Pose
- Seated Forward Fold
- Butterfly
- Cow Face
- Bird-Dog
- Low Lunge
- Half Splits/ Half Monkey
- Lizzard
- Wide Leg Forward Fold
- Reclined Hero’s
- Pigeon
- Happy Baby
- Reclined Twist
- Savasana
Pose Breakdown:
1. Forward Fold (Uttanasana)
- Start standing and bend forward. You can keep your legs straight or bend them generously. Clasping opposite elbows and dangling can feel great. Feet can be hip width apart or flush together.
- Benefits: stretches hamstrings, calves, low back; improves balance
- Hold 5-10 breaths
- Roll up slowly to avoid a headrush
2. Down Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
- Start standing and bend your knees as you bend forward. Place your hands on the ground and walk them out. Lift hips up and back. Press into palms and fingers firmly. Your feet touching the ground is not the main point of this stretch, elongating the spine and stretching the legs is!
- Benefits: stretches calf, hamstring, spine, and shoulders; core strength
- You can “walk your dog” which is peddling your feet to get a deeper stretch in our calves.
3. Three Leg Dog w/ leg circles (Eka pada adho mukha svanasana)
- From down dog, raise one leg. Turn your toes towards the ground to level the hips. Bend your knee and rotate it forward and back. Repeat on other sides.
- Benefits: strengthens arms and shoulders; stretches calf, hamstring, hip flexors; improve balance
- Avoid if you have carpal tunnel syndrome. Go on hands and knees (tabletop) to make knee circles instead.
- To take pressure out of the wrists, press into your fingertips instead of the heel of your hand.
4. Wide Leg Child’s Pose (Balasana)
- Sit with your knees as wide as your yoga mat and feet together. Lay your chest forward on your legs or the ground. Hands are stretched above your head.
- Benefits: stretches ankle, thighs, and back; helps lower heart rate
- Hold as long as you’d like!
- Avoid if pregnant or have a knee injury
5. Toe Stretch (Vajrasana Variation)
- Sit with your toes tucked under you. This can be an intense toe stretch and if it is too much come up off your feet but leave the toes tucked.
- Benefits: arch of the foot and toe stretch, strengthens ankles
6. Yin Yoga Ankle Stretch
- Sit with your toes tucked under you. Place your palms or fingertips on the ground. Gently and slowly lift your knees and rock slightly back on your shins/ankles. If this is too intense, you can lift one knee at a time or just stay still seated with toes tucked.
- Benefits: opens front of ankle; stretches front of shins, ankles, top of foot, and toes
7. Head-to-Knee
- Sit with both legs extended. Bending your knee, bring sole of your right foot to the inside of your thigh. Sit tall and raise arms over head. Rotate your torso so you are directly facing your extended leg. Bend forward with the idea to bring your chest towards your knee. The extended leg can either be straight or bent. Repeat on other side.
- Benefits: stretches spine, shoulders, hamstring, and groin; therapeutic for PMS, headaches, and high blood pressure
- Hands can be placed on thighs, shins, feet, or the floor
- Try to keep a straight back at the beginning. As you settle into the stretch, you can begin to round your spine and let the head drop.
8. Seated Forward Fold
- Sit with both legs extended. Knees can be bent or straight. Bend forward with the intention of bringing your chest to your knees. You may not be close at all, and that’s totally ok, it’s just the idea of lowering to keep in mind.
- Benefits: stretches hamstrings, calves, and low back
- Hands can be places on thighs, shins, feet, or floor
9. Butterfly/ Bound Angle (Baddha Konasana)
- Sit on the ground with the soles of the feet together and knees out wide. Try to sit with a tall spine. You can hold on to your shins, ankles, or feet. Start to bend forward, trying to maintain a flat back as long as you can.
- Benefits: stretches inner thigh, opens hips, and can ease low back pain
- Hold at least 5-10 breaths
10. Cow Face Pose (Gomukhasana)
- Start in Butterfly/Bound Angle pose. Lift your right leg and begin to cross it over your still bent left leg. If you have tight hips your right leg may not cross over your left.
- If this is the case you can place your right foot on the ground next to your thigh or lay your ankle across your thigh.
- Sit tall and breath. If comfortable, start to walk your hands out, bringing your chest closer to your knees.
- Benefits: stretches outer hip, quads, low back
11. Bird Dog (Dandayamana Bharmanasana)
- Start in table top (hands and knees). Extend your left leg and raise it to hip level. Raise and extend your right arm, thumb up.
- Benefits: improve balance; core strength; stretches calves, hamstrings, glutes, quads, triceps, and biceps
- To add more…curl in your knee to elbow and then extend fully.
12. Low Lunge
- Start on your knees and step one foot forward. Front knee should not be extended over the front foot- keep it stacked over each other to protect the joints. Leave the back knee on the ground. Gently press down into this stretch without dumping all of your weight into your hips. You can place your hands on the floor, blocks (or another prop like books), or your thigh.
- Benefits: stretches the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and hip flexors; strengthens hip flexors, core, ankles, glutes, and quads; spinal massage; shoulder and upper back stretch
- If you have any knee pain, you can fold up your mat or place a blanket or pillow under your knee for padding.
- Hold 5-10 breaths for the lunge.
13. Half Splits/ Half Monkey (Ardha Hanumanasana)
- Starting from the low lunge position, straighten the front leg while leaning back. You can leave the front leg straight or bend it.
- Benefits: stretches hamstring, quads, and hip flexors
- A generous bend in the front knee and rounding the spine can feel good on the low back.
- Hold 3-5 breaths
14. Lizard ( Utthan Pristhasana)
- Start in a low lunge. Walk the front foot to the edge of your mat. Place both hands on the mat under your shoulders. Back knee should be down. If you want to get a deeper stretch, go onto your knees. For more, raise the back knee.
- Benefits: opens hips; stretches hamstring, groin, and hip flexor; strengthens inner thigh, core, and shoulders
15. Wide Leg Forward Fold
- Stand with legs spread far apart- approximately under your wrists if you hold your arms out. Slightly bend your knees as you bend forward. Depending on your flexibility your hands may either be on your waist/hips, finger tips on the ground, palms on the ground, or hold onto a prop (bolster, books, chair, etc.)
- Benefits: strengthens and stretches the legs and ankles, lengthens the spine, low back release, and improves posture
- You can add a twist, movement, work to walk the hands in line with the arches of the feet.
16. Reclined Hero’s (Supta Virasana)
- Start seated with legs tucked under. Move your calves out from under you so you are sitting directly on the ground. Using your hands and forearms, lower your torso onto the ground. Use your hands to press up when getting out of this pose.
- Benefits: stretches quads, knee joint, abdomen, ankles, and hip flexors
- This should be avoided if you have a serious knee, back, or ankle pain or injury.
- To add a heart opener to this stretch ~ place a bolster, block, or pillow under your back.
17. Pigeon (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)
- Start in tabletop. Bring one knee up and in between your hands. Slide your back foot and leg back a little so you can rest on the ground. Scoot the front foot as far away from your hips as comfortable. Either stay upright on your fingertips/palms, come down onto your forearms, or fully lay your torso on the ground. Repeat on the other side.
- Benefits: stretches groin, quads, hip flexors, ankle, chest, and shoulders; strengthens core and back muscles
- To deepen the stretch, bend the back leg up and grab the back foot. Gently pull it towards your glute. This will target a deeper quad stretch.
- To modify~ place a block, towel, blanket, or pillow under your hips for added support.
- Remember it’s important to have your hips level, so definitely modify as needed.
18. Happy Baby (Ananda Balasana)
- Lay on your back and hug your knees to your chest. Reach your hands between your knees to grab the outside of your feet. Draw your knees towards your shoulders.
- Benefits: Stretches inner groin, hamstring, and spine; hip opener
- Tip: tuck your tailbone to lengthen your spine and protect your back
- If this is too intense, you can do one leg at a time.
- Avoid if pregnant.
- Hold 5-10 breaths
19. Reclined Twist (Supta Matsyendrasana)
- Lay on your back and draw your knees up to your chest. Drop your knees to one side of your body. Arms are wide in a T shape. To deepen the twist, cross the bottom foot on top of the top thigh. Repeat on other side.
- Benefits: stretches glute, upper back, low back, and outer hip; spinal massage
20. Savasana (Corpse Pose)
- Lay on your back. Snuggle your shoulder blades together and under you. Hands can be on your chest, stomach, or next to you.
- Benefits: restorative pose to calm heart rate, allows the benefits of your stretches to sink in, spinal health
- You can fold a blanket or place a pillow under you
Check back next Monday, March 15th for Yoga Stretch #4: Hip Opener!
Lost and Found Outdoors 