The reason yoga teachers take students through the whole sun salute series is to utilize every muscle group in the body. Strengthening all muscle groups, increasing endurance, and breathing is simply amazing for your body. However, sometimes you need what I am going to call today a quick stretch; like I have mentioned during class about stretching out your hand muscles if you are sitting typing at a computer and using your mouse all day. If you do, your hands and upper back will thank you.
Quick stretch for our purposes today can come in two forms. The first one is to simply pay attention to our bodies. We sit, stand, and walk all day long. The first step is simply to pay attention to how we are doing these things. Elongate the spine, lift your head toward the ceiling, pull your shoulders up and back, use as many muscles as possible for each position. When you are walking and your hands are hanging at your sides intentionally send them toward the floor. As you are walking up a set of stairs consciously use as many muscle in your legs as possible. The longer you sit at a desk or computer the more hunched your back becomes. Try and elongate, using sitting as a time to stretch; which brings me to my second form. Here is simple stretches while sitting to relieve some of the tensions in your body that can cause tired feet:
- Point and flex your feet
- Rotate each foot in one direction then the other
- Breath in and out through your nose as you sit with your spine straight and your feet on the floor
- Lift your lower leg to straighten it this time rotate your ankles slowly each way
- If your shoes allow it push the balls of your feet into the floor pushing your heels up feeling a calf stretch
- Sit on one leg to stretch out the back of your leg
- I think trying to take your shoes off as much as possible can also be helpful
While Standing
- Lift your arms up to the sky do a slight back bend, then as you exhale hinge at your waist, and drop your hands and body down toward the floor; then take a few breaths as you let your body hang toward the floor
- Prop your toes up against a wall and push down
As you know, any aches you have are not going to go away over night. Practicing yoga and getting a massage will help in reducing some of the kinks that we create in our bodies. However, by living our daily lives in a more conscious state of how we are doing mundane things like standing or walking up stairs, some of the usual pains will be reduced. By stretching throughout our day the uncomfortable feeling will decrease even more. 6 weeks of doing anything causes it to become a habit. Habits are unconscious which means you can then focus on more important things like family, life and simply feeling good which will mean a happier you. 🙂
Laura S DiMarzo 