Morning Stretch!

When I sleep I tend to curl into a ball resulting in me waking up feeling like I have not moved for days. It sucks. That's why after I peel myself off of my bed and finish making it look all fresh and pretty again I do a quick, yet effective, morning [or afternoon- depending on the day] stretch. This stretch targets arms, legs, sides, back- pretty much everything.

Unfortunately, I'm not very good at explaining things, so I have pictures! Hopefully together, this all makes sense. 

LEGS

I like to start out by stretching open my legs as far as I can, if I feel stiffer than usual I pulse up and down for a few seconds [if that doesn't make sense, it means I just do small bounces up and down]. Don't forget to twist to the sides as well, it'll add more of a stretch to your inner thighs as well as your back.

                         

          

Next, I do lunges [feel free to put your knee down if you're not very flexible, but do this every day and soon you will be!] and again pulsing if I'm in need of an extra oopmh to get me going. Go ahead into the splits if you can, if not just go as low as you can and hold it for about 5-10 seconds. Don't forget your middle splits! Most people just do their side splits, but they're all important. While I'm near the floor I throw in the butterfly just for a few seconds, pushing my chest towards my feet.

            

Now, I need to pop my ankles otherwise they get SUPER tight and start to hurt. So, I lift my ankle behind me to my back until it pops, and then I bend and lift it even higher into a scorpion pose.

           

ARMS

To be honest, I don't do many stretches for my arms, just the classics that you've all probably done in gym class and on sports teams. The first is to bring your arms over in front and push slightly with your other arm [that sounds strange].

                          

The second is to bring one arm over the top and the other on the bottom, grab your hand and hold on [again- sounds strange].

                

            

SIDES/BACK

Again, a classic stretch for the sides. Place your feet hip width apart and raise one arm over the head, the other in front by your stomach and bend over.

Do this bending toward the front, try to keep your back as flat as you can. Then move your feet in closer and touch the floor.

Finally, to end off the stretch I do the bridge, just because I find it gives a great stretch to my legs, arms and back all at once. Just lie on the floor, with your feet flat and knees up, hands flat beside your head and lift. NOTE: if you're wearing socks while stretching make sure to either take them off or fold them so you have at least half your foot exposed. It'll provide better grip so you won't slip and hurt yourself!

You don't necessarily have to do these in the morning, I just find it helps me get my day off to a great start. If you're looking to get more flexible do some stretches throughout the day just to keep your muscles nice and stretched so they don't just tighten up again.

Be sure to push yourself, but not too hard, you could wind up with a pulled muscle, that honestly, hurts SOOO MUCH. As soon as you feel the stretch, don't push any further, you'll get there eventually.

xoxo - Gouu