Alpharetta Barre, Essentrics and Pilates Club

10 Stretches You Should Do Everyday

Why is stretching good for you?  Why do we need to stretch?  Well for one we need range of motion, it helps our posture, elevates back pain, helps us be less stressful, increases our circulation, helps our joints.  Stop stretching and you will feel tight and sore.

There are so many stretches to choose from, I tried to narrow down to 10 stretches you need.

1. Neck stretch – neck pain stinks.  It sneaks up on us, one day we go to bed, the next day we wake up and cannot turn our head.  Want to avoid that, stretch your neck every day.  My favorite way is to lean my head to one side and relax my neck.

2. Shoulder stretch – shoulder pain stinks.    We pull something suddenly and then we cannot raise our arms overhead.  To prevent that, keep raising your arms overhead.  Your joints and muscles with atrophy if you don’t use them.  Stop raising your arms, then you will not be able to raise your arms over your head.   Add a bear hug for your back shoulders too.

3. On Back Knee Stretch – on your back hold onto one knee, add a twist.  This will stretch your back, hip, hamstring.  I love stretches that stretch more than one body part.  Everything is so interconnected.

4. Cat/Cow Stretch – on your knees lift your back to an arch, bring your back down.  This will help expand your back.  You can add a leg and opposite arm lift.

5. Sitting Hip Twist – this stretch can help alleviate sciatic nerve.  Twisting is great for your back, hips.

6. Butterfly – sit with legs bent to the side bring knees up and down.  This will help your hips and back.  Try not to hold on to your feet but your ankles instead.

7. Forward Fold – sit with legs forward, lead with your chin and aim your chin to your toes.  Keep your back as straight as possible, you can also do this with a rounded back.  It is actually good to do this  both ways.  It is a good stretch for your back and hips.  This can also be done standing.

8. On Back Hamstring Stretch – One leg at a time on your back, lift up one leg and stretch leg.  If your leg cannot go straight, you can bend your knee.  This is for your hamstrings and back.

9. Child Pose – on your hand and knees, with your knees together or knees apart sit toward your heels with your arms stretched out.   This stretch is not only relaxing, but it stretches your back and hips and shoulders.

10. Feet Up the Wall – this is a very relaxing pose.  On your back put your feet up the wall and just relax.  This is great for your back and hips and hamstrings.   You can relax into this pose for 1-5 minutes.

Below is a video where I do all these stretches and more:

 

Scroll to Top