3 Total Body Stretches You Should Do Every Night
Total Body Stretches not only feel good, but help prevent injury, increase flexibility and flush out your muscles. As we are almost halfway through the Better Together Challenge, we have been blown away by everyone’s commitment to crush as many classes as possible. ( PS- If you aren’t signed up for the challenge, there is still time! All classes that you have taken since October 1st will still count. Sign up here!
Recovery is crucial to repairing the body, especially when we are pushing ourselves extra hard. Coach Lany curated three stretches to help you slow down each night, recover and prepare us for the next day.
Here are three total body stretches that you should do every night! Remember: stretching shouldn’t ever be painful. If it is, ease up a bit and breathe into the movement.
Pigeon Pose
The Set Up:
- Begin in downward dog or all fours and slowly shift forward into a high plank as you bring your right knee toward your right hand.
- Slowly lower your hips onto the ground – Your right ankle will be angled toward your left hip.
- Extend your left leg to where your hips allow. Keep your hips square to the floor.
- You should feel a stretch through your right glute and possibly through your left hip flexor.
- Tip: You can stay upright in this position, supporting yourself with yourhands or you can deepen the stretch and fold your torso forward towards the floor. Do this by walking your hands forward and letting your chest rest on the ground.
The Stretch:
- Hold this stretch for 30-90 seconds and repeat on the other side.
- Breathe deeply into the stretch.
- You may feel slight discomfort in this deep hip stretch, but no pain. If you feel pain, you may need to regress the stretch.
Lying Hamstring Stretch
The Set Up:
- Lay on your back with your legs fully extended.
- Raise your right leg – depending on how flexible you are, bring your leg as close as you can to your chest, grabbing behind the thigh, calf or ankle.
- Tip: You could also use a band or towel to help assist.
- Keep your bottom leg extended onto the floor to increase the stretch.
The Stretch:
- Hold this stretch for 30-90 seconds and repeat on the other side.
- If you feel pain, you may need to regress the stretch.
- To regress the stretch, slightly bend your right knee and bend your left leg, so that your left foot is on the floor.
- With every exhale, bring your leg a little closer to your chest, increasing your stretch.
- You should feel the stretch behind the leg, stretching the hamstring.
Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch
The Set Up:
- Begin in a kneeling lunge position with your left knee on the floor and your right leg in a lunge at 90 degrees.
- Squeeze your left glute, posteriorly tilt your hips (tuck your tailbone under) and draw your rib cage down and keep an upright torso.
- You should feel a stretch through your left hip flexor.
The Stretch:
- Hold this stretch for 30-90 seconds and repeat on the other side.
- If you feel pain, you may need to regress the stretch.
- Deep breathing – With every exhale increase your stretch by push that hip a little bit further while keeping the hips squared (make sure the knee in a lunge stays behind the big toe)
Catch Coach Lany on BoxUnion Digital LIVE and On-Demand Classes. She also has a series of pre- and post-class total body stretch videos to increase your flexibility and help you prevent injuries!
In the meantime, check out this is a quick 10-Minute Glute Workout with Coach Lany.
Not Signed up for BoxUnion Digital? Get two weeks free and 33% off your first two months with the promo code STAYSTRONG. With over 20 different stretch and recovery videos you have access to an all-in-one app for your daily workout needs.