Yoga-Based Stretching: Lower Body

8 Minutes, Intensity 1, Complexity 1, Lower Body, Hamstrings, Range of Motion. Cool down with this simple and informed sequence of stretches designed to be done after a run or leg workout. Suitable for all levels of experience.

Transcript

Hi everyone, This is Carrick. This is a short warm-up or cool-down. You can do this before or after a run to just stretch your legs. We're just going to stretch the legs. Turn to one side of the mat and let's start with the right leg forward and the left leg back. Walk your right foot wide to the right and place your hands inside of the front foot. Walk the left knee back. All right, So for some of you, You're going to already get a pretty good stretch here in this low lunge. You could lift the back leg and stretch the legs and get a nice stretch, But if you're just kind of taking it easy, Go ahead and put the knee down. Putting the knee down might be even more of a stretch, And that stretch might be too intense. You can lift the knee up and just hold the lunge. Okay, And then to deepen the pose, You have an option to take the elbows to the ground. Some of you will need that to get a stretch. For some of you, That will be too much. So option A is up on the hands. Actually, Let's go A, B, C. A is back knee lifted, Hands on the ground. B is knee to the ground, And then C will be elbows to the ground. You could also prop your elbows up on blocks or some kind of prop. We're working on stretching the hip flexor on the back leg and the front of the thigh, Some of the little bit of quad stretch. You might feel this on the front hip as well. All right, Hug your shins in. So here are the actions. It's not enough just to make the shape of the pose, Right? So you've seen people do this. You might have done this, Made this shape before. What we're doing in yoga is we really wanna maximize our time in the pose. So we're only gonna hold the pose for maybe a minute. We wanna get the most out of it. Hug your shins in, Squeeze your knee into your shoulder, Push your hips back towards the back of the mat. Draw your ribcage in and up, And reach your chest forward, And then from your hips, Stretch your legs front to back. Okay, So shins in, Hips wide, And then from the core of the pelvis, Stretch long front to back, Out through the back heel, Forward through the front knee, Out through the top of the head. Okay, From here, Come back up onto your hands, Move your hips back, And center your hips over the back knee, Straighten the front leg, Place your hands on both sides of the shin. Again, Some of you may not be able to get the hands to the ground, So an option A would be to place hands on props, Blocks, Or just something to elevate your hands, And then this will be much easier. You could also just do the pose with your hands on your hips. Many of you will already get a stretch here, So option A. B, C, Hands to the ground, And then for my more flexible friends, You can try, I don't think I can do it right now, You can take both elbows to the ground inside the front leg. So there's always ways to modify the pose. Here are the actions. Spread your toes wide. Draw the baby toe towards your outer knee. Pull your hip back. Reach your heart forward. And then from your hips, Push out through the right heel. So the muscles are pulling back. The toe pulls back. The kneecap pulls in. Pull your right hip back muscularly. And then imagine you could grow your bones longer from the core of your pelvis. Push out through the heel and stretch the back of your leg. Just one more breath here. Now shift back forward again, Knee over the heel, And then reach back with your opposite hand to grab your foot. So right hand to the left foot. Pull your hips back into the heel. Touch your hip to your heel. Keep the hip touching the heel or as close to it as possible. So if this is as close as you can get as you move your hips back towards the heel because your quads are tight, No problem. Just move your hips back as much as you can. Once you have your hips as far back as possible, Potentially hitting the hip to the heel, Then lunge the front knee forward. You can stay up on the opposite hand. Or there are some other options. You can try dropping the elbow to the floor. Some of you will need that to get a bigger stretch. Many of you won't. You'll be able to just stay on the hand and get a stretch. So I'm going to stay here. This feels better for me. Reach your Reach the knee back. The back knee back and reach the front knee forward. Roll the top shoulder back, Stretch your thigh. Push the knee back, Even draw your ribcage in and up and you'll feel a bigger stretch. And then just stretch, Stretch long, Push the knee back, Reach your head forward, Reach your chest forward. Good, Release the foot. Let's move right to the other side. Step back. Place the right knee down. Step the left foot forward. And I'll review the options again. So you can be up to date. Up with the back knee, Hands on the ground. Even potentially up on props, Okay? And if that gives you the stretch and the hip flexor, Great. All right, Knee down, Gives me a little bit more of a stretch. And then the third option. Forearms to the ground. To stretch the thigh. Okay, Squeeze your shins in. So you're containing the energy by holding the shins in, And then you're filling that container by poking your hips back and wide. Broaden the hips behind you. Drag your elbows back and reach your heart forward. Reach your front knee forward and then reach the back foot towards the back of the mat. Stretch long front to back. Open up the pose. So it's all about creating actions in the body that maximize the pose. So it's, Again, The shape of the pose, Just making, Putting my body in this position, It will give me a stretch. But to get the most out of my time, I really have to act. I really have to. . . Use my body in the most efficient way. Okay, Come back up. Move back onto the. . . Back knee. Center your hips over the knee. And straighten the front leg. Okay, Some options might be again. I'm not going to be able to come up on my knee on this side, But you could put you could come up. You could place your hands, You could elevate your hands. I'm going to use my hands down on the ground. Hug your shins in, Contain the energy. On the front leg, Focus on the front leg, Hold the hip back. And then widen the hip out to the side. And you might feel a stretch in the hip as well as the hamstring. Push the heel down and drag it back. And then from the hips, Push out through the heel. Get the stretch on the back of the left leg. Now, Increase the stretch by drawing your shoulders back and leading with your heart. Reach your chest forward. To stretch the hamstring. And then bend the front knee. Shift forward. Bend the back knee, Reach back with the opposite hand and grab your foot. On the foot that you're holding, It's very important that the foot Doesn't point towards the middle of the mat. You want to point the foot towards the outer edge of the mat. This is to protect the knee. So as the foot sickles, If it curves in, It puts a little bit of stress on the knee. So now turn the toes out. Alleviate that stretch, That stress. Hook your hips back. You have an option to take the elbow down. And it is optional, I don't like that right now. So I'm gonna come back up. All right, Poke your hips back. Reach the knee back, Reach your head forward, And reach your front knee forward. And then twist. And look over your shoulder. Good, One more breath. Inhale to the middle. Okay, So. That's just a little short sequence that you can do on both sides. You can spend a little bit longer in each pose if you feel like you need it. And then really working on just a little bit of hamstring work, Quadriceps, And up into the hip flexors. You can do this before or after you're working out. OK.