YOGA STRETCH POSE FOR FULL BODY

Everyone can benefits from getting on your mat and doing some yoga stretch poses. Whether you are looking  for stiffness relief after a long day at office, or trying to find ways to prevent workout injury, practicing yoga stretch poses will help you accomplish your goals.

Preparation of practicing stretch pose?

• Download a guide video from trustworthy bloggers;
• Find yourself a space that is enough for yoga mat;
• Get your favorite music ready.

Should I hold stretch pose for how long?

Hold time for each pose varies pose by pose, to give a specific lasting time, I would say at least 5 – 10 breathe and at longest 5 minutes.

Benefits of doing stretch pose?

• Ease stiffness and pain;
• Open up your whole body;
• Increase blood circulation;
• Relief stress and anxiety;
• Better your sleep;
• Make you feel stronger in no time.

10 yoga stretch pose routine for full body

Here is a yoga stretch pose routine for full body, and you are gonna love it because they help you gain flexibility and strength after hard workouts and these stretch poses will set you on the right course.

No.1 Downward Facing Dog Pose

Downward facing dog pose is a crowd favorite pose for many yoga students and also one of the most basic pose in yoga. It helps to open up shoulders, backs, hamstrings as well as calves. Doing this pose requires involvement of core strength, it is not an easy pose but totally worth the efforts. Try your best and stop any time if you are not feeling good.

How to do downward facing dog pose?

• Start in child position, this is important as it will tells the distance between your hands and feet, which varies from person to person, not everyone has the same height, right?
• Spread your fingers and press into palms, firmly against the mat, meanwhile lift your knees off the floor and place your hips toward the ceiling, this is the moment to involve core area;
• Push your body into a upside down V;
• Keep your breathe stable and try to make deep inhales and exhales;

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No.2 Cat Cow Pose

Cat cow pose is an integral pose to warm up body for many yoga sequence, it is beloved by many yogis. It emphasis spine mobilizing movements just like cat and cow and is consists of tow poses, the cat pose and the cow pose.  

How to do cat cow pose?

• Begin with all four posture, put your hands and knees on the floor, make sure your hands are beneath your shoulders and knees under your hips;
• Inhale, at the same time lower your belly toward the floor, move tailbone and head toward the ceiling, stretch your abdominal as well as the whole upper body;
• Exhale, meanwhile round up your spine up toward the ceiling, like you are pulling your belly up toward the spine;
• Repeat the cat pose and the cow pose, keep stable breathing.

No.3 Low Lunge Pose

Low lunge pose reflects human’s wish to leap up and it is a very good backbend pose to stretch your whole body – the legs, the arms, the back, the core, shoulders of course and else. It also help to improve your ability to maintain balance.

How to do low lunge pose?

• Start with all four position, or downward facing dog pose;
• Pull your right leg toward the middle of your two hands;
• Lower your left knee and keep your right knee over the right ankle, this is important;
• Flip left foot to the floor and stay firmly on the mat, then lift your torso upright;
• Drop your tailbone toward the floor, do your best on this;
• Sweep your arms out to both sides and up overhead, look up and slightly bend backward, this will largely stretch your core area;
• Hold for a few breathes and release, take a break, get to start position, repeat on the other side.

No.4 Triangle Pose

Triangle pose is a classic stretch pose, it helps to stretch your arms, back, groins, hamstrings, and hips. There are many ways to enter triangle pose, for instance, from warrior two pose. Since this is a stretch pose routine, I would recommend start with mountain pose.

How to do low triangle pose?

• Start with mountain pose;
• Move your right leg backward and twist your upper body, two legs are a little wider than shoulder-width apart;
• Extend your arms, so they are parallel to the floor and palms facing down;
• Bend your body at hip point, keep the sides of waist long and lengthen your tailbone toward back heels;
• As your right arm reach the ground, if this is too difficult for you, try to grab your right ankle, meanwhile, lift your left arm to the sky;
• Hold for 10 breathe, take a break and repeat on the other side.

No.5 Tree Pose

Tree pose is relatively difficult to achieve, as it requires you involve leg strength a lot, many people can not maintain balance doing tree pose, this is ok, try to do this near a wall and use the wall to help you maintain balance. Tree pose stretch your groins, torso and shoulders, also it will help you focus and center yourself.

How to do low tree pose?

• Start with mountain pose;
• Shift your weight onto the right leg, and lift your left leg by putting your left feet aside your right knee;
• Meanwhile, keep your eyes staring at a solid point forward, for instance, an object on the front;
• Bring both arms up and do a pray posture;
• Try to maintain the standing leg as straight as possible, and your whole torso upright, like there is someone pulling your head to the ceiling direction;
• Maintain for a minute, then release to take a little break, repeat on the other leg.

No.6 Half Lord of the Fishes Pose

Half lord of the fishes pose helps to open, lengthen, nourish and realign your spine, practice the half lord of the fishes pose is perfect to stretch muscles on the back, hips, legs and up abdominal. As we know, stretching improves the flexibility of muscles as well as giving them a toned look

How to do half lord of the fishes pose?

• Start with sitting mountain pose;
• Bend both knees and make your feet placed flatly on the mat;
• Slip your right foot until it meets your left knee, meanwhile slip your left foot until it meets your right hip;
• Place your right arm on the outside of your left knee, twist your torso to your left thigh as well as twist your left thigh into your torso;
• Look over your left shoulder;
• Every time you breathe in, try to lift your sternum higher and stay tall in the torso;
• Every time your exhale, try to twist a little bit more;
• Hold for a few breathes, repeat on the other side.

No.7  Pigeon Pose

Pigeon pose is very good for opening your hips, as well as stretching your groins, thighs and lower back. It is said that emotions are stored in hips and groins, thus pigeon pose is said to help relief stress and anxiety, also support the digestion system.

How to do pigeon pose?

• Start with sitting mountain pose;
• Flow into downward facing dog pose, hold for a breathe, then lift your right leg backward and then forward;
• Put your right leg toward your left wrist as possible as you can, then rotate your right leg until your shin is perpendicular to the front of your mat, preferably making a 90 degree angle with your shin and thigh;
• Extend your left leg straight and placed firmly on the mat, then lift your upper body;
• Slowly return to downward facing dog pose and repeat on the other side. 

No.8 Bridge Pose

Bridge pose is a precursor to the wheel pose, it helps to active your hip muscles, strengthen your back muscles and hamstring. Bridge pose can also relief tension and fatigue in your back, while stretch your chest, neck as well as spine. Bridge pose is kind of half of wheel pose, by arching your body upward helps to open your lung and calm your brain.

How to do bridge pose?

• Start with sitting mountain pose;
• Lie on your back with knees bent and feet on the mat;
• Bring your heels as close as possible to your hips;
• Lift your hips as high as you can, then hold;
• Clasps your hands beneath;
• Slowly drop your torso and take a break.

No.9 Seated Forward Bend Pose

Seated forward bend pose is a typical forward bend pose, practice forward bend pose will stretch your hamstrings a lot and increase flexibility of your spine. Seated forward bend pose will avoid getting much head rush as standing forward bend pose, that is why we pick the seated version in this routine.

How to do seated forward bend pose?

• Start with sitting mountain pose;
• Lift your upper body like someone is pulling your head toward the ceiling;
• Bend forward from your groins;
• Use your hands to grab your feet from outside, if there is too much stretch than you can bear, try to grab your thin instead;
• Put your heads toward your thighs as much as possible;
• Hold for 10 breathes, then release.

No.10 Child Pose

Child pose is a crowd favorite yoga asana, also known as a restorative pose. Child pose helps to open your shoulder, it is very good for office men and women. You may come to it anytime you want, doing this pose when you feel like you want take some rest.

How to do child pose?

• Start with sitting mountain pose;
• Lift your hip then move hips backward to sit back on your heels, with torso on your thighs;
• Place your arm straight in front of you with palms facing the mat;
• Stretch your arms as much as possible like you want to reach the other side of the room;
• Hold for a few breathes then release.