You made it through another workout! But guess what’s just as important as the workout? Stretching.
Stretching just after a workout has a number of benefits. First, it lets your body know that it’s time to relax and recover. It also lends the muscles and joints to improved flexibility as the body is warm and more limber. Plus, stretching helps prevent future injury during workouts.
Try our favorite yoga moves to perform after a workout. And check out our workout library for exercises to work every part of the body.
Pidgeon
- Begin on your hands and knees. Place your right femur on the ground in front of you. Bring your right knee forward towards your right wrist.
- Examine what you feel in your body and make adjustments for what feels right for you. Stretch on your outer hip without any discomfort in your knee.
- Begin to slide your left leg back and point your toes. The top of your foot is flat on the floor and your heel is pointing up to the ceiling.
- Use a folded blanket or yoga block to support your right buttock if needed. Keep your hips level and facing forward.
- As you inhale, press your fingertips into the floor while lengthening your spine. Open and expand your chest.
- Exhale, walking your hands forward and lower your upper body towards the floor. If allowed, rest your arms and forehead on the mat.
- Stay for 5 breaths or longer. Breathe any tension out of your right hip.
- To release the pose, push back through the hands, lift your hips and move your leg back into all fours. Come into child’s pose to relax and reset. Repeat on the other side.
Seated Twist
- Have a seat on your mat with your legs criss cross. Keeping the right leg in criss cross (heel tucked near the left buttocks), bend the left leg up and place the left foot to the outside of the right knee.
- Hook the left elbow over the right knee, palm up and facing forward. Inhale, then on your exhalation, press the left elbow into the right knee further, creating a twist. Continue to twist as you press your left palm into the ground near your left buttocks.
- Hold the pose for 5-10 breaths. Release by unhooking the elbow, lift the left foot off the ground and unwind the rest of the body.
Cat/Cow
- Kneel on your hands and knees, looking straight ahead.
- Place your knees hip-width apart with your hands below your shoulders. Keep the elbows slightly bent.
- Inhale while arching your back up like a cat. Your head should be facing down, chin to chest.
- Exhale while sloping your back in reverse. Your head should look upwards. Turn the head from left to right looking over the shoulders, getting a deep stretch in the neck.
Crescent
- Stand with the feet wide apart and the arms reaching out to your sides. Step the right foot forward so the toes are in line with the fingertips.
- Bend until the front knee creates a right angle with the thigh parallel to the floor and the knee is stacked over the ankle. Press the left foot straight down into the floor.
- Keep the hips square and pointing forward evenly.
- On an inhale raise the torso and arms to the sky, palms of the hands facing eat other. Press the shoulder blades back and down.
- Hold the pose for 5 to 10 breaths.
Sphinx
- Come to a comfortable position on your belly. Position the arms directly under the shoulders, creating a 90-degree angle in front of you. Press the palms into the ground and lift the chest off the ground. Keep your gaze forward and your neck relaxed. Breathe and hold the pose for 3-5 breaths.
