| Hip Flexor stretch: Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you, back straight. Interlace your fingers and lift your arms over your head, palms facing the ceiling. Let your shoulders drop and release any tension in your neck (if the cords in your neck are standing out, you�re holding tension there. See if you can soften your throat.) �Walk� forward by lifting one hip and sliding it forward, putting it down on the sit bone and then �walking� the other sit bone forward. The more flexible and stronger your hips, the larger �steps� you can take. When you�ve walked about 10 feet forward, reverse the direction and �walk� back, making sure to keep your arms lifted up over your head. This warms up and stretches the hip flexors. Hip Flexor stretch: Put the soles of your feet together and let your knees drop as close to the ground as possible. Lace your fingers under your toes and pull your head down towards your feet. This stretches the hips and the inner thigh. |
| Back and hamstring stretch: Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip width apart, toes facing forward, legs slightly bent, knee caps lifted. Bend your head forward to look down, and keep bending forward slowly until you�re bent over at the waist. Let yourself dangle there without trying to bend any further than gravity takes you. Swing slowly back and forth from right to left, again without trying to stretch downward, just letting gravity pull at you. Stop in the center of your stance and slowly straighten up, stacking one vertebrae of the spine on top of the other from bottom to top, straightening your neck at the very last movement. |
| Shoulder and upper back stretch: Lift both hands over your head, biceps close to the ear. Bend your right arm so the right hand hangs near the base of your neck. Grasp your right elbow with your left hand and pull gently towards the left until you feel a stretch in your arm and upper back. Do not bend your neck or let your head drop forward during the stretch. Switch sides. |
| Twister This one reads like a game of twister but is really not at all hard as long as you figure out which way you�re going. It�s great for the lower and mid back. I advise going through it step by step to be sure you�ve got the correct leg and correct arm when you twist. Sit on the floor with your legs straight in front of you. Bend your left leg and put your foot flat on the floor on the outside of your right knee. Cross your right arm over in front of you and brace it on the outside of your bent right knee. Sit up straight and twist at the waist to the left, pushing with your right arm against your left knee to help you twist, and look back over your left shoulder. This stretches your back. |
 |
 |