Sprinkling more movement into your day can benefit your mind and body. If you’re looking to up your activity levels but you’re short on ideas, these three stretches from a flexibility expert are a great place to start. They’re recommended by , a physical therapist of more than 20 years and a certified yoga instructor.
She’s selected this trio of moves because they target the “muscles that get tight from all the time we spend sitting”, which is handy if you spend large chunks of your day at a . “They’re also really easy to do and don’t require any equipment – you can even do them in the office,” Leggett adds. 3-5 minutes “Child’s Pose stretches a lot of things at once, so you get a lot of bang for your buck,” Leggett explains.
“It stretches the lats [the broad muscles stretching across the upper back], lower back, hips, quadriceps [on the front of the thighs] and even the tops of the feet. Having your forehead resting on the floor or a blanket also helps access a branch of the vagus nerve in your face and can be quite relaxing. “This is a great position to bring some awareness to our breath and concentrate on breathing diaphragmatically too.
The belly resting on our thighs can give us some feedback as to how and where we are breathing. This can be relaxing as well, which is why I encourage people to stay here for a bit.” 3x30 seconds on each leg “This move stretches your hip flexors, which can get tight from a lot of sitting, causing hip and.
