Try These Yoga Stretches For Flexibility If You Can Not Touch Your Toes

 

Introduction

Raise your hand if you were felt personally afflicted by the Presidential Fitness Test when you were in elementary school. Sorry to bring awful memories for many of us. Please remember that shuttle (aka bean bag) run (side note: What? Why? So many unanswered questions.), the pull-ups, and sit and reach test used to measure the flexibility.

I believe that the last one was the most scarring for me because I was certainly not flexible. And I still can see my classmates looking at me because I was having difficulty touching my toes. It is not that there is anything wrong in these activities.  

It seems a bit, okay, it means to have to do this in front of your classmates, which can be a part of the reason. Even though I have improved my flexibility since then, I’m still a bit hesitant to go to yoga.

In the latest installment of our Good Moves series, Yoga instructor Tess Koenig says that the biggest reaction I get from people when I tell them I'm a yoga teacher, they say I can't do yoga, I'm not flexible enough, and I can't even touch my toes.

“Yoga is so not about touching your toes”. But if you want to improve your flexibility, these exercises can help. Koenig suggests investing in a few props: a blanket, yoga straps, and block.

If you don’t have those things available, she says you can use sub in a book for the block and use a towel instead of the straps.

Koenig says These stretches aren’t only for the people who want to improve their flexibility. They can be a great cool-down post-run after or other workout. Koenig shows us a series of stretching exercises that help you to become more bendy or flexible.

Try This Yoga To Increase Your Flexibility

To get a good start in the flow, ensure you have three props like a yoga block, yoga strap, and yoga blanket.

Hand To Toe Reclined

Put one leg out straight and the other extended toward the sky, grasping it with the yoga strap and pulling it toward your head. Next, flex both feet like you’re making a footprint in the sky perpendicular to the mat. Then, send your foot out to the side until your hip want to pop up and you feel a stretch in the inner part of your leg and finish by twisting your air extended leg over the one that is flat to feel the stretch in your outside leg. Then switch legs and repeat the same process on the opposite side.

Cat-Cow

Make your way to hands and knees and from there, switch between stretching and scooping your spine. Push against the ground to pull the back and booty upwards while looking at the ground. Then take a deep breath when you look upward and then reverse the position.

Modified Side Plank

To loosen your legs, extend one of them to the ground, press your toes against the floor, and rock them back and forth until you open up the calves. Next, keep your one knee stable on the ground, rotate it to the side, and extend an arm to the air, stretching your side body.

Single-Leg Stretch

Grab your blanket and extend or stretch both of your legs straight out in a seated position. Place a blanket under your booty. Firstly relax and take a deep breath, then pull one leg toward you into a runner’s stretch and grab the other leg with a yoga strap by pulling that leg toward your body.

Reverse Table Top

With arms and feet on the ground, push your hips and pelvis towards the sky to stretch everything out again or once more.