5 Yoga Poses to Help You Touch Your Toes An inability to touch your toes might mean your arteries have become stiff, and you have an increased risk of heart attack or stroke. Flexibility may be an indicator of arterial stiffening, and research has suggested exercise such as yoga might help improve it… and your heart health. Yoga is especially beneficial for boosting and maintaining your flexibility. To reclaim, or learn, to touch your toes, try the following yoga poses: ragdoll, functional squat, kneeling lunge, pyramid, and extended child’s pose. 1. Ragdoll Standing with your feet hip-distance apart, exhale as you bend forward, hinging from your hips, rather than pulling from your low back. Clasp your hands around the opposite elbow and let your head hang loosely. With your weight evenly distributed in your feet (not just your heels), straighten your legs by engaging your quadriceps (the muscles of the front upper leg). Firing your quad muscles allows your hamstrings to relax. Youll also want to engage your deep core muscles to release your low back during this stretch. Remain here for 10 long, deep breaths. 2. Functional squat Start with your feet and knees aligned under your hips with your arms reaching out at shoulder height. Exhale as you sit back into the pose as deeply as possible without knees splaying or heels lifting. Hold for three long, deep breaths. Repeat three times. 3. Kneeling lunge Tight hip flexors can hold you in a pelvic tilt that inhibits forward bending. Kneeling lunge is a great pose for releasing them. Step into a basic lunge position with your back knee bent. Rest your hands on your front thigh as you exhale and let your pelvis sink downward. Keep your hips squared forward. Engage your buttocks to increase the stretch in your hip flexors. Hold for five long, deep breaths on each side. 4. Pyramid When done correctly, the pyramid pose stretches your hamstrings with proper pelvic alignment. Step one leg back 18 to 24 inches with your toes angled slightly out. With both legs straight, hinge from your hips to bend forward, placing your hands on your forward leg as low as possible without rounding your back. To establish proper pelvic alignment, draw your forward hip back while pushing your back hip forward. Engage your quadriceps to keep your legs straight and stretch your hamstrings. Hold for five long, deep breaths on each side. 5. Extended childs pose This pose is a restful one intended to stretch low-back extensors and encourage the pelvis out of an anterior tilt. From a kneeling position, reach your arms forward as you exhale and press your hips back toward your heels. Rest your forehead on the floor or a block. Hold for five long, deep breaths. https://youtube/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 14:26:39 +0000
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