We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Why Trust Us? When you picture a yoga class, the first images that come to mind might be human-pretzel like poses and intimidating breath work meditation. You can benefit from simple daily yoga stretches performed in the comfort of your own home. Meet the Experts: Brandt Passalacqua, a certified yoga instructor, yoga therapist, and the founder, director, and lead teacher at Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy and Kate Lombardo, co-owner and director at YogaRenew.
By stretching on a regular basis, you can lengthen your muscles over time and improve your range of motion, all of which leads to greater flexibility and mobility. A study published in Annals of Internal Medicine found that yoga designed for back pain can be as effective at relieving pain as physical therapy. The American Osteopathic Association says that a regular yoga practice can increase flexibility, improve energy, and help you stay protected from future injury.
In fact, holding poses for too long can run the risk of overstretching your muscles, leading to soreness or injury. If you can work on linking the stretches to your inhales and exhales, even better, says Kate Lombardo, co-owner and director at YogaRenew. The poses below are some of the most common positions you'll find in yoga flowsโa great place to start. If you get familiar with them along with their modifications you may even eventually feel ready to hop into a wider practice.
Hold Time for Each Position : 5โ10 breaths. This poseโone of the most common in yogaโis an excellent morning stretch. You'll open up the shoulders, hamstrings, and calves as well as the arches of your feet. Down dogs also help to strengthen your shoulders and upper back.
And by bending so that your heart is over your head, you'll increase blood flow to the brainโa great way to kickstart alertness in the early morning hours. How to do it: Start in a tabletop position with your hands beneath your shoulders and your knees beneath your hips.
