Yoga For Sore Muscles

Back to the gym? Still WFH and doing at-home virtual workouts? Is your WFH desk setup less than ideal? Are you just sore from daily life? Then this gentle yoga flow is for you! Follow your breath and move through this practice at your own pace, taking the time to enjoy the poses that feel best to you. If you don’t have the yoga props used in this practice, use household items! For a yoga strap, you can use an old belt, a dog leash, a tie, anything that is long enough to reach your foot while you are reclined. You can make use of books and pillows instead of blocks and bolsters. Most of all, make this practice yours and enjoy it. Namaste!

UP DOG / COBRA / BACK BEND / CAT COW

Starting on your hands and knees, inhale to arch your back, pressing your shoulder blades apart, and drop your head. Exhale to reverse the motion, dropping your belly to the mat, shoulders away you’re your ears. Do this as many times as feels good, at your own pace. Moving to a downward-facing dog and flowing with your breath through the backbend of your choice.

PIGEON POSE

From a downward-facing dog, move into pigeon pose by bringing your right knee to your right wrist, your right shin as parallel to the top of your mat as is comfortable. Gently fold forward and soften into this pose, and feel the intense stretch and release in your right hip. If this is uncomfortable, feel free to do the reclined version, figure four.

STRAP SERIES

Laying on your back, get a strap. Put the strap on your right foot to start. Keeping your left hip pressed into your mat, let your right leg fall open to the right, opening up the inside of your right thigh and your hip. Hold here for as long as feels good, and only go as far as feels good. Bringing your right leg back up to the sky, let your leg cross over your body, creating a twist and outer hip stretch. To make this more restorative, use a block or similar prop to support your leg. Hold this as long as it feels good. Now bring your leg to the sky, remove the strap, and lay your leg down. Do you notice a difference? Now, repeat on the left side.

LEGS UP THE WALL 

Finish with legs up the wall. Curl into a little ball at the base of the wall, and roll to your side to send your legs to the sky. You want your lower back to be neutral, with no pain or pinching. You can stay here as long as it feels good for you. This is a great pose to practice daily, as it reverses your blood flow and assists with lymphatic drainage. Use this pose for pain relief and stress relief. To come out of the pose, bring your knees to your chest, and use your feet to press yourself back to a supine position. Stay here for a moment to feel the benefits, and get up slowly to avoid dizziness. Do not do this pose if you have any underlying heart issues, or consult your doctor first.