As someone who stretches every day, I cannot stress enough how fantastic stretching is for the body. The stretches release tightness throughout the body, activating muscles during stretching, ensuring blood can flow effectively throughout the body, and helping your muscles recover optimally. This blog post will serve as a resource that directs you to different stretching routines. I will briefly explain what I like about each routine, but I will not be explaining all the stretches covered in the video. I implore you to create your stretching routine those you find the most useful from the body. The ten stretching routines may show you some effective stretches that could be incredibly helpful for you.
The first stretching routine is covered in a video called “20 Minute Full Body Stretch Routine | Good Moves | Well+Good” by an East River Pilates’ instructor, Floss Brolsma. My favourite stretches cover by the video are the kneeling posterior tilt which I use to stretch the front part of my hips. There is also the cat-cow pose, cobra, cobra thoracic extension, child’s pose, and the standing side stretch, which alleviates tightness in my lower back. Additionally, the sitting side stretch is good for stretching the back and for the hip. The second stretching routing is a video called “8 Minute Head, Neck, and Shoulder Stretching Routine | Good Moves | Well+Good.” Some of my favorite stretches from the video include stretching the neck to both sides, the stretch where they stretch their arms towards the ceiling and create a circle behind their heads, and the stretch with the interlaced fingers behind their back. All these stretches assist with head, neck, and shoulder stretches, as indicated by the video title.
The third stretching routine is with East River Pilates’ instructor Chloe Gregor in the video “15 Minute Stretch and Recovery Series | Good Moves | Well+Good.” The stretches I like from this video are the thread the needle, the first hamstring extension variation, figure 4, the thoracic extension with a roller, and the chest opener. The combination of stretches listed is good for the chest, shoulders, back, hip, and hamstring. The fourth stretching routine is from BK Yoga Club’s Paris and Alicia in a video named “30-Minute Fully Body Deep Stretch Flow to Improve Flexibility | Good Moves | Well+Good.” I believe the best stretches from the video are: the stretch where you lay on your stomach with your arms extended to both sides, bring your arms to the sky, and roller over onto your shoulder. This stretch focuses on the shoulder, chest, and spine. There are also both versions of the puppy dog pose, the lizard stretch, the gomukhasana pose, and the pigeon pose. These stretches help your hips, spine, and shoulders.
The fifth stretching routine is a stretch designed for runners with Nike Master Trainer Copi Island in a video title “Cool Down Stretch For Runners | Trainer of the Month Club | Well+Good.” I recommend the inner thigh stretch and the lying quad stretch. These focus on the major muscles in your hamstrings and quadricep regions. The sixth stretching routine is with trainer Charlee Atkins in the video “Full-Body Stretch Routine With Charlee Atkins.” All of the stretches in this video are fantastic ones I do every other day. These include the lower backstretch with the lacrosse ball, the hip stretch with the lacrosse ball, and the shoulder stretch with the lacrosse ball. These stretches relieve tightness in the shoulder, hip, neck, and spine.
The seventh stretching routine made by Ashley Joi in a video titled “Fully Body Stretch to Unwind and Recover | ReNew Year Movement | Well+Good.” One other good stretch that has not previously been mentioned is the seated forward bend. It helps build spine mobility, relived hamstring and calf tightness. The eighth stretching routine is another video by Ashely Joi called “Use this Upper Body Stretch to Release All Your Tension | ReNew Year Movement | Well+Good.” I like the standing tricep stretch, the standing shoulder stretch, and the neck rolls.
The ninth stretching routine is another video from Ashley Joi called “Release Your Lower Body Muscles with this 12 Minute Stretch | ReNew Year Movement | Well+Good.” I think the best stretches in the video are the runner’s lunge to rotation, the downward dog with an alternating leg calf stretch, butterfly stretch, knee to chest, and she covers some fantastic stretches mentioned in other videos. The final stretching routine is another video by BK Yoga club’s Alicia and Paris called “13 Minute Guided Stretch for Low-Back Pain | Good Moves x BK Yoga Club | Well+Good.” I like the hanging stretch with your knees slightly bent and swaying your back, the back rotation stretch, and the happy baby pose. They also cover many of the stretches previously mentioned. Each of the videos mentioned has different flows and good elements, so I would encourage watching them all.
I hope these videos serve as a guide to create a personal stretching routine that works for you. There are many videos on stretches out there, but my experiences tell me that some stretches are better than others for me. It is hard to do every single stretch ever created. I pick a few stretches for every body area that I find to be the most effective. For example, for the hamstring, I try to stretch the middle and different sides of this body part. The hamstring is made up of a variety of muscles, and I do this in an attempt to stretch as many parts of the hamstring as I can. The same thing for the hip, I find stretches that stretch my side, front, and back of my hips. I have created a personal routine that works for me, and I encourage you to do the same things because it makes your body feel loose and incredible.
