Even if you’re diligent with working out at home, most of us are still moving our bodies less in lockdown.
When your commute is walking from your bedroom to the kitchen and you’re only allowed out of the house for an hour a day, it’s easy for your muscles to feel tight and your general mood lethargic.
Incorporating stretches into your daily routine can go a long way to helping your body and mind.
“Dedicated stretching is proven to positively affect wellbeing and give you a sense of vitality,” says Henry Howe, osteopath and elite trainer at Third Space Islington.
“It improves body awareness, and like any body-aware practice, has a strong component of mindfulness to it.”
So, if you’re missing out on regular coffee breaks and catching up with colleagues in the kitchen, why not replace it with some of these stretches?
1. Forward fold
To release out, have a soft bend in your knees and slowly roll up the spine, stacking each vertebrae at a time.
2. Child’s pose
Stretching is all about loosening up your body and doing what feels right for you, so ease back if any of the postures cause you pain. If it’s uncomfortable, How says: “Try putting a pillow between your hips and heels to reduce the pressure through the knees.”
3. Cobra
“If this is too intense you can move your hands forward or do the same stretch with your forearms still in contact with the floor.”
4. Cat cow
5. Hip flexor stretch
6. Spinal twist
7. Hip 90/90 stretch
8. Half-kneeling groin stretch
9. Side stretch
Repeat on the other side, making sure to move your body up and over – instead of just dropping into your side.
10. Neck release
