Want to Increase Your Flexiblity?

Think you have to be super flexible to do well at yoga? This is a big myth!

Doing yoga regularly is actually a great way to improve your flexibility and you definitely don’t have to be incredibly bendy already to reap the rewards.

If your flexibility could use some work, the tightness is probably centered on one (or more) of three major muscle groups: the hamstrings, hips and shoulders. If you spend a lot of time sitting down or run regularly, these muscle groups may need to loosen up a fair bit. There can also be effects for other parts of the body too, and tight hamstrings can be a factor in back pain, for example.

Yoga can be very effective at improving flexibility and a lot of this is due to the combination of static and dynamic stretching.

A few poses that can help to improve flexibility:

Upward Facing Dog (Urdhvamukhasvanasana):

Start off lying face down on the floor with your arms a tiny bit above your hips. With your arms and midsection, lift your legs and hips off the floor. At the same time, make sure your chest is pulling outwards.

Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana):

With your palms flat on the floor, lift your bottom up in the air and keep going until your legs are straight. Ideally, the lower part of your back won’t be arched at all. This yoga pose is a great one for stretching the shoulders and hamstrings.

Standing Back Bend (Anuvittasana):

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and with your arms pointing up towards the ceiling. Gently arch your back while reaching backwards with your arms. You should feel a good stretch in your back but it’s a fine line - stretch too far and you could easily over balance or hurt your back.

Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana):

From a standing position, bend forwards towards the floor. Try to keep your hips in front of your ankles as you bend. Yoga beginners often make the mistake of pushing the hips backwards in this yoga pose but if you can get it right, it’s a super effective way of stretching tight hamstrings.

Eye of the Needle (Sucirandhrasana):

Lie on your back and cross one ankle over the other thigh. This is a simple but easy way to stretch tight hips. Want to go a step further though? Lift your bottom off the floor too, a little at a time.

It takes time to improve your flexibility so don’t feel too disappointed if you’re not feeling the benefits straight away. Keep doing these type of yoga poses regularly and you should start feeling less tightness in major muscle groups.

If you need resources to find a class hit “reply”.

Here is a wonderful healthy version of hummus to try. Enjoy!

Healthier Hummus

·      1/2 bag chickpeas or 1 can

·      11/2 bulbs roasted garlic

·      1/8 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

·      cup tahini

·      1 preserved lemon

·      2 avocados, ripe, remove pits & scoop out flesh

·      1 tablespoon curry powder

·      salt & pepper to taste

1.Place chickpeas in salted boiling water and cook until soft, about one hour. Or for a quicker version use one can garbanzo beans.  Drain in a colander and then puree in a food processor with the rest of the ingredients. Taste for seasoning.

2.Serve on top of your favorite salad, or with some wholegrain or gluten free crackers or use for vegetable sticks to dip! Healthy and Delicious!

NOTE: To make your own quick preserved lemons: Lightly score 4 lemons all the way around (do not cut through to the flesh) and then boil in 1 cup water, 1 cup fresh lemon juice, 2 bay leaves, 1/2 tablespoon whole black peppercorns and 1/4 cup kosher salt until lemons are soft, approx. 30 minutes.