Hamstring Stretching

(sea waves) Welcome back. Thank you for being here. So this practice, we're gonna target sticky, tight hamstrings, legs, as well as the hips. For this practice it would be helpful to have a strap, you can also use a tie or a piece of a cord or webbing, as well as a blanket and two blocks if you have them. So we'll start our practice on our backs.

And if you have a wall, bring your mat up against your wall. Just take a moment to measure off. So bring your feet all the way up against the wall. As if you're coming into Tadasana, mountain pose here. So really let the back of your body lengthen.

And then, just to start off as we usually do coming into a windshield wiper, just wake up the body, reach the arms overhead, lengthen a bit. Good, allow for an inhale, and as you exhale let your knees fall to one side coming under the edges of your feet, and then as you inhale let your knees come back up to center and exhale over to the other side. Just nice and easy, back and forth with your breath. Just ease into your practice and ease into the body. Really bring some attention towards your breath here as you move from side to side.

And it might feel nice to let your head move in one direction and then the other. Just a few more times here. Moving with your breath. Relaxing through the face and the jaw. Good, inhale, come back up to center, and then reach your feet towards the wall.

Good, release your arms down along your sides. Spread your toes wide apart, lengthen the back body, reach your heels towards the wall. And then press the ball of your left foot into the wall as you begin to draw your right knee in towards your chest. Good, softening the shoulders down the back. Take an inhale here, and then exhale, release the shoulders a bit.

Good, bring your strap around the bottom of your right foot. And then extend your right leg up towards in the sky, and begin to bend and straighten the knee a couple of times, just nice and easy. And as you do this, notice how your lower back feels, okay. So if you'd like more support on your low back, it might make sense to keep that left foot on the floor. You got it?

To support your lower back. If you'd like to extend the foot, then press the heel into the wall, press the ball of that left foot into the wall. And then eventually extend your right leg up towards the sky. Most likely your knees bend here. It's even common if your legs're kinda shaking a little bit.

Good, softening the shoulders down the back. And then bring the strap in your right hand. If your left leg is extended, press the foot into the wall a bit. Yeah, lengthen through that left leg. Now bring your hand onto your left hip, and then from here begin to open your right leg out to the right.

Just for a few breaths. Keep the left hip on the floor. You can take a moment here to pause, when you first begin to feel a stretch. Most likely it's a strong stretch through the hamstrings, the groin, the hip. Breath into where you feel the stretch.

One more inhale here. And as you exhale, if your left leg is extended, press the foot into the wall, inhale, the right leg back up to center, pause. Now bring this strap in your left hand. Bring your right thumb into your right hip crease, and then lengthen the right side of your body. So you're lengthening from that right shoulder all the way towards the hip, inhale, and as you exhale bring the leg across your body.

So you're bringing the right leg across the body towards your left shoulder. Again, pause when you first feel a stretch. It doesn't take much here to feel a stretch usually. You might feel a burning through the outer part of the leg, the outer hamstring. You might feel a dull, achy stretch here.

A few more moments here. Lengthening the right side a bit. Good, on your inhale bring your leg back up to center. Now, you might stay here, you might begin to engage the abdominals. Chin into your chest, and begin to curl up.

You might climb your hands up your legs a bit, stretching the back of the neck. And then on your exhale release your head to the floor. Then remove your strap. And then flex the foot, stabilize your core, your belly and your hips as you slowly extend and lower your leg, as if you were reaching through the wall to lengthen. Good, and then relax the effort.

Take a few moments to just notice how you feel. Good, and then let's come to the second side. So find those Tadasana, mountain pose, feet at the wall spreading the toes, and then draw your left knee in towards your chest. Just take a few moments here. Again, relax the shoulders down the back.

Pressing the ball of the right foot a bit if it's extended. Good, and then bring your strap around the bottom of your left foot, which is not so easy sometimes. And then extend your left leg up and you'll feel the hamstrings right away. So bend and straighten the knee a couple of times. And oftentimes a bit of bending and straightening can help to communicate with our nervous system.

Okay, we're coming in for a stretch. But there is a way to come out, it's not forever. And by bending the knees we can alleviate the stretch through the hamstrings a bit. Good, eventually extend your left leg up flexing the foot. There might be a slight bend through the knee.

You might notice your knee is shaking, your hamstrings are shaking a bit there. Softening the shoulders, the face. And you might have that right foot on the floor with the knee bent to support your lower back. This might feel really good today. You might choose to extend your right leg and then, if you do that, feel the connection with the foot on the wall.

Bring the strap in your left, right hand on your right hip. From here opening out to your left for a few breaths. Pause when you first feel a stretch. You'll notice that right hip wants to lift above the floor. See if you can ground a bit more through the right side.

Breathing. (inhales and exhales) Relaxing through the face. (inhales and exhales) (inhales and exhales) Good, as you're ready, on your inhale come back up. Bring the strap in your right hand. Bring your right thumb into your hip crease.

Lengthen the left side, feel an inhale. And as you exhale bring the leg across your body just enough to feel a stretch. Again, it doesn't take much to feel something here. Soften and relax what you can. And breath.

(inhales and exhales) (inhales and exhales) Good, as you're ready, inhale, bring your leg back up to center. Again, you might stay here, you might engage the abdominals. Draw the chin onto the chest, climb your way up the strap. Forehead towards your shin, curl up. Get round.

And then releasing your head to the floor, remove the strap. Keep the left leg high. And then from here again, stabilizing your core and your hips as you slowly extend and reach the left leg all the way down as if you're reaching your heel through the wall. Good, and then relax the effort. Okay, notice how you feel.

(inhales and exhales) Allow for an inhale. And exhale everything. And then as you're ready draw you knees into your chest. Let yourself rock a little bit side to side, on the back, the spine. And then here roll onto your side, and then pressing your hands into the floor to come up.

And let's come on to all fours. So coming onto your hands and knees here. And you might bring a blanket under your knees for some padding and support. So I think I'll do that today. And then spreading your fingers wide, moving into cat-cow from here.

You might tuck your toes under. Allow for an inhale and as you exhale get round, curl the tailbone under, release the head, upper back fold, and as you inhale rolling your pelvis forward arching through the back, lengthening through the spine, wide through the collarbones, relaxing the neck a bit here. And then exhale, curl the tailbone under, get round, release the head. You might feel a dull, achy stretch through the spine here, back of the neck. And as you inhale, roll your pelvis forward, arch, and lengthen.

A few more times like this, moving with your breath. Nice and easy at your own pace. You might begin to lean a bit from side to side and explore any sticky spots in the body. Maybe it's the hips, the ribs, the shoulder blades up through the neck. Good.

Coming into neutral. From here we'll make our way into plank pose. Spreading the fingers wide apart, bringing the shoulders over the wrists and drawing the shoulder blades down the back, tuck the toes under, walk your feet back into a plank. Reach back through your heels, lengthen forward through the top of the head, and then draw the belly towards the spine. Good, one more inhale here active.

And then exhale, bend the knees, press back into downward facing dog. And then just nice and easy here walking your dog off, bending one knee and stretching the calf and heel to the floor, bending the other knee, stretching the calf and heel to the floor. Right, spreading the fingers. Softening the back of the neck and breathing. Just a few more moments here, in downward dog.

(inhales and exhales) From here we're gonna walk the hands and feet towards each other coming into a standing forward fold. Bending the knees. Releasing the head, letting the arms dangle. (inhales and exhales) Soften the back of the neck, chin into your chest, and then slowly rolling up towards standing, keeping the chin in. As you press down through your feet a bit feel the heart rise, the shoulders roll up around the ears and then back down.

Good, and let's walk towards the top of our mat, and if you have two blocks bring them with you. We're gonna find some lunge salutations here. So you might bring your blocks up at the highest setting, or the second setting depending on what works for you. And then standing in between your two blocks in mountain pose. So feet are about underneath your hips.

And together let's inhale and draw the shoulders up just to wake up the shoulders, exhale and drop. Inhale, draw the shoulders up, exhale and drop. And one more time drawing the shoulders up, and then exhale and drop. Good, joining the hands together. Moving with our breath, breathing in.

Exhale, press the hands down towards the floor. As you inhale, circle the arms up, get long and reach through the fingers. Exhale, bend the knees nice and easy, forward fold. Release the head, release the arms. As you inhale, bring the hands all the way up the shins, half arch, lengthen your spine, shoulder blades draw down the back.

And as you exhale bend the knees, bring your hands to your blocks, or perhaps your floor, as you step your right foot back and let your left knee bend. Kinda reach back through the ball of your right foot. Take a moment here in this lunge. Draw your left hip back and then lengthen forward. Soften through the neck, soften through the face.

Draw the belly up towards the spine. Good, inhale, exhale, let the right knee lower down to your blanket or your mat. Tuck the back toes or press the top of the foot down to the mat, whichever feels best for you. As you inhale draw your hips back and out of the lunge. Come onto your left heel, find the hamstrings.

Exhale, bend the front knee, sink into the lunge. We'll do this a few times. Inhale, draw your hips back. Come onto your left heel. Exhale, bend the front knee and sink in.

Two more times. Inhale, draw the hips back. Exhale, sink in. Last time. Inhale, draw your hips back.

Come onto the heel, and now press the left heel down to the floor a bit. Nice. Take a breath into the back of your left leg, if that makes sense. Like breathe into where you feel the stretch. Good, and then exhale, bend the front knee, sink into your lunge.

Now, from here you might stay low, take a few breaths here, relax what you can through the face. Draw the shoulders down the back. You might play with lifting your gaze, hands on the thigh, as you lift up. Today you might play with reaching your arms up towards the sky, reaching from the heart into the hands and breathing. Can you find a bit more ease within the effort?

Good, inhale, exhale, release the hands to the blocks or the floor, draw your hips back. One last time. Come onto your left heel, and then release the gaze. Good, bend the front knee, tuck the back toes, lift your back leg, and then we're gonna rock and roll and step the right foot forward. So with some momentum here step the right foot forward to meet the left, and then bend your knees for a forward fold.

Nice and easy. Good, and then bring the feet hip distance apart, spread the toes for chair pose. So from here you're gonna bend, bend, bend the knees a lot, as if you're about to sit down into a chair, feel the way, shift in the feet. Strong legs, inhale, arms up for chair pose. Now, draw the belly towards the spine.

Strong, active legs here. Yes, inner thighs drawing towards each other. One more inhale. Exhale, press down through the feet to come up, lengthen through the fingers, reach up. And then exhale, release the arms.

Nice job. Take a breath here. Exhale. (exhales) Join the hands together. We'll find that on the second side. Breathing in.

Exhale, breathing out, press the hands down to the floor. Inhale, circle the arms up. Exhale, bend the knees, forward fold. Nice and easy. Releasing the head, releasing the arms.

As you inhale, slide the hands up the shins. Get long through the spine, lift up, half arch. Good, bend the knees, find the blocks or the floor, step your left foot back into a lunge as your right knee bends. And before coming down, now wiggle back, reach back through the ball of your left foot, and then feel that length forward through the heart. Relaxing through the neck.

Active through your back left leg. You're on your right hip back a bit. A little softer through the face. Good, inhale. Exhale, let the left knee lower down to the blanket or the floor.

Take a moment here to pause in the lunge, and this can be quite intense, quite heating, maybe even a little irritating. Ah, tune the back foot. So you might tuck the toes under, or you might feel better to press the top of the foot down a little bit. Feel that work in the back leg. As you inhale, draw your hips back.

Come onto your right heel. Press the right heel down a bit, soften through the neck. Whooh. And then exhale, bend the front knee and sink into your lunge. We'll do this a few times coming in and out.

Inhale, draw the hips back. Come onto the heel, find the hamstrings, soften through the face, exhale, bend the front knee and sink in. Inhale, draw the hips back, come onto the heel. And exhale, sink in. Let's do this two more times, moving with the breath.

So eventually bend the front knee, sink low into your lunge. (exhales) Soften what you can. Good, as you feel that support and stability in your legs, you might stay right here, or you might bring your hands onto your thigh. As you let the gaze lift, feel that lift up through the heart, the shoulder blade soften down the back. You might stay here today, you might play with reaching your arms up towards the sky.

What would it feel like to lengthen through the spine? Find a bit more freedom through your neck and breath here in this shape, whatever shape you're in. (inhales and exhales) Good, one more inhale. Exhale, release the hands to the blocks or the floor. Tuck the back toes, lift your back leg, and then with some momentum we'll rock and roll back and forward.

Step the left foot forward to meet the right, bend the knees, forward fold. Let us shake out a little bit. Feet about hip distance apart for chair. Last one. Spread the toes, bend, bend, bend your knees.

So really feel that work in the legs. Shift the weight back. As you inhale, reach the arms up with some enthusiasm here, draw the navel towards the spine. Reach, breath into your ribs. (inhales and exhales) (inhales and exhales) One more inhale.

Exhale, press down through the feet, rise up, lengthen through your spine. You might look up. And then exhale, release the arms. Take a moment here to pause. Nice work.

Relax the effort for a moment. (exhales) Good, from here let's bring our blocks off to the side for a moment, we'll use them later, and then we'll bring our blanket off to the side, as well. We'll use that later. Let's spread our feet wide on the mat. About three feet, whatever feels right for you.

Bring the feet about parallel with each other, and then slide the hands down the legs. So coming into a standing forward fold with the legs wide. Now from here release the head. That's the key here, it's to release the head and the neck towards the floor. So here, most likely, you feel a strong stretch through the hamstrings, right, the back of the legs, the hips, maybe the lower back.

Take a few breaths here, spreading the toes. What would it feel like to root and press a bit more through the outer edges of your feet? (exhales) Nice. As you're ready, bend your knees, we're gonna roll up to standing. Bend the knees, chin into the chest, roll on up towards standing, keep the chin in.

As you feel the heart, the shoulders, and then the head. Nice, from here turn the feet out a little bit, and we're gonna begin to bend the left knee and sink down into the left hip. Bring the hands onto the floor on the inside of that left foot. You might come up onto your right heel here as you sink in. And then we'll inhale, bend the right knee, come onto your left heel, and sink in here.

Right, and then inhale, bend the left knee, let the right heel lift, sink in. And inhale, bend the right knee, lift the left heel, and sink in. And then moving side to side with your breath. So I think you get the idea here. Are you feeling finding that stretch through the hamstrings, the hips?

As you move side to side with your breath, can you let it be a little bit more fluid? So finding perhaps a fluid motion and really feeling that support in your legs. And I know this is a strong stretch in the hamstrings and the hips. Again, relax where you can in the face and the jaw. A few more side to side with the breath.

This can be demanding also through the ankles and the feet. Just waking up the lines of the legs. Good, come back into the center, bring the feet parallel, and then last time forward fold. Releasing the head towards the floor. And you might keep the knees bent here, head towards the floor.

And the knees might be soft. Let the head dangle. Then soften the knees, chin into the chest, again we're gonna roll up to standing when you're ready. Chin in, rolling all the way up, feeling the heart lift, the shoulders roll up around the ears, and back down. Nice work.

And then bring the feet underneath the hips, take a moment here in mountain pose. Just to feel the work, just to feel the results. (exhales) From here we'll find Malasana, which a squat pose. The two blocks can be great for this. You can also use one, I'll demonstrate.

This is a really wonderful stretch for the mid back, the low back, as well as the hips. So if you have two blocks, stack them up on top of each other and just begin to sit down. Okay, so your hands might rest on your thighs here. Softening the jaw. You might play with walking the hands forward, rounding the spine a bit, releasing the head.

Breathing into the back of your body. If you're rounding forward, you might take a few breaths into the back of your body here. (inhales and exhales) I'll demonstrate. If you have one block, you can set the block up at the highest setting and then sit down on it. So you bring your seat bones to the block.

This is another variation if you have one block here. Again, the hands might rest on the thighs, you might round forward. Just taking a few moments here. (exhales) If this feels quite accessible and easy today, right, the other variation you can play with is without the block. So you're really feeling that work through the legs and sinking down into the hips.

Some of you, the hands might come together. Relaxing through the neck. Good, the transition from here is up to standing. So, releasing the head, and then bring the feet, toe-heel them underneath your hips. Soften the knees, chin into the chest, and then nice and slow rolling up to standing, keeping your chin in again, feeling the heart lift, the shoulders roll up, back and down.

Nice. From here we're gonna come towards the wall and we'll want a blanket. From here we're gonna bring our legs up the wall, okay? So I'll demonstrate what that looks like. The stickier your hamstrings are, the further away you wanna be from the wall.

The closer you are to the wall, the more demanding it could be in the hamstrings, and you'll find out. So, from here coming onto your side and then rolling up. So you lift one leg and the other leg up and you can, you know, find your own kinda creative method to get up the wall. Again, if this feels quite intense on your hamstrings and the back of your legs, you might scoot up a little bit. So away from the wall to alleviate that stretch there.

If you want to feel more of a stretch, you don't feel much, you can wiggle and then scoot yourself closer towards the wall. Okay, you might have your blanket nearby. It might feel good to bring underneath your head for support there. And then drawing your shoulder blades down your back. And just taking a few moments here to soften the eyes.

Allow your legs to receive the support of the wall. Relaxing any effort through your hips. Your hands might rest on your belly, or you might prefer to bring your arms overhead. There's nice, easy, soft breathing here. Like allowing your eyes to soften into your head.

Feeling the jaw release. Feeling the legs get heavy. If you're quite comfortable here, you might stay here for a bit longer. If and when you feel ready to transition out, you can bend your knees, bring your feet on the wall, and then roll to your side. You might take a moment on your side, pause.

(inhales and exhales) And then, when you're ready, pressing yourself up. And since we have the wall here, we can lean up against the wall for support coming into a seat. So you might bring your blanket underneath your seat bones up against the wall. Maybe even a stack of blankets. Coming into a comfortable cross-leg position.

(exhales) Feeling the back body, receive the support. Arms are relaxed. Just taking a few moments here. Nice, easy flow of breath. And then joining the hands together.

Namaste.