While we all love a good workout, most of us could do without the dreaded soreness that comes afterwards.
If you're feeling sore (or even just tight!) after your workout, here are 5 yoga moves that will help you ease that annoying pain and increase blood circulation to speed up recovery:
Child's Pose
Come down to your mat, on your knees, with toes touching and knees spread slightly wider than hip-width apart. Take a deep breath in and as you exhale, reach and lean forward so your upper body comes down to the floor between your thighs. Touch the floor with your forehead and reach your hands gently forward to get a deep stretch in your shoulders and back. Breathe deeply, allowing the belly to inflate and deflate against the thighs.
Pigeon
Start in downward dog and raise and lengthen your right leg behind you, bringing your right knee toward your right wrist and placing your shin on the mat underneath the body. Try to keep your right knee angled at two o'clock. Make sure your weight is evenly distributed between both hips (both hips should face forward). You can remain upright or recline forward. Slowly lower your upper body, reaching your heart out in front of the shin to keep the spine long -- your left leg should be extended straight behind you, resting on the top of the foot and heel facing the ceiling.
Take a few breaths, stretching out those points of tension and soreness. Repeat on left leg.
Bound Variation: Come back up into an upright Pigeon pose. Bend your left knee, bringing your left foot up and towards your shoulder. Reach back to catch it with your left hand first, working it into the crook of the left elbow and reaching the right arm overhead for the left hand. If the right hand easily touches the left foot, try to "rest" the head in the sole of the foot while holding the left foot in both hands overhead. Repeat on left leg.
Forward Folds
Standing: Start standing tall with feet together and hands down by your sides. Inhale and reach your hands up above your head into prayer position. Then exhale, spreading your hands out and down in a swan dive as your body folds down, torso against the tops of your thighs and fingertips reaching for your toes. Keep the knees bent as much as you need to create more length in your spine. Take long, deep breaths, allowing your legs to lengthen and relax into the stretch.
Seated: Sit on the floor with your legs extended together out in front of you and toes pointed upwards. Inhale and reach for the ceiling with your hands. Exhale, reaching forward towards your toes. Hold for at least 30 seconds.
Straddle: From the previous sitting position, spread the legs out wide. Knee caps and toes are still pointing up to the ceiling. First, place hands behind you to lengthen the spine and make sure the pelvis doesn't tilt backwards. If you can hold this, place the hands on the floor between the legs and start to walk them forward. Keep the long spine and lead with the heart.
With all forward folds, try to keep the quads engaged so as to not overstretch the hamstrings. And if you're feeling tight or can't touch your toes, bend the knees.
Lizard
Beginning in downward dog, bring the right foot forward into a low lunge with the knee on the mat. Bring your right hand inside the right foot, and scoot the right foot out to the edge of the mat. If tighter, remain upright on the palms of the hands. To go further, start to work the forearms to the mat or a block. Reach gently forward with your upper body to increase the stretch in your hips and back.
Cow-Faced
Start on hands and knees. Bring the right knee in toward the belly, and then stack the knee on top of the left by taking the right foot out toward the left. Sit back between the heels. Let your right knee rest on your left knee. Next, elongate your right arm upwards and then reach behind your neck towards the center of your back. Option 1: take the left hand to the right elbow to encourage the stretch. Option 2: reach the left arm down and up toward either your shirt, a strap, or your right fingertips. Stretch your left arm back behind you, then reach behind your back towards your right hand. Grasp your hands together, if possible, and open up your chest to get a deeper stretch. Try not to let the chin collapse to the chest.
Of course, only go deeper into the poses if you feel like your body can handle it -- always listen to your body, if it's too much, ease up on the stretch.
Hopefully these stretches will increase blood circulation to sore areas in your body, allowing you to recovery faster and get back to your favorite fitness activities!