There are so many simple things in life we cab do to better our overall health. Things that we really do not pay too much attention to, because it is so easy to do, can have a surpassingly good affect to our health. Things like waling at-least 30 mins per day, drinking water in an empty stomach, replacing food that contains high carbohydrate with low Carb, but nutritious fruits, and the topic of this article “Stretching”.
YES! Stretching can have a positive impact towards our health, physically and more over mentally. Sometimes we are so focused on making our physic look so good that we tend to neglect our mental health. Remember….mind is what keeps everything in perspective for us, so it is very important to make sure we are taking good care of our mental health as well.
In this article we are going to talk to 6 stretches that we can do before bed to relax our body as well as our mind.
Relaxing the right way has never been so Easy!
- Seated Spinal Twist – Seated Spinal Twist is a restorative yoga pose that promotes good digestion and encourages spinal mobility. Twisting postures help tone the belly, massage internal organs and can help relieve lower back pain. Often performed towards the end of a sequence, this pose is simultaneously relaxing and invigorating. Twisting actions stimulate the blood circulation and release tension in the muscles of the abdomen. When you do a Yoga twist, it creates an intra-abdominal compression, and the digestive organs will experience fresh blood flow rich in oxygen and nutrients.
2. Upward Dog – This stretching pose strengthens the spine, arms and wrists and also stimulate the organs of the abdomen. It improves posture, by stretching anterior spine and strengthening posterior spine. Stretching also helps with add some mobility to the muscles in and around chest and lungs, shoulders and abdomen., which if not done will never get enough movement. Stretching also helps to relieve depression, fatigue and pain of sciatica.
3. Pranayama Pose (Breathing) – Pranayama refers to breathing exercises which clear the physical and emotional obstacles in our body to free the breath and so the flow of prana – life energy. Regular and sustained practice of Pranayama can supercharge your whole body! It’s a pranayama exercise as well as an internal kriya, or cleansing technique. Practitioners of kapalabhati believe that this breath will help clear mucus in the air passages, relieve congestion, reduce bloating, and improve lung capacity.
4. Seated Forward Bend – Forward folds soothes the nervous system and encourage introspection as well as creates space between each and every vertebra, increasing circulation to those gazillion nerves. This not only helps them do their job, but it soothes the system. This stretching pose also calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression. Benefits of this pose is that it helps stretch the spine, shoulders, hamstrings. It stimulates the liver, kidneys, ovaries, and uterus. Other benefits includes improved digestion and helps in relieving the symptoms of menopause and menstrual discomfort. It also soothes headache and anxiety and reduces fatigue.
5. Tree Pose – Tree Pose strengthens your legs and core while opening your hips and stretching your inner thighs and groin muscles. One of yoga’s biggest benefits is that it helps you build better balance, which helps with any number of other physical activities. Practice this basic level Hatha Yoga asana for one minute on each leg. … It strengthens your knees, tones the leg muscles, and makes you stable and flexible. It also increases your concentration and activates your mental faculties.
6. Three-Legged Dog – Benefits of Downward Facing Dog includes Stronger hands, wrists, low-back, hamstrings, calves and Achilles tendon. It also helps in decreasing back pain by strengthening the entire back and shoulder girdle. It stretches elongated shoulders and shoulder blade area. This pose also help in decreasing tension and headaches by elongating the cervical spine and neck and relaxing the head. For everyone, Downward Dog uses the strength of your arms and legs to fully and evenly stretch your spine. It stretches your hips, hamstrings, and calves as it strengthens your quadriceps and ankles. It opens your chest and shoulders and tones your arms and abdominals.
