The 5 Best Yoga Moves for Inflexible People
| 3 min read
These days, it can seem like everyone is doing yoga. And that’s a good thing! Among other benefits, yoga can help you stretch out muscles, reduce stress and strengthen your core. But there’s a reason some people refuse to give it a shot: They believe that yoga is only for people who are already super flexible. But that’s not true at all. In fact, yoga is especially good for people who are inflexible since it can help you loosen up quickly (in eight weeks you can improve flexibility by 35 percent). Read on to discover some stretches and moves that even the most inflexible people can handle.
- Sit on your knees with the tops of your feet on the floor, feet together and knees slightly wider than hip-width apart.
- Lower your belly and chest between your knees and place your head on the floor.
- Stretch your arms out in front of you on the floor and hold.
- Lay flat on the floor on your back and bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor.
- Keep your arms beside your body and press your feet into the ground while simultaneously raising your hips and lower back up off the floor. Keep torso in a straight line and hold.
- Start on hands and knees, with knees directly below hips and hands slightly in front of shoulders.
- Exhale and lift knees away from the floor, keeping your arms straight and lifting your tailbone toward the ceiling.
- Press chest down while lifting hips up, creating an upside-down “V” shape with your body. Press heels into floor to stretch hamstring.
- Stand with your feet together, then bend your knees as if you’re sitting in a chair.
- Once you feel stable, raise your arms straight up alongside your ears and hold them there.
- Start on your hands and knees with your back flat. Make sure your knees are below your hips and that your wrists, elbows and shoulders are aligned. Center your head in a neutral position, with eyes looking at the floor.
- As you inhale, lift your chest toward the ceiling, allowing your belly to sink toward the floor. Lift your head and look straight forward.
- Exhale and come back to the beginning position, then repeat.
Interested in other yoga moves? Check out these other blogs:
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Photo credit: Army Medicine
