Stretching wakes up your muscles and relieves tension. When your muscles are stiff, you can get injured yourself more easily because of the lack of full range of motion. These 12 stretches done daily could truly have a positive impact on your daily life.
If your body hasn’t been warmed up yet, move in and out of these poses. If you’ve just been exercising or moving a lot, you can do them static for about 30sec each. For some additional relief, do some deep breathings throughout and some stress might go away along with muscle tension.
Muscle vocabulary
Before we start, here are the names of a few muscles that will be mentioned, in case you don’t already know them. If you’re already a pro you can skip to the good stuff below.
Lats: short for latissimus dorsi muscles, large V-shaped muscles connecting your arms to your back. They provide shoulder and back strength, and help you move your shoulders and arms while supporting good posture.
Glutes: short for gluteal muscles, the glutes are the 3 muscles that make up your butt.
Deltoids: the rounded contour of each shoulder.
Quads: short for quadriceps femoris, they are a group of 4 muscles in the front of each thigh.
Calf muscles: 2 muscles on the back of the lower leg that pull the heel up while walking, running or jumping.
Hamstrings: 4 posterior thigh muscle, placed between the hip and the knee. They are opposite to the quads.
Obliques: 2 lateral abdominal muscles on the sides of your body.
Hip flexors: a group of muscles near the top of your thighs that allow you to swivel and bend your hips.
Piriformis: a flat muscle in the butt located near the top of the hip joint. It stabilizes the hip.
Erector Spinae: a group of muscles and tendons that run on each side of your spine, from hips to skull.
Standing Stretches
Oblique stretch
Benefits: Lengthens the sides of your torso, stretching your lats, hips and obliques.
How to stretch: While standing, feet slightly wide, lift one arm high up, palm inward, and slowly lean toward the opposite side. Hold then switch.
To make it dynamic: Reach up, lean, bring arm back down, repeat on opposite side
Calf stretch
Benefits: Stretches calf muscles, prevents Achilles tendon and ankle injuries
How to stretch: One foot forward, one back, bend your front knee. Repeat on the other side.
To make it dynamic: Shift your weight between the front and back foot to relieve pressure from the stretched calf.
Quad stretch
Benefits: Stretches your quads, preventing knee pain while increasing mobility
How to stretch: With support nearby for balance, grab one foot from behind and pull gently
To make it dynamic: While swaying from left to right, bend one knee after the other, bringing each foot towards your rear end.
Side neck stretch
Benefits: Relieves tension in the neck and reduces neck pain.
How to stretch: Slowly tilt your head toward one shoulder until you feel a stretch. To increase the stretch, you can gently pull on your head with your hand. Stay a few seconds then switch sides.
To make it dynamic: Constantly slowly switch between sides.
Forward fold
Benefits: Stretches your hamstrings, shoulders, lower back and chest.
How to stretch: Standing feet hip-width apart, reach your hands behind your back and interlace your fingers. Keeping your back flat, slowly bend forward at the waist. As you go down, let your arms rise above your head. Go as far as is comfortable while feeling a stretch.
To make it dynamic: once you’ve reached a comfortable bend, slowly lift yourself back up and repeat.
Sitting stretches
Figure 4
Benefits: Stretches your glutes and piriformis.
How to stretch: From sitting on the floor, legs stretched out, place one ankle on the opposite knee, keeping your feet flexed. Then slowly bend the leg on the bottom, bringing the top leg slowly toward you until you feel a stretch in that leg. Keep your back straight throughout. Switch sides
To make it dynamic: Continuously slowly bend and straighten your bottom leg.
Seated back twist
Benefits: Stretches your erector spinae, glutes, lower back.
How to stretch: Sit on the floor with legs straight in front. Bend your right leg over the left, placing your right foot on the floor by the opposite knee, the knee of the bent leg pointing upward. While keeping a straight back, twist your spine by placing the left arm on the outer side of the right thigh. Use the remaining arm for support while you look behind. Go as far as is comfortable while feeling a stretch. Hold then repeat on the opposite side.
To make it dynamic: Once you reach the stretch immediately slowly turn back toward the front and repeat a few times before switching sides.
Seated Eagle pose 
Benefits: Stretches the joints in your wrists, elbows and shoulders while strengthening the spine. Also stretches your shoulders and lower neck, and opens your shoulders and chest.
How to stretch: Sit cross legged on the floor. Bring one arm forward, bending the elbow so the fingers point up. Bring the opposite hand under and around the bent arm and try and bring both palms together, with both arms intertwined and one hand slightly lower than the other. Keep your back straight and relax your shoulders. Switch sides.
Stretches on the Floor
Bridge
Benefits: Stretches your hip flexors
How to stretch: Lay on your back knees bent, feet hip width apart. Push your hips up, which will lift your butt and lower back, while tightening your stomach and butt.
To make it dynamic: Bring your hips slowly up and down.
Cat cow flow
Benefits: Cat stretches your back and brings blood flow to your spine. Then cow stretches your abs and chest.
How to stretch: From all 4, round your back and tuck your pelvis in, keeping your head down. Tighten your abs. then to go to cow, arch your back and stick your chest out, looking slightly upward.
To make it dynamic: Gently flow between cat and cow.
Downward dog
Benefits: Stretches your hamstrings, lats and deltoids. Also brings extra blood to your brain.
How to stretch: From full plank, push your hips back and upward, keeping your legs, arms and back straight, and keeping your head down and positioned between your arms. Distribute your weight evenly between your hands and feet. You might need to readjust the distance between your hands and feet.
To make it dynamic: Keep moving between plank and downward dog.
Child pose
Benefits: A calming position that stretches your lower back, lats and shoulders.
How to stretch: Get on all 4 on a comfortable surface, slowly bringing your butt back to rest on your feet, knees open. Rest your arms straight in front with your head down on the floor.
To make it dynamic: Slowly move in and out of the pose.
And that’s it for all 12 stretches. We hope you already feel energized and relaxed. Keep it up!