Feel the Burn Thursday

Good morning, divas!
How are you doing?  Day Four!
Share what workouts you've been doing the last 4 days!

Here's a little post-running series I put together recently after doing a Yoga for Runners DVD, and from playing around on my own, but these poses feel really good on my hips, hamstrings, & low back after a run.  It's not meant to strengthen, for that you'd do a different style of yoga or pilates.  It's meant to loosen and open.  I'll try my best to describe the poses, but if it still doesn't make sense, just Google :) or let me know.  The whole thing can be done in a flow with just a couple breaths in each pose taking about 10 mins total, or you can spend as much time in each pose as you feel like, taking a really long time.  Just do whatever your body wants to do.  Give it a try, though!

• Standing savasana: Stand tall and straight, big toes touching, heels slightly apart, sides of the feet parallel to sides of your mat.  Palms of your hands facing forward.  Shoulders relaxed and directly over hips. Ears back slightly to be over shoulders.  Inner thighs slightly spiraled towards the wall behind you.  Just take a little bit to chill here, purpose being to feel proper body alignment w/ joints stacked over one another, having just gone for an awesome run.  You can also do a body inventory & see how every part of your body is feeling, see what's sore or what's tight.  You can have a chance to slow down your breath.  Try to slow it all the down to a six count inhale and a six count exhale.

• Ragdoll: Step your feet out to hip width, about 6 inches apart, or two fists-width.  Stand with strong legs and fold at the hips forward.  Let your upper body and your head hang down loose.  With your hands grab the opposite elbow.  Let gravity lengthen your spine.  Can bend your knees slightly.  An inversion like this with the head below the heart will invigorate your brain w/ all the blood rushing to it, after having spent so long in a run w/ gravity pulling your blood to your extremities.  It will also relax you.  This will gentlly start to stretch hamstrings & low back.  Inhale and slowly stand back up straight.

• Dandayamana Bibhapktapada Paschimotananasa (ok that one is just fun to say in Sanskrit :) ) a.k.a. Standing Separate Leg Forward Fold:  While standing upright, step feet out to 5 feet apart.  Sides of feet parallel to each other.  Inhale arms out to a T at your sides.  Exhale fold forward at the hips with a flat back, going only as far forward as you can with a flat back.  If your back starts to round, go back a smidge.  With your hands, grasp wherever you can, your thighs, your calves, your ankles, or under your heels.  Use arm strength to pull the hip stretch and hamstring stretch further.  Rocking your body weight into the balls of your feet will allow your hamstrings to relax and stretch further.  When done, inhale arms back out to the sides in a T and slowly come back upright to standing, bring legs back together.

• Tabletop:  Get down on all fours on your mat.  Shoulders directly over your wrists.  Hips directly over your knees.  Tops of feet flat on the mat.  From here you can move however feels good, swirling your hips around like you're churning butter, etc.  This loosens up your hips more.

• Cat:  Come back into a still tabletop.  On exhales, arch your back up like a cat.  On inhales, dip your lower back down like a cow.  Do this however much you want, really slowly, focusing on creating space between each vertebra, undoing the compression and you did on your run.

• Downward Dog:  Keeping your feet and hands in the SAME place on your mat (shoulder width & hip width apart), curl your toes under, and push yourself up to downward dog so your butt is up in the air like an upside down V.  Work towards the getting the bottom of your feet flat on the mat, but also play with bending your knees and feeling the stretch differently there.  Sit bones tilt towards the ceiling.  This stretches the hamstrings, calves, shoulders, back, etc.

• Runner's Lunge: From downward dog, inhale your right leg up in the air behind you, and exhale swing it through underneath you and place your right foot outside your right hand, on the right edge and maybe slightly off your mat, toes pointing out.  Lower your upper body down to the left of your right thigh, whatever feels good.  This is a major hip opener and stretch.   Move however you want here, maybe working towards getting your forearms on the mat, or maybe just staying upright with your hands on the mat, or maybe really slow circles with your hips.  When done, inhale and bring your right foot back and return to downward dog.  Do the other side the same way.

• Half Pigeon: From downward dog, inhale your right leg up in the air behind you, and exhale swing it through underneath you and place the outside of your right knee down on the mat by your right hand, and the outside of your right ankle to the left side of your mat, maybe by your left hip, or maybe if you're really flexy, closer to your left hand.  Whatever feels good.  Bring your hips down to the mat, your left leg is straight out behind you, top of the foot flat against the mat.  Check that hips are level, one's not further back than the other.  Then if you want, you can start to lower your upper body down, maybe your elbows & forearms are on the mat in front of you, or maybe you can put your forehead on the mat in front of you, or maybe you just stay upright and just your fingertips are on the mat.  When done, inhale and push up onto your hands, bring your right foot back up and behind you and return to downward dog.  Do the other side the same way.  This is a big hip opener, too.  This is one that Jen R taught me long before I ever took my first yoga class :)

• Child's Pose:  From downward dog, bring your knees to the mat.  Sit on your feet, big toes touching, knees out shoulder width or maybe as wide as your mat.  Lower your upper body down and your arms out in front of you, palms & forehead down on the mat.  Completely relax into this posture.  Your belly drops down between your thighs, let it hang.  This feels good, but it also keeps on stretching the hips and knees.

• Seated Forward Fold:  From Child's pose, inhale up to tabletop then move to sit your bottom on the mat, legs out in front of you, knees feet and ankles touching.  With your hands, move the junk in your trunk out to the side so that your sit bones are deeply rooted into the mat and level.  Knees are bent.  Inhale your arms up above your head, lengthen your straight spine up, and with a flat back fold forward grabbing your big toes with your peace fingers (your knees are majorly bent so you can do this).  Then with a very very straight back and grasping your big toes, slowly start to scoot your heels away from you on exhales.  On inhales straigthen and lenthen the spine.  Your pelvic bowl is going to tip forwards to make this happen.  Go to where it doesn't hurt but the hamstring and low back stretch feels really good.  If you're really bendy flexy and you've actually gotten your legs flat to the ground and your spine is still perfectly straight, THEN you can round down your back down and touch your forehead to your knees if you want.  Inhale back up to seated.

• Supine Twist:  From seated, lay back on your mat so you're laying completely on the ground.  Inhale, bring your right knee up to the sky above your hip and grab it with your left hand. Exhale, gently pull that knee to your left side, maybe all the way to the ground.  T-out your arms at your side.  Your left leg is straight out and relaxed.  Relax your whole body, stretching & twisting your spine and stretching your hips.  Inhale and bring your knee back upright, and exhale it down to the floor by your other leg.  Do the other side the same way.

• Bound Angle Pose: Laying flat on your back on the mat, bring your knees apart and out to the sides and the bottoms of your feet to touch.  Bring your feet as close to your booty as you can.  Let your knees hang loose to the side.  Gravity stretches and opens your hips and inner thighs here.  No need to push or strain, just let yourself flop open and relax.  When done, scoot heels and legs back together so you're just laying flat on the mat again.

• Cow:  From laying flat on the mat, inhale and bring your knees up to the sky above your hips.  Cross your right leg over your left leg, like you're sitting cross-legged in a chair.  Knees are compressed.  Grasp with your hands the backside of your your left thigh and on an exhale slowly pull towards you.  This feels really good on the glutes, hamstrings, and hips.  When done, release hands, switch out which knee's on top, and repeat on the other side.

• Savasana:  Release your legs down on the mat.  Lay flat on your back, heels touching, letting your toes splay open to the sides, palms facing up, shoulderblades together on your back so your heart is raised up to the sky and there's no tension in your neck, and relax.  Same as the first pose only laying down, take a full body inventory of how you feel.  Slow deep breathing.

And yay! You're done! 

For me this feels REALLY REALLY good post-run :)  I hope you guys enjoy it!