I’m thrilled to have my first piece featured on the Athleta Chi Blog! Check out my how-to guide on going “OM for the Holidays: 5 Tips to Keep You Zen“–for when your back’s tight from the plane, your belly’s too full, you can’t sleep, or the ever-loving fam is driving you crazy (um…not that MY fam or YOUR fam would ever do that!) đ
If youâve been shoveling snow lately (thanks, #Blizzardof2015!), here are the five most important post-shoveling stretches to minimize an aching back and sore muscles later.
1. Release your upper back: Eagle Arms.
Bring the arms in front of you at a 90-degree angle, elbows at shoulder-height. If this is enough of a stretch for the shoulders/upper back, stay here. If you need more of s stretch, drop the left elbow below the right and twine the forearms, pressing the back of the palms together. The key to releasing the upper back muscles is to keep the elbows liftedâequal height to the shouldersâand the shoulders as relaxed and low as possible. Take ten deep breaths and switch sides.
2. Stretch your lower back: Modified Half Moon Pose.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Place your right hand on your right hip. Lift the left arm up and then to the right. Take ten deep breaths here, using your breath to expand the left ribs, deepening the stretch. Switch sides.
3. Release your psoas: Crescent Lunge. 
The psoas is the largest hip flexor muscle. It runs up the front of the hip, cuts through the abdominal cavity and attaches to the lower lumbar spine. Stretching the psoas not only gives you a hip flexor stretch, it can also release lower back tightness. Stand in a lunge position, with your right foot forward and the right knee bent at a 90-degree angle. Tuck your tailbone forward to intensify. Stay for 10 deep breaths and switch sides.
4. Stretch your arms: Forward Bend with Arm Twist. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Bend forward to a comfortable level, lifting your arms up behind you. Rotate the thumbs in (toward the center line) and then out to stretch your biceps.
5. Release your chest muscles: Doorway Pose.
As you head in from all your hard work, stand in the doorway and put your right arm out at a ninety-degree angle. Press your palm, forearm, and elbow against the doorframe and twist your chest gently to the left. Stay for 10 deep breaths and switch sides.
Taking time to stretch all the major muscles youâve just worked will minimize soreness and increase your chances for the quickest snowpocalytic recovery possible. Stay warm, stay hydrated, and remember the most important pose of all: couch-asana, which should be done lying down and for an extended amount of time. đ
*Thank you to my co-snowga photographer and model, STC
On the mat and off, your primary focus may be on stretching your muscles. But whatever your level of flexibilityâyou may actually have a fascial ârestrictionâ on top of your muscles, and the muscles themselves may be perfectly flexible. For this reason, I work both muscularly and fascially in the classes I teach, as well as in my personal practice.
You may be wondering what exactly IS this mysterious, enigmatic fascia, which potentially holds the key to unlocking the next level of your practice?
Fascia is a wet, slippery, see-through tissue in your body that pretty much looks like Saran wrap. If youâve ever cooked raw chicken, you know exactly what Iâm talking about. And if you gagged at the thought of raw chicken, make yourself some peppermint tea, and keep reading.
Like raw chicken, humans have that same slippery cling-wrap encasing all our muscles, organs, and other body parts. If youâre not working fascially, youâre missing out on an important component of flexibility and functionality on and off the mat.
Important note: fascia doesnât stretch. Ever. It can, however, get stuck or âcaughtâ when ideally it should slip and glide. You can release these restrictions three ways: with massage therapy; foam rolling; and/or slow, deep stretching.
Today weâre going to use slow, deep, stretching to help release both hip flexor muscles, and the fascial covering over your hip flexors. I chose to work on hip flexors in this piece, because they can contribute to front-hip pain as well as lower-back pain. The psoas muscle, which is the deepest muscle in your entire body as well as one of your largest muscles, runs up the front of your hip, cuts through your abdominal cavity, and attaches into your lumbar spine. A tight psoas can pull you into lordosis, or being swaybacked, as well as cause lower-back tightness. The psoas is important not only for initiating every single step you take (itâs the largest of the hip flexorsâas in, it âflexesâ your leg up to take each step), itâs also key to spinal and abdominal health and strength. On the mat, itâs an integral part of many posesâamong them, navasana (boat pose), forward folds, and many more.
Letâs get started.
From Low Lunge:
Remember that everyoneâs body is somewhat asymmetrical. You will have a tighter side and an easier side. You may also have a fascial restriction on only one side, or one day/week/month and not the next. Tune in and really notice your body in each pose. Notice how the muscular and fascial releases feel different. Notice which works best for you each time. Your only goal is to serve and support your body so that it can better serve and support you–both on the mat and off.
*This piece also appeared on Sequence Yoga Mats “Serious Sundays.”
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