09: 28-Min Back Hip Shoulders Deep Stretch

Hey everybody, I'm Amy from BodyFit by Amy, and this is your back and hip deep stretch workout. In this workout, we're going to keep it all low impact, and we're going to start with some gentle cardio mobility to get the muscles warm, and then we'll work our way into some deep stretches. We'll be getting mobility, flexibility, and just calming our bodies, especially through the back, the core, the spine, the hips, and the shoulders. Of course, I'll give you lots of different options to be where you are today. Are you ready? Let's do it. All right, so the first thing that we're going to do is just get a little blood flowing. So you can just move your feet, pump the arms, just like we normally do if you've done workouts with me before. We're just going to get the blood flowing cuz that's going to help us get a deeper stretch. You can maybe roll those shoulders. We are going to stay focused on the hips, the torso, the spine, the back, those core muscles, but also within this this. We will stretch everything, especially getting those shoulders and arms as well. So speaking of that, let's take them a little bigger. We're going to start with some gentle cardio mobility. One, again, just to wake up the body and get the blood flow and get the muscles warm so they stretch better, stretch a little deeper. And also so we work in that mobility that's going to open up the hips, really lengthen in that spine, and make everything feel good and ready to stretch. And then let's get some little hip rolls right here. We're gonna take to the mat and get a deep stretch. It's not something we do super, super often because of time, because the workouts sometimes tend to be a little bit longer, especially if we're trying to get, you know, mobility or cardio mobility or something in. Bring them in. It's a little bit weird, but just like this, again, open up the hips. But we're gonna really let you hold those stretches a little bit longer than normal today and just leave feeling really good. So think of this as a little treat for your body. Let's take it, let's Reach across just like we do. So stretch long through the back. Know if you are online like me in the fitness and health space, which I'm sure many of you are, it's a lot of talk about your lymphatic system, about getting blood flow, about your nervous system, and all the different ways that exercise can help with that. This workout is going to be a good lymphatic— lymphatic flow as well. Reach in here, big stretch. Side to side. Then let's get down to here. Reach, reach. Just look down and down, opening up through the hips right here. And then let's take it little side lunge. So stepping out, opening up the hips. So I like to cross the arms with this so we get that that big stretch through here. So we're keeping all the cardio mobility standing because most of our stretches we're going to take it down to the mat. Some of them will get a little mobility to work into. Otherwise, right here, and hold it here. Can you just shift, opening it up Side to side, reach and reach. Again, a lot of these things we do in our movement prep, in our warm-up, because we want to get everything loose and ready to move. Can we open those knees here? Roll the shoulder here, right here. Big stretch. All right, let's move to the end of our mat. We're going to do some inchworms. So we'll start with just that hinge and then bring it up. If you want to keep it right here, you can. I know not everybody loves an inchworm, especially if planks or things in that position are tough on your wrist. Totally get it. Right here and reach. And then let's walk those hands out right through here. So we're walking it here and then walk it back. And you can decide if you want to keep those legs straight. Sometimes people really like that stretch through the back of the legs. I find for a lot of us we need to bend the knees a little bit. I certainly don't want you to feel locked out, but sometimes that gives you a better stretch. I like to bend the knees a bit and then slowly roll it up, also keeping that heart rate up with this, right? And here, let's get 2 more just like that as we work our way down to the mat. And then let's hold this one down. So you can either meet me down in this high plank position if you're not here already, or on your knees. And if you're on your knees, you can just find a stretch that's good for you. If you're able, we're going to do that World's Greatest Stretch here. Reach. We're going to switch in and out of it because we're going to get a deeper stretch later. So this is more to get the mobility out of it. Side, big hip opener right here. You can also do this from your knees if you want to, just go here. Let's get one more each side, and then we're going to meet on all fours right through here. So sit back into the child's pose, a little bit more mobility before we really hold into that steep stretch. So from here, we're going to do like we do in a warm-up sometimes, come up onto all fours, thread through with that shoulder, big stretch, and back to center. Just kind of gently rocking on your hips forward and back. If you want to come a little bit more forward, you can. Right here and here, back to here and up. Big reach. One more and then we're going to hold it in a stretch. So you're here. If you can, I want you to start with just putting your head down. Now I'm going to on my microphone, so I'm just going to show you first, keeping the hips up to start. So it's going to be that shoulder and spine stretch here, and then this hand can cross over or be in front, whatever feels most comfortable for you. So you're letting your head and your shoulder rest while the hips are up. If that's not right for you, you can just hang out in the child's pose. And you can even play around with really reaching through those fingertips. Again, I'm only lifting my head so I can not be on my mic and it not get muffled, but reach those fingertips and really reach maybe right to left. And then I come up slowly. All fours, and then same thing other side. So again, letting your head drop if you can get that low. If not, don't worry about it. You can either use a pillow or a yoga block or something, or again, just keep the stretch here. But if you're able to get down there, hips stay up, and then this arm can reach over. Now this is harder for me on this side, this stretch. This one is easier to get down, this one is harder to get up. So again, you can maybe do a little side to side or really lengthen in those fingertips, feeling that stretch. A few deep breaths into that. So we're really going to use our breath in this workout to sink a little deeper, and then slowly come up to all fours. Let's just roll through Cat-Cow. So I'm going to keep reminding you of this, that I don't want you to do anything that is not comfortable for you. Now sometimes when we talk about stretching, to really get into a deep stretch, we used to say stretch to the point of mild discomfort. So to me, I don't like the word discomfort. I like just a little bit of a pull, right? A little bit more than you normally would if it were super comfortable for you. But you can also always come back to the mobility version like we just did, the alternating reach to reach through in child's pose if you don't feel like holding it. So speaking of, let's take those knees out, and this time we're going to really try to get the hips back. So I want you just to take a few little hip rockers back and forth here to here to see if you can open up the hips a little more. Again, only as far as is comfortable for you, and then if you need to have your hands up on a bench or a pillow or something like that, that works too. And then find that good deep stretch. Again, trying to really press the shoulders down, reach the hands forward, sit deep into those hip bones, relax that pelvic floor, reach those fingertips. And you can kind of press elbow to elbow down to really feel that stretch in your shoulders. A few deep breaths in and out of this. And then carefully, one more version of this child's pose. We're going to bring the feet together if you can, hands to the back. So start here to really open up the chest. You can even be here if this is better for you, or if your knees are not feeling good in this position, you can come to a seated position. Open up the chest here. Then I want you to try to come low if you can, and if you can get that forehead down, let those arms drop. Relax into that. I know I'm curled up like a little ball, it's a stretch for me to, but again, find what is best for you. Few deep breaths into that. Let's just come up slowly. We're going to take the knees out here, so we're going to come into that 90-90. So if you've done this before, you can also sit on the edge of a chair if that's better for you. You can rest your hands here. The move looks like this, so a little mobility to start, and then this is where you can come back to where you can stay with the switch. If you want to use a little bit more of your core and really get into it, keep the arms up, and then as much as you want to turn your body towards that side, towards the back, to get a little stretch. We're going to start with this just to open up. I really just like to have my fingertips here just to help. And you're trying to see if you can get both knees down. So we're getting the stretch both ways, right? Internal and external rotations in our hips. And the last Hold one on one side. So you're here now. I want you to breathe into that. What can you do? Can you get a little more to the side? Can you open this up a bit? Can you turn towards the back, getting a little more of a twist? Can you go over this way? And then you can either just stay here for this stretch or you can take it to the pigeon. So you're going to bring that foot around and come here. And from here, you can start up top and then work your way down. Now, I have a hard time getting my foot perpendicular. You don't have to. If you can, great. We're not getting super specific on yoga form or making sure that you're at the completely same angle as me. Or as anyone else, we just want the stretch. So you can feel this in a lot of different ways. You get the stretch here, the stretch here, you get to relax in your back. So a few deep breaths into that. And remembering that we don't want to cheat these stretches, we don't want to only hold for 5 seconds and then be done. It really takes many seconds to really just let your body release into the stretch. Let's go back to that 90-90. Can you rotate to the other side? Right, feel the difference. So again, we're coming here. What can you do? Can you open this a little bit more? Can you come here? Can you turn to the back? What feels best for you that gives you that stretch, that release? Can you reach across? And then if you want, come into that pigeon. So again, you're opening up the hip. You can do a little shift side to side. You can start up top and take it down if you want, breathing into that. I know, I feel it too. And then carefully, let's move our feet to the front. So we're going to take our feet out here, whatever is most comfortable for you. If that's here, if you can bring them in again, if you want to sit on the edge of a bench or a chair, but feet together. And let's to gently just press opening here. So just kind of not pushing down hard, not here, but just a little side to side. And then see if you can bring your feet in a little closer. If you can't, no big deal. And let's start lifting up tall through the shoulders and through the spine. I want you just to gently lean forward, keeping a nice flat back. Feel that stretch. You don't have to go super far. But feel that opener, right? Can you bring your chest a little bit further down? Again, without rounding, cuz we'll get to that, we'll get that stretch. But for now, here, keeping the shoulders back, and then you can allow yourself to round, let your head and neck drop, right? Through that, breathing into that. Let's come in just a seated position, whatever is comfortable for you. Let's let your chin drop to your chest, and then we'll just do some gentle rolls to the right and then back to the center and then to the left. We're not going to go to the back. You can keep it small, letting your head drop. And then here, here. Relax the shoulders down and back. Let's bring those hands up. So we love this stretch to get wrist form, but also chest and shoulders and neck. Again, even though we're focusing on our hip and our spine and our back Always good to get this here as well. You can also flip it this way to get a wrist stretch there. I like this cuz we get all the way through. And just look over your shoulder the opposite way. Let's switch our sides. The side Fingertips down, press down all the way through. Look over your shoulder. This is also the one I like to do on the wall or in a door frame where you can get all the way back. So if that feels better for you, if you want to have it behind you, otherwise we're here. And then just turn, look over your shoulder, cross this hand here. We're going to start with just this little stretch. And if it's here, if it's here, if you want to get fancy with it and cross your legs here, that little seated twist, up to you. But hanging in on that and breathe. And then switch to that other side. So again, starting seated, crossover. It can be here, it can be here, looking over your shoulder. If you feel like getting fancy with it, you can be here, that little stretch through there. And then we're going to make our way down onto our back. So very carefully, we're going to make our way down onto our back. However you want to get there. Let's start with your feet up, just kind of relaxing your body into the ground. Try to release the tension in your shoulders. Palms can be up, relaxing the core. I know often we're in this position, I'm cueing you, tuck your pelvis, zip it up, contract, but I want you just to try to relax. And then let's just let one knee drop to the side and then use your core back to center. So again, hip opener, but starting just one at a time. Right goes down to the right. Use the core to bring it back up. Left goes down to the left, core to back up. Then as you're ready, we're going to go right, left to one side, stretch, and then left, right to the other side. So just that little open book. You can start with just the knees and the legs and the hips If you want to add the arms with it, you can. And with the arms, as I always remind you, you can go up and over if you want that nice big stretch that way, or you can pull through and across. Sometimes that's better range of motion, or you feel like you get more of a stretch. And reach through, across, and here. Here. And then let's hold it on one side. So if your knees are on the left side, I want you to open up the arms and look towards your right and just try to sink into that. So whatever you need to do to adjust, let your head drop to the other side. Big stretch over. And just hang out there. Feel that nice good back stretch. And then we'll take it through other side. Drop them down to the other side. Feel that stretch in the back and then look away from your knees. And then bring everything back to center. We're just going to do a gentle knee pull, so you can be underneath the leg, just like this, or you can be on top of the shin just like this. Either way, I want you to just feel that little gentle pull to release in the back. Just one at a time. And you can keep that, or you can bring them both in if that feels good for you, and just hold them here. So you can lace those hands, you can be here almost like that little happy baby. Your hands can be here on top or underneath. If you want to do a little roll side to side, that always feels good on my spine, but totally up to you. If you can't get both in or you don't want to, just keep alternating one at its time. And let's take one, let's extend it up to the top. So grab underneath again, try not to grab on the joint, either calf or thigh, and just do a little flex and point to stretch along the back of the legs. Let's hold the flex Can you pull in a little bit more? You can even lift the shoulders if you want. And then if you can, let's cross that over the other leg. So if you need to be this far out, if this feels a little better for you, or if you can bring it up but you want to keep it here, that works. If you can, we're going to bring it up into that figure 4 and just pull in gently as you press that top knee down. So really good hip stretch if you're able to do this even in bed before you go to bed at night, or in the morning, or seated maybe at your desk, just leaning over into it just like that. Just holding for a few more seconds. And then we're going to extend the other leg up, so you, you should already be grabbing it. And then just do a flex and a point. Feel that stretch down through the back and hold the flex. Pull a little more towards you. If you can lift it up, pull towards you, and then cross it over again. If you need to be a little bit further out, that's okay. We're here. Or bring it up and in. Pull towards you with that bottom leg, press the top knee down. And then from here, just let your legs drop down. Open up the knees, find a nice good spot down through here, and just take a minute. What do you need more of? Do you need to do a little shoulder snow angel through here? Do you need more of that hugging the knees in? Do you want to take one knee across here to get that stretch? That's not right for you, you don't have to do it. Do you need to just kind of flex relax and point through your feet, through your toes. You need to relax into the knees. And let's just end just down here on the mat. Let's take your palms up, relax the shoulders down, and I want you just to let your body sink into the mat, okay? I know it's hard to do. Most of us, if you're like me, hold tension throughout the day, even when I'm trying to sleep at night. So I want you to start at the top of your head. We're going to work our way down your body. I want you just to let the tension release into the ground. So start at your head, your ears, your jaw. That's a place. Let your mouth maybe come open a bit and relax down in that jaw. That's a place I hold a lot of tension. So let that sink down and then release the neck. Relax the shoulders. Let those shoulders sink into the ground. Neck and shoulders, chest, collarbone, let it drop. Arms, elbows, wrist, down through your torso. What is the spine doing? I know we're so used to you remind— me reminding you to contract and lift, and I want you just to let it all go. And then that pelvic floor, really let it drop, relax, let go of all the tension. Let the glutes go all the way down through the legs, the knees, the calves, the feet. Everything is sinking just like you're in quicksand or melting into the mat. And just take stock of how your body is feeling right now. I hope that you got that release. I know I don't do a ton of workouts like this. We focus a lot on mobility and flexibility, strength and endurance, but really, really important And I want you just to let yourself be. Try not to think about your to-do list. Try not to think about what's coming up. Just let your body sink into the mat. Try to clear your head, and you can stay here as long as you need. You can't stay long. You can do one big deep breath in and out and just— thank you so much for joining me today. You did it! That was your back and hip deep stretch workout. Great job, everybody!