Do you find you’re too busy to Yoga? Kat Farrants shares her favourite ways to add in sneaky stretches and micro-moves to your day. Have a go!
Sometimes life is just too busy to get a chance to roll out our yoga mat. But fear not! There are sneaky stretches and micro-moves that can really help to improve the quality of your day. Why not try some of these!
Add Micro Stretches into your daily activities:
- In the Kitchen: Waiting for the kettle to boil or just taking a sip on your cuppa? Do you have a high kitchen counter? I give myself a high lunge
- Standing on the tube in rush hour? Just close your eyes and transport yourself away by doing a sneaky mindfulness practice of focusing on the breath on the tip of your nostrils. It takes away any conversation in your mind about your journey or your fellow commuters and really helps to exercise your mind and focus your concentration.
- Waiting at a bus stop: I might try a very sneaky version of tree pose so that nobody can see. Just focus on the rotation in the hip and balance between your two hipbones, as well as focusing on your feet and weight bearing and this way you don’t need to raise your leg towards your knee, you can do a very quiet, sneaky modification of tree that nobody knows your doing!
- Doing up shoelaces: This is a classic time for a hamstring stretch. Do up your shoelaces by keeping your front foot (the one you’re tying up!) straight, foot pointed towards you and the back leg can be bent. A perfect sneaky stretch!
- Squat breaks: Take breaks to work on your laptop in squat pose. At first you might need to prop up your heels using blocks, but in time this will become a comfy working pose. I do a lot of my work in squat!
- In the shower: Try hula hooping your hips! A wonderfully sensuous way to wake up to the day and get some movement and blood flowing too.
- Cleaning your teeth: I use the instability of my one handedness to focus on balances. Perhaps just standing and doing some leg strengthening. Stand on one leg and take the other leg out to the side, do 60 small repetition pulses to the side with that leg straight and it will strengthen weak hips and glutes. Then repeat on the other side!
Change up your exercise space & micro stretch everywhere!
Phone Break: When I’m just scrolling away on my phone, I might take the chance to give myself a side stretch when I’m cross legged. Then I can open my hips by sitting cross legged, and also open the side body and the space between the ribs. This can really help with deep breathing, which calms the nervous system and the side body stretches are often neglected.
The Great Outdoors: When I’m out dog walking, I use the lead to take my arms behind my back and open my chest and shoulders. I do this whilst walking, and to increase the trickiness of it, I then take the dog lead still behind my back and hold it with my arms outstretched to then stretch up and over my head. Fabulous shoulder and chest opening!!
- Working on the Move: Phone calls to take? What about taking these whilst walking. Just keep on the move as much as you can. No need to take a seat for our work, keep mobile and move more, as much as you can!
Over to you… How do can you add in your micro stretches?
What do you do to sneak in some stretches and micro moves every day?
How about signing up for the Micro Stretch course on MFML? There 30-days of under 10 minutes micro stretches to help us feel good and boost our mobility.
We would love to hear from you. Head on over to our Movers Group and share your favourite ways of adding movement into your day. These do not need to be making big shapes, in fact the simpler the better. What do you do to feel better, however big or small, its the effect that counts!
Written by Kat Farrants, founder of Movement for Modern Life. Kats own yoga practice informs how she develops MFML. Kat is constantly exploring ways she can take the small steps to move into a happier, healthier and more sustainable life.
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