Five Top Yoga Stretching Exercises

When performed mindfully, the yoga poses provide a comprehensive stretch for each and every muscle in your body. You have already done a yoga pose if you got out of bed this morning and stretched your arms over your head.

We discussed here five top yoga poses. These poses will stretch your muscles, increase blood flow, and make you feel stronger in no time.

Remember that you do not need to master all the yoga poses. You have to select a few of them. You are not required to become proficient in any of these things; rather, you are free to learn them whenever and however you like, and there is no expectation that you will be the master of the yoga poses. You just need to follow a few basic yoga guide lines.

Yoga asanas, which are the physical positions of yoga, can be thought of as muscle stretches. Always keep in mind that the primary objective of any kind of static stretching is to hold the position for a period of time that is sufficient for your brain to communicate to your muscles. It takes about 30 seconds.

1. Forward and Backward Bending

The steps are as follows:

1. stand straight with your legs apart
2. inhale bring your hands on the waist
3. exhale and bend forward from the waist keeping the knees straight
4. bend down as much as possible
5. inhale and come back to initial position
6. exhale and bend backward
7. inhale come back to initial position
8. this is one round
9. repeat five more times.

2. Cobra pose:

1. Start lying on stomach with legs extended straight behind body, arms bent and palms flat on the floor by ribs, shoulders and head lifted a few inches above mat, gaze just in front of nose so spine stays neutral.
2. Push through palms to raise upper body higher, but stop if lower back hurts.
3. Hold stretch for 30 seconds or more.

Modification: If you have stiffness in the lower back,  We suggest that if lifting with your hands on the floor is too much for you, you can keep your forearms on the floor instead and only raise halfway. This is an alternative that you can try if lifting with your palms on the floor is too much for you.

3. Pyramid Pose (Parsvottanasana)

The Pyramid Pose, also known as Parsvottanasana, is a deep forward fold that serves to extend the spine while also stretching the hip flexors and hamstrings.

Because of its restrictive parameters—a narrow stance, as if you were standing on train tracks—the posture requires you to consciously create stability, strength, and integrity while you are holding it.

1. Keep your hips stacked equally, side by side, engaging the front of the thighs.
2. Hinge first at the hips, and keep the abdominals drawn up and in toward the spine.
3. On each inhale, feel your chest expand and spine lengthen.
4. On each exhale, relax the back of the front thigh and dissolve forward.

4. Downward Facing Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

In downward dog pose, your head is lower than your heart, so it has the benefits of inversions and improves the blood flow through your body.

This downward dog stretches and helps to relieve tension from the neck and back. The flow of blood to the brain helps to relieve headaches, mental fogginess, and mild depression.

Steps are as follows:

1. Get down on the ground and kneel with your hands under your shoulders. Check that your knees are positioned exactly below your hips, and that your hands are slightly in front of your shoulders.
2. Spread your palms and apply pressure across the palm’s lateral borders as well as the tips of your fingers. Maintain an outward rotation of your upper arms and shoulders, while rotating inward with your forearms.
3. While exhaling, move your knees away from the floor and lift them off the mat.
4. To begin, maintain a position in which the knees are bent ever-so-slightly to extend the spine and the heels are lifted away from the floor. Straighten your legs as much as you can while keeping the length in your spine.
5. To do this, push the tops of your thighs back and bring your heels down toward the floor or onto it, if feasible.
   Pulling the front of the knees and the top of the thighs back.
6. Keep the distance across the tops of the shoulders even as you press the upper arms in the direction of each other, bringing the shoulder blades down along the spine.

5. Plank Pose

The plank pose is a great way to engage the complete body while remaining in one position. You can improve your abdominal muscles by holding this asana for thirty seconds several times a day. This yoga pose can improve your  upper body strength, abdominal strength, and spinal strength.