Stretches to Relax your Body

While staying at home, learning how to relax your body has become increasingly important. Whether the stress of dealing with the quarantine has built up or you’ve been sitting in front of a computer to work all day, taking time to establish a daily stretching routine is one of the simple things to relax your body, improve your posture, and prevent damage to your joints. To learn how to relax your body with a full body stretch routine, follow along with the instructor in this video as she guides you through the following sequence.

Neck Stretches

Begin your daily stretching routine with gentle movements of your neck, some of the best things to relax your body. While this is an important part of a full body stretch routine, remember to make gentle and slow movements. Begin by turning your head from side to side, looking directly over your shoulder. Continue to relax mind and body by tilting your head forward to your chest and then pointing you chin up to the sky. Finish this section of your body stretching routine by making semicircles, pressing your ear to your shoulder, chin to chest, and then the other ear to your shoulder.

Shoulder Stretches

The next part of your full body stretch routine focuses on your shoulders and chest. Begin this portion of your daily stretching routine by shrugging your shoulders up and down. You can also begin to synchronize your stretches with your breath, inhaling as you lift your shoulders to your ears and exhaling as you let your shoulder blades drop down. Continue your stretching workout by making circles with your shoulders, first to the front and then to the back. You can also stretch the supraspinatus muscle on your upper back by hooking one arm under the other and drawing it across your chest. To deepen this body stretching movement, look over the opposite shoulder from where your arm is pointed or try clasping your hands behind your back. Finish off this portion of your full body stretches with your tricep and shoulder rotator. Bend one arm up over your head, and use your opposite hand to gently stretch it back towards the center of your spine.

Core Stretches

Some of the best full body stretches to relax mind and body target your core, all the muscles in your stomach and middle of your back. Begin by placing one hand down on the side of your thigh or knee and reaching the opposite hand up and over. After doing this on both sides, bend at your hips, keeping your arms out like a plane, until your body forms a 90° angle. Then, place one hand directly below your shoulders and lift the other one to the sky, opening your chest to the side, one of the best full body stretches. After stretching on both sides, reach your arms forward while staying bent at the waist. Then, clasp your hands together and let them fall up and over your head. Finish off your stretching workout by standing up, placing your hands on your lower back, and bending backwards for a slight back bend.

When it comes to how to relax your body, there’s nothing better than a good stretching workout. Not only does it prevent injuries and counteract the strain of sitting all day, it’s also a good way to just relax mind and body. To make even the best full body stretches even deeper, synchronize them with your breath, inhaling before you stretch and exhaling as you move into the stretch. Following along with the body stretching routine in this video is one of the best things to relax your body that you can try right now.