Stretching needs to be a crucial part of your life
‘Stretching needs to be a crucial part of your life’ – flexibility expert recommends these three stretches to ‘hit the whole body’
1. Pigeon pose
- Start in a high kneeling position.
- Extend your right leg in front of you, then bend your knee so your shin runs across your body.
- Extend your left leg behind you and sink your hips back as far as you comfortably can.
- Hold this position for two to three minutes on either leg.
- To feel a deeper stretch, gently lean over your front shin.
“This is a gentle, passive pose that’s excellent for relieving tightness in the back and allowing the glutes to relax,” says Mooney.
“Many people spend most of their day sitting, which can lead to tightness in the glute medius and piriformis muscles – the upper part of the glutes that extends from the hip to the sacrum. This stretch is ideal for targeting that area.”
“As you settle into the pose, if you're comfortable, you can also allow your chest to gradually sink toward the ground for a deeper stretch and greater relaxation.
2. Saddle
- Start on your hands and knees.
- Sit your hips back onto your heels, keeping your spine long.
- Lean backwards until you’re resting on your hands, elbows, or legs, depending on what your body allows and what feels comfortable.
- Hold this position for two to three minutes.
“The saddle stretch really hits the front of the leg, the quads and the hip flexors, which are two big areas that can get really tight from sitting down,” Mooney explains.
“When this area is tight, it puts the pelvis into a position that might be causing constant lower back pain and tightness in the front of the hip flexor, and a lot of us do feel a bit of impingement on those.”
The most flexible people will be able to lean right back onto their legs, but this isn’t necessary to enjoy the benefits of the stretch. You can make it less intense by resting on your elbows or arms or, as Mooney likes to do, moving in front of his couch so he can rest his back against it.
3. Child's pose
- Start on your hands and knees.
- Bring your knees out wide, put your toes together, then sit back onto your heels.
- Lower your chest towards the floor, extending your arms out in front of you.
- Allow your forehead to rest on the ground or an elevated surface like a pillow if you can’t reach it.
- Hold this position for two to three minutes.
“This is a really common pose in yoga, and one a lot of people know,” Mooney says. “I like to reach my hands out as far in front of me as I can, which really elongates my spine.
“You can also feel it in the lats [the broad, flat muscles of the back] and the upper back, helping that posture in the upper back as well. It’s a really nice, restorative pose.”
This move won’t feel as intense as other stretches, making it an enjoyable relaxing option to end on.
Benefits of stretching
Mooney, a former CrossFit Games athlete, is a huge advocate of stretching and has incorporated it into his regular routine for many years.
“I love it, it really helps me, and it’s been a huge part of my life,” he says. “For me, it’s all about having longevity in what I love to do, which is to live an active life. I can take care of my body and give it what it needs, and this is part of it."
“If I do that, I hope it gives me longevity in those things, preventing injury and pain.”
But one 12-minute stretching routine isn’t going to transform your body. Mooney says consistency is key, recommending three to five stretching sessions per week. The Pliability app has features such as streaks, short routines, and daily follow-along videos to encourage this.
“We believe that, with consistency, the true magic happens. Mobility and flexibility take time, it’s not instant.”
So, what effects can you expect from consistent stretching?
“You can definitely see it in tight areas,” says Mooney. “If you had a little nagging injury beforehand, it can help.
"You’ll see it over time if you had more of a chronic pain like lower back pain too. You start to get into these regular stretches then your hips become more flexible, your hamstrings become more flexible, and you start to notice that lower back pain isn’t there anymore."
“You’ll also see it in your movement patterns. Maybe your golf swing feels better after a couple of months, you can squat below parallel, or you can extend your arm in an [overhead] press. You'll start to see this progress over time, and you'll start to feel really good as well.”
However, while most impacts of stretching take time, there is one area where you might notice a change straight away.
“I think there is also a mindfulness part of it,” Mooney says. “It’s something that isn’t intense, allowing you to have that time for recovery. A lot of us live very intense lives, so that can be a winding down, grounding moment.”
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