Many of us are on our feet all day. From doctors, to bartenders, to retail salespeople, a large majority of our jobs require us to spend hours on our feet. If you fall within this category, you might notice tightness in your lower back, pressure on your feet, legs, hips and overall fatigue in your body. How do we decompress and find relief from a long day of standing?
These 4 restorative poses are a great way to stretch your legs, open your hips, increase circulation and relieve your back, neck and shoulders from stiffness. The best part is that you can do these poses anywhere. So kick off those shoes and treat yourself to a relaxing and mind renewing practice!
Child’s Pose: Balasana
For this variation of child’s pose, start by lowering down to a kneeling position on your yoga mat or the floor. Bring your knees together and rest your buttocks on your heels. As you exhale, slowly rest your torso over your thighs and allow your forehead to lower to the mat. You can bring your arms to rest by your side, palms towards the sky. Stay here for a few breaths and allow your mind and body to relax.
Benefits:
Child’s pose calms the nervous system, while releasing tension in the back, shoulders and neck. This variation allows a decompression on your back by bringing a slight rounding to the spine. It helps lengthen and stretch the spine, increasing circulation throughout the body while stretching hips, legs and ankles.
Legs Up the Wall: Viparita Karani
Start by finding a comfortable space between yourself and the wall. You don’t have to be right up against the wall, instead allow yourself a few inches between your tailbone and the wall. Begin laying in a comfortable resting position on your back, as you to ease in closer to the wall, you can start with bent knees as you raise your legs side by side, vertically against the wall. Allow your arms to rest open, palms up by your sides relaxing head, neck and shoulders. Find 5-10 minutes of rest here, focus on your breathing and allow your body relax into this position.
Benefits:
Legs up the wall relieves fatigued, cramped legs and feet. It releases pressure off your feet and increases circulation. It is a gentle way of stretching the back legs, front torso, the spine and neck while calming the mind.
Supported Reclined Bound Angle: Supta Baddha Konasana
Start by finding a comfortable seated position, soles of the feet on the ground. Begin by placing the bolster a palm’s distance away from your sitting bone. Allow your hands to support you as you start to lean back resting your lower back and eventually resting your spine over the bolster. Once you are rested onto the bolster, slowly allow gravity to open your knees wide towards the floor, bringing your soles of your feet to touch. Arms can stretch out wide with palms up, or rest them above your head for a side body stretch. Stay here for 10 breaths or longer. Allowing your mind and body to decompress in this position.
Benefits:
The reclined bound angle pose supported with a bolster is very calming to the nervous system. Often times when we stand all day, our shoulders tend to slump forward causing our to back hunch over. This posture reverses the stress caused on our bodies by realigning our backs and opening up the shoulders and front body while releasing tightness in our hips.
Supported Corpse Pose: Savasana
Sometimes it’s the stillness within the poses that we find most difficult. In our fast paced lives, our minds and bodies are in a constant hustle and bustle. The ones that don’t have time to relax and restore are the ones that need it the most. For your final pose, savasana, lower your bolster or pillow perpendicular to your legs and rest it underneath your knees. Find a comfortable resting position on your back, allowing your arms to rest by your side. Bring awareness to your body, to your breathing, and to your thoughts. Allow yourself to surrender, to soften, and to find complete calmness and relaxation. Stay here for 2-5 minutes to renew your energy, or longer to restore and help you find restful sleep.
Benefits:
Savasana helps calm the mind, restore the body, and help relieve stress, headache, fatigue and insomnia.
