Guiding Question For This Week:

After spending 8 weeks stretching all areas of my body, will I be able to bring everything together into one full body routine and see if I have reached my goal of being able to touch my toes?

This Week’s Goal:

This weeks goal was to do a full body stretching routine that hits all of the places that I have covered so far in this stretching journey. I picked my favourite stretch from each week and each of the areas that I covered to make my full body stretching routine.

What I did:

Hamstrings
  • Seated Forward Fold: Sit with legs out straight, hinge forward and reach for toes.
Hips
  • Butterfly Stretch: Sit on the ground with feet together, gently press knees towards the floor. Sit with your back straight or lean forward and put head towards the floor.
Spine
  • Thread the Needle: On all fours put one arm underneath the other and rest your shoulder and head on the ground and gently twist.
Chest
  • Doorway Chest Stretch: Stand in a doorway with both of your arms bent at 90 degrees and your hands on the door frame. Step one foot forward and lean through the doorway until you feel a stretch in your chest.
Neck
  • Side Neck Stretch: Put your left ear towards your right shoulder. For a bigger stretch you can out your right hand on your head and gently press down.
Shoulders
  • Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch: Bring one arm straight across your chest. Use your other arm to gently pull the arm closer to your chest closer to your body.
Wrists
  • Prayer Stretch: Place your palms together infront of your chest. Lower your hands while keeping your palms pressed together until you feel a nice stretch.
Ankles
  • Ankle Circles: Standing, lift one foot off of the ground and rotate your ankle clockwise about ten times. Repeat going anti-clockwise.
Toes
  • Seated Toe Stretch: Sit on your heels with your toes tucked under. Lean back gently until you feel a stretch through your toes and the bottom of your foot.
Calves
  • Standing Calve Stretch: Face a wall and place your hands on it. Step your right foot back keeping your heel fat and leg straight. Lean forward until you feel a stretch in your calf.

Hold each stretch for 30 seconds. Repeat on both sides if appliciable.

Reflection:

I did these stretches throughout the last week and It felt so nice to end my stretching journey with all of these ones targeting all areas of my body. My body felt loose and less stiff by the time I was done with my routine and I did all of the stretches above for about 40 minutes. This routine took a lot longer that I thought it would be but I am lad that it was longer because I was able to go through each stretch at least twice. Comparing the beginning of my routine the last I was noticeably more flexible. I was just barely able to touch my toes and keep a straight back and at the end I was fully able to put both my hands around my foot and lean forward easily.