Category: Free Inquiry

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.

Guiding Question For This Week:

Since I am revisiting my hamstrings, can I try new hamstring stretches and will them help me reach my goal of getting more flexible?

This Week’s Goal:

I had my blog posts set to end last week, that is why I did a full body routine for week 6 but because I needed to do two more to reach the 8 post requirement I decided that for this week I would stretch out my hamstrings again since the last time I did a full hamstring stretching routine was about 7 weeks ago, because of this I decided that I would do all new stretches so although i’m revisiting the same area I will be doing different stretches.

What I did:

• Standing Hamstring Stretch: Standing, place one heel on the ground with your toes in the air. Bend other leg slightly, hinge forward slightly while keeping your back straight. Repeat on both sides, hold for 30 seconds.
• Lying Hamstring Stretch: Lie on the ground, with a towel or belt gently pull through lifted leg towards you while keeping it as straight as possible. Do the same on both sides, hold for 30 seconds.
• Forward Fold With Bent Knees: Stand with feet hip width apart. Bend your knees slightly and fold forwards letting your upper body hang. Then, slowly straighten your knees until they are straight. Hold for 30 seconds
• Seated Hamstring Stretch: Sit with one leg extended so the sole of your foot is touching the inside of the opposite thigh. Lean forward slightly keeping your back straight. Hold for 30 seconds.

Reflection:

I did these stretches throughout the week of November 17th-21st. The reason I am just now making the post is because I thought that I only had to make 6 posts but I needed to make 8 and I got caught up with school and put making this post on the back burner. I still documented my stretches I just did not have time to make a post until now. Because I had a week gap and haven’t stretched my hamstrings since the first week I thought that I should revisit them. I really enjoyed revisiting stretches that targeted my hamstrings using different stretches that I have not tried before. They all felt very nice although the lying hamstring stretch I found very difficult because I could not being my leg up very high without it bending. I repeated all four of these stretches a few times until I reached 10-15 minutes so by the time I did that stretche for the third time it felt better. Overall it felt very relaxing once I did them a couple time and got into the groove.

Resources:

I was not able to link through videos like I did in my previous blog posts so I will just be putting the channel name and video title below of the videos I used for this weeks stretches.

AskDoctorJo:

• Hamstring Strain Stretches & Exercises – Ask Doctor Jo
• Hamstring Stretch in Long Sitting – Ask Doctor Jo

Baptist Health

• Hamstring Stretch

These videos were very helpful when choosing what stretches I wanted to do because they were quick short videos that explained what they were doing and why which I really liked.

Next Week’s Plan:

Since next week will be my last week I decided that I am going to do another full body stretch as I really like the last one that I did and because it is my last week I thought it would be the perfect time to do a full body routine. I will be hitting all of the areas that I covered over the weeks and do a 20-30 minute routine.

Guiding Question This Week:

If I put all the areas I’ve covered into one routine, can I keep the flexibility I have gained so far and notice which stretches feel easier compared to earlier weeks?

This Week’s Focus:

For this week I wanted to focus on all of the areas that I have covered so far because I felt that if I focus on hamstrings in week one and then never cover it again I would lose that mobility. So I compiled a 20-25 minute routine that goes over all the areas I have worked on for the past few weeks.

What I did:

Lower Body

• 90/90 Hip Stretch: Sit with both knees bent at 90 degrees (one in front and one to the side) keep your back straight and lean forward slightly
• Butterfly stretch: Sit with feet together and gently press your knees to the floor or flutter your knees. Hold for 30 seconds
• Seated Forward Fold: Sit with your legs out straight gently lean forward with your back straight and reach for your toes.
• Low Lunge: Step one foot forwarding a lunge, put your back knee on the ground. Hold for 30 seconds.

Spine

• Cat Cow: On all fours arch your back looking up, round your back and look down tucking your chin
• Seated Spinal Twist: Sit with your back straight ben your left knee, place your foot outside of your right thigh and gently twist toward your left side. Hold for 30 second, then switch sides.

Upper Body

• Shoulder Stretch: Bring one arm across your chest and gently pull it closer with your other arm. Hold for 30 seconds, repeat on the other side
• Side Neck Stretch: Put your left ear towards your left shoulder, can use your arm to pull your head closer to you shoulder for a deeper stretch. Hold for 30 seconds, repeat on the other side.
• Neck rotations: Looking forward rotate your head going clockwise about ten times, repeat going anti-clockwise for about ten times.
• Wrist Stretches (Flexor & Extensor): extend one arm out with your palm up and gently pull your fingers back, then flip your palm down and gently pull your fingers back towards you. Hold for about 20 seconds, repeat on other side.

Reflection:

I really liked doing this full body stretching routine it made me feel less tense overall. I definitely noticed that while doing some of the stretches from previous weeks that I could go father and they were easier to do which was cool to see. I noticed that my forward fold I was able to lean farther forward which made me realize how just in these 5 weeks I have gotten more flexible than the first week

Next Week’s Plan

I thought that we only had to do six blog posts so I had this set to be my last week of stretching but found out it is actually eight posts. Since I have stretched basically everything I am going to be doing another full body stretching routine with different stretches that still target the areas that I have covered previously.

Guiding Question For This Week:

Since I have never covered these areas before can learning them help support the goal I have been working towards?

This Week’s Plan

For this week I thought it would be fun to stretch my chest since I did not know you could do that as well as my calves/ankles, and toes! I feel that these areas can be overlooked as people like myself may not know they they are areas you can stretch. Tight calves and ankles have the potential of making other stretches harder and stretching my chest can help improve my posture.

What I Did

• 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. Hold for 20-30 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times.
• Standing Calf Stretch: Face a wall and place your hands on it. Step your right foot back keeping your heel flat and leg straight. Lean forward until you feel a stretch in your calf. Hold for 20-30 seconds. Repeat on the other leg.
• Ankle Circles: Standing, lift your right foot slightly off the ground. Rotate your ankle clockwise about ten times. Repeat on your other foot.
• Seated Toe Stretch: Sit on your heels tucked under. Lean back gently until you feel a stretch through your toes and the bottom of your foot. Hold for 20-30 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times.

Reflection

These Stretches felt very different since I have not done any of them before but after doing them a few times throughout the week they became more comfortable and felt really nice. At first though I did find the toe stretch to be uncomfortable and weird but it got easier each time I did it.

Resources

Doorway Chest Stretch

Standing Calf Stretch

Seated Toe Stretch

I found these resources to be very helpful in guiding me in how to do the stretches that I picked for this week. They included pictures or videos which I found very helpful so I could refer back to make sure I was doing the stretch properly.

Next Week’s Plan

Next week I want to combine all of the stretches that I have done so far into one singular 20-25 minute routine. I want to include at least one stretch from each week so that it can target everything I have done so far. I thought that this was a good idea because the stretches that I did in week one may get lost because I haven’t touched on them in a few weeks while focusing on other areas. I plan on doing longer full body routine like this every few weeks so that I can continue to work on all areas so I don’t lose that mobility.

Guiding Question For This Week:

Since I have been having tension in these areas especially my wrists can following videos help improve mobility in these areas?

This Week’s Focus:

For this week I chose to focus on my shoulders, neck, and wrist mobility. After working on different areas of the past few weeks I have noticed a lot of tension in my back and neck and thought that this week would be a great week to work on it. I have also noticed that my right wrist has started hurting as it does every once and awhile so because of that I thought it was the perfect time to add in wrists stretches as well.

What I Did:

I did the following stretches for around 10-15 minutes as I have found throughout this journey that 10-15 minutes seems to be the perfect amount of time for my stretching routines.

Shoulder Stretches:

• Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch: Bring one arm straight across your chest. Use your other arm to gently pull the arm across your chest closer to your body. Hold for 20-30 seconds, then switch sides.
• Shoulder Rolls: and Arm Circles: Sitting or standing roll your shoulders forward about ten times and then do the same thing but backwards.
• Eagle Arms Stretch: Extend both of your arms in front of you at shoulder height. Cross your right arm over your left and try to bring your palms together. Lift your elbows slightly and hold for 20-30 seconds. Do it all again with the other arm.

Neck Stretches:

• Side Neck Stretch: Put your left ear towards your right shoulder. For a bigger stretch you can put your right hand on your head and gently press down. Repeat on the other side.
• Neck Rotations: Starting from the front roll your head around going clockwise about ten times, then repeat going anti clockwise about ten times.
• Chin to Chest Stretch: Put your chin towards your chest until you feel a stretch on the back of your neck. Hold for 20-30 seconds.

Wrist Stretches:

• Wrist Flexor Stretch: Put one arm straight out with your palm facing up. Use your other hand to gently pull your fingers back toward your body. Hold for 15-20 seconds. Repeat on the other hand.
• Wrist Extensor Stretch: Put one arm out with your palm facing down. Use your other hand to gently pull your fingers down. Repeat on the other hand.
• Prayer Stretch: Place your palms together in front of your chest. Lower your hands while keeping your palms pressed together until you feel a nice stretch. Hold for 20-30 seconds.
• Wrist Circles: Make fists with both of your hands and then rotate your wrists in slow circles 10 times going clockwise and then 10 times going anti clockwise.

Reflection on my Learning:

I did these stretches throughout the week of October 8th-14th but I accidentally saved it to my drafts instead of posting it. So that is why there is two blogs posts in the span of a week. thought I should mention. Throughout that week while doing the stretches above I noticed a big difference in how my neck, shoulders, and especially how my wrists felt by the end of the week. My shoulders felt less tense, loose, and my wrist pain felt a lot better. I really want to make the wrist stretches apart of my daily routine. Maybe not every day but at least a few times a week because of my reoccuring wrist pain and with these stretches my wrists felt a lot better.

Resources:

While looking for resources for this blog post I came across Yoga with Adriene. I remembered her from when I took yoga in grade 12 and I really enjoyed her videos. I really enjoyed following along her video and using some of the stretches she did for my blog post.

I used a few of the stretches that Dr. Jared did in this 6 minute wrist stretching video. I really liked how he explained why we were doing wrist stretches, how to do each stretch, and what each stretch did. I thought that it was really helpful to know what each one did for my body.

Next Week’s Plan:

Next week I want to move on to my calves/ankles, chest, and toes as these are a few areas I haven’t covered yet. I also did not know that you were able to stretch your toes or chest so I thought it would be interesting to go over. I am excited to see how I feel after doing these stretches.

Guiding Question For This Week:

Because my back always feels tight especially when trying to keep a straight back in other stretches, can following videos and doing spine stretches throughout the week help me loosen up my back and improve my posture in other stretches?

This Week’s Focus:

For this week I chose to do spinal flexibility as it is something that I have struggled with. I have been working on my hamstrings and hips, so this week I thought that spine flexibility and back mobility ties into most stretches so by improving it will help with future stretches and build off of ones I have already done. My goal is to make my back feel looser and reduce stiffness.

What I Did:

This week I did the following stretches for about 10 minutes. I found that instead of doing the stretching routine once I decided to switch it up and do it multiple times until I reached 10 minutes. I liked this idea better. Although I was getting more flexible by doing the routine once I thought it would speed up the process by doing it longer. The stretches that I did were:

• Cat-Cow Pose: On hands and knees, alternating between arching and rounding the back.
• Seated Spinal Twist: Sitting on the ground with one leg bent over the other and twisting gently.
• Cobra Pose: Lying on your stomach, lifting chest up, can have arms bent or straight.
• Thread the Needle: On all fours put one arm underneath the other and rest your shoulder and head on the ground, gently twist.
• Seated Forward Fold: Sit with Legs extended, hinge forward as much as you can.
• Low Lunge: From your knees step one foot forward, gently lay other leg on the ground and sink hips down.

Reflection on my Learning:

My back has always been very stiff, I have noticed it during my previous stretches that require a straight back or to lean forward and many people can get low to the ground but I cannot. So I thought for this week I would look up spinal stretches. At the beginning of the week my back felt tight, doing the stretches my back was very arched and I couldn’t really lean forward without arching. Doing these stretches thread the needle became one of my favourite stretches, it felt very relaxing. You may notice that I added one stretch from week one as well as week two because I thought it would be a good idea to still stretch those areas inserted of doing them once and never revisiting. That way those areas can stay flexible.

Resources I Used:

I chose this YouTube video because I thought it was a great spine/back stretching guide. As a beginner to most of the stretches I have done so far, having a video to look at while doing the stretches has been great. It helps me make sure my hands and legs are in the right places as well as making sure I am doing the stretch properly so I do not injure myself. Although my routine and this video are both 10 minutes long, I didn’t follow this routine exactly. I took inspiration for a lot of the stretches like cat-cow, thread the needle, cobra (she calls it sphinx), and the seated spinal twist. I took yoga in high school so some of these stretches I am familiar with such as thread the needle. I really enjoy this pose so when I saw it in this video I was excited, with that though I didn’t particularly like how she did hers so I did what I was comfortable with. Instead of threading the needle and immediately coming back up over and over, I threaded the needle and laid there twisting my spine for about 30 second on each side. I felt a lot more stretch doing it this way.

Next Week’s Plan:

Next week I plan to focus on shoulder, neck, and wrist mobility. I thought that because each of these areas are pretty small I could combine them all into one week. I have noticed some tension in my neck and shoulders as well as my wrists. Every once and awhile I get wrist pain and I have noticed the past two days it is staring up again so I thought it would be a great opportunity to do some wrist stretches. My goal is to hopefully reduce my wrist pain and get the tension out of my shoulders and neck as they are a bit stiff.

Guiding Question For This Week:

Will focusing on hip mobility help me feel less stiff in this area and make the rest of my stretching journey easier?

This Week’s Focus

For this week my focus will be on hip flexibility. Tight hips can affect posture, movement, and even hamstring stretches. Loosening them up now will help me in the long run. My goal this week was to explore a few stretches that target the hip flexors, glutes, and inner thighs. Stretching the glutes help make stretches like squats and forward folds easier helping flexibility in the hamstring area. Not stretching your inner thighs can make lunges and butterfly harder so by stretching these muscles helps with flexibility in the hip area.

What I Did

• Low Lunge (with side stretch): Step one foot forward, sink your hips down, then reach arm overhead for a deeper hip flexor stretch.
• Butterfly Stretch: Sit down with feet together, gently press knees towards the floor, sit with back straight or lean forward and put head towards the floor.
• Pigeon Pose: From a plank position bring one leg forward and lay your shin on the floor to stretch your other back leg.
• 90/90 Hip Stretch: Sit with one leg bent in front at 90 degrees, the other leg bent behind you at 90 degrees, then lean forward over your front shin.

I did these stretches for 5-10 minutes for the past week

Reflection on my learning

When I first started the 90/90 hip stretch was probably the most difficult, I found it very hard to get the proper position. the butterfly pose was also very difficult for me to do, it felt so tight and I could barely get my knees to the floor.The low lunge was fairly easy felt a nice stretch same with the pigeon pose, it was very relaxing. After the stretching I felt more mobility in my hips which felt nice.

Next Week’s Plan

For next week I plan on focusing on spinal flexibility and back stretches. By doing these stretches I hope to see how it affects my overall flexibility as a lot of stretches require bending and straight back etc and those things I do not have. My goal for next week will to do a short routine of beginner back stretches everyday and record how my back feels at the beginning of the week compared to the end.