(Source: runningwithpassion)

om-ohm-aum:

The Psoas is one of the strongest muscles of the body, and often one of the tightest! A good way to isolate the psoas stretch, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced practitioner, is to practice virabhadrasana I in a doorway. Find an open doorway (or a pillar) and step up close so that the right side of your body is just behind the door jamb. Step your left leg through the doorway, and place your right foot two to three feet behind you, with that back heel off the floor. Stretch your arms overhead and rest your hands on the wall. Bend both knees slightly, and align your pubic bones, navel, and breastbone with the door frame.

The whole key to stretching the psoas is in the tilting of the pelvis. Remember, a tight psoas tries to tilt the pelvis anteriorly (pulling the spine and top of the pelvis forward and down), so you must tilt the pelvis posteriorly to stretch the hip flexors. The door can help you achieve this action: simply move your pubic bones toward the door jamb, your upper pelvis and navel back away from the jamb, and draw your breastbone toward the jamb. These actions help you tilt the pelvis posteriorly, move the lumbar spine toward the back of the body (instead of letting the tight psoas pull it forward and down), and lift the rib cage vertically up out of the low back. Altogether, you’ll be lengthening the psoas and relieving compression and discomfort in the low back.
When you’re ready to deepen the stretch, straighten the back knee fully (let the back heel stay off the floor, especially if you’re a beginner or have knee or low back problems), and gradually bend the front knee more. If you’re not getting a deep stretch on the front of the right hip, redouble your efforts to bring the pubic bones toward the wall, and the navel away, and bend the front knee more. Hold the pose for a minute or more, keeping your breathing slow and steady to help the muscle relax into a deep stretch. Then repeat on the other side.

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(via thisuphillbattle)

Do you guys know how to warm up before exercising?  Did you know that stretching a cold muscle is an awful, horrible idea?  Muscles perform so much better once they’re warm, and they only get warm by working!

Try some dynamic stretching.  These ones are kind of low intensity without movement but you could try some of them while walking back and forth across a short distance.

My favorite isn’t on here but it’s THE FRANKENSTEIN, you walk with your hands out in front of you Mummy-style and as you walk you try to kick your hands.  I do my hands at eye/forehead level.  Hand walks are also a really great way to get the blood flowing.