My offerings today are for the more active individual. If you walk, cycle, run, lift weights & stretch regularly then the following suggestions “on-the-bed” are a great option to gently deepen a twist and maintain mobility for the front & back of the pelvis. Many active people, not understanding the science behind joint mobility, skip the flexibility portion of fitness or won’t try yoga mistakenly thinking it is “easy” or unimportant. Yet, this is key to aging gracefully.

If you’re a newbie to exercise please use caution as these can be very deep and ought to be approached with care & awareness…perhaps even check with your health practitioners like your RMT, Osteopath or Chiropractor to ensure these suggestions are safe for your current state of muscle tightness and spine health. These stretches make use of the edge of the bed in order to move the bones a little farther than we can on the floor. I don’t recommend them for early morning when bodies are the most stiff. A minimum of 5-10 minutes warmup, household activity or post exercise is the optimum time to settle into these beautiful hip openers.

When creating THE TWIST, your inability to go deeper could be caused by either the shoulder/chest area, the low back, waist, hamstring (back of thigh) or gluteal muscles (backside).Your chest or low back may not allow you to lower the foot below the edge of the bed without lifting the shoulder. In this case, I suggest you prop the leg on a pillow OR return to the floor to explore how this stretch works best for you and use props like cushions, foam rollers or towels to support the leg until those muscles become accustomed to the basic version of the posture.

This rotating stretch is truly effective since it involves so many muscles in one movement— which is great if you’re looking to save time. Rarely does our life consist of using only one muscle for an action so multi-muscled, functional workouts & stretching imitate life activities.

A tight hamstring may prevent you from getting the foot in alignment with the hip bone — which then affects the backside sensations, so practice patience and position the foot a bit lower to protect the hamstring so the knee can be kept straight (see photo). The pillow is placed behind the arm or shoulder if needed so the limb is supported rather than held uplifted.

keeping the foot below the hip bone will reduce Hamstring tightness and allow side of hip muscles like Gluteus Medius to gain from the stretch

Your HIP FLEXORS are a combination of muscles located at the front of the hip. They’re difficult to target for a proper stretch especially from standing when the legs are weight bearing. To truly achieve a relaxed lengthening of muscle fibres lying with your backside near the edge allows you to lower the leg below the side of the bed. The tucked knee can be held in numerous positions all of which change the angle of the pelvis, consequently benefitting one of the many potential muscles to stretch between the front hip bone and the low back region. Try imprinting the low back towards the mattress to feel yet another difference.

Finally, seek a manageable discomfort not muscle pain when stretching. Remember to be mindful; inhale deeply for a few breaths; release then re-enter the pose as the brain-muscle circuits relax and allow further lengthening to happen.

as the Hamstring (back of thigh) & Lumbar (low back) release the foot can be raised higher than the hip .... a foot below the bed edge increases the depth of the Gluteal Maximus stretch

change the angle of the knee hug or the dangling foot to affect the feel of the stretch

More to come…other poses for “on-the-bed yoga” series

Opening Hips & Deepening Twists