4 Minutes to Make Your Whole Body Feel Better
Happy Movement Monday, Overwhelmed Yogis.
This wall sequence is one of my favorites to mobilize lots of major muscle groups at once. It’s super accessible to beginners and can be done by anyone as a warmup, cooldown or on its own to feel better fast in the midst of a busy day. I taught it to someone who wanted a quick lunch break routine, and she said her whole afternoon was better after.
It will take you four minutes, with an option for fifth.
Minute 1: Wall dog. This is a more accessible downward-dog variation. If you only have a single minute, spend it on this. It opens the entire posterior chain of your body. Stand with feet parallel, hip-distance apart, and walk back an arm’s length from the wall. Place your hands slightly over your shoulders, fan your fingers wide and push into the fingernail pads as you shift your hips back over your heels. Bend your knees as much as needed to keep a slight u-shaped curve in your low back. Keep your head in line with your spine as you breathe and push through hands and feet.
Minute 2: Figure 4 stretch (30 seconds per side). Maintaining the position of the wall dog, cross one ankle over the opposite knee, flexing your top foot. Bend the supporting leg to get a deep opening in the top hip.
Minute 3: Hamstring stretch (30 seconds per side). Still in the wall dog position, step one foot back, adjusting the stance as needed so your hands still touch the wall. Drag the front hip back and the back hip wide until the hips are square (your stance might need to be wider than you think), and then fold forward until you feel a hamstring stretch in the front leg.
Minute 4: Lunge (30 seconds per side). With your hands supporting you on the wall, step one leg back into a lunge. Your stance can be as long or as short as you’d like. Keep the back leg straight with the heel pointing up.
and/or
Standing quad stretch (30 seconds per side). Like the lunge, this gives you a nice quad and hip flexor opening, great to counteract tightness from sitting. You can do it holding onto the wall with your free hand or in balance. Spread your toes on the side you’re stretching. If you can’t reach your foot behind you, stick with the lunge. Otherwise you can choose between the lunge and quad stretch or do both to make this a five-minute routine.
I’d love to know how this felt for you, and I always welcome your questions and content suggestions. Each Monday I post a movement break to support your body, each Thursday an exercise or tip for your nervous system. 💕