Over the next 12 days, I am going to walk you through my Daily Dozen Yoga Poses for Post-Athletic Recovery. Work on each pose for a few minutes each day and at the end of the 12 days try stringing them together, holding 10 breaths per side (if applicable). The whole sequence should take you between 20-25 minutes. My suggestion? Do it while watching an episode of Modern Family or Arrested Development and make it a happy ritual rather than a chore.
MOAR’s Daily Dozen:
- Hero’s Pose
- High Plank w/ Flipped Hands
- Dolphin
- Wide-Legged Forward Fold
- Low Lunge w/ Twist
- Half Split
- Prone Shoulder Opener
- Plow
- Half Pigeon
- Seated Spinal Twist
- Reclining Figure-4
- Reclining Shoelace
These postures were specifically selected to help fortify your body against the top ten sports-related injuries, which are in no particular order…
- Achilles tendonitis
- Plantar fasciitis
- Ankle sprains
- Wrist problems
- Shoulder pain
- Hamstring pulls
- Hip pain
- Knee injuries
- Lower back strain
- Neck strain
If you lead an active lifestyle, chances are you have dealt with at least half of that list. The best way to prevent these common sports-related injuries is to work on increasing your flexibility and ROM (range of motion) on a daily basis. We are constantly stressing our muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons and most of us barely do two minutes of stretching post-physical activity, let alone a solid 20 minutes.
Check back every day for a new posture how-to and learn about the different injuries it will help you prevent and treat. At the end of the 12 days, I encourage you to come back to this post and try the entire sequence in succession. If you can work these stretches into your routine three to five days a week, you’ll be well on your way to a flexible, strong and injury-free body.
As always, I welcome your feedback and would love to hear what you think!