Tired Muscles? 12 Best Yoga Stretches to Feel Better

Over the last 2 years, we’ve been spending a lot of time at home. Sitting in one place or spending a lot of time working for long hours makes your muscles stiff and tense. 

To relieve stress in these muscles, you can daily perform yoga stretches for tired muscles.

It has been shown to loosen the stiffened muscles significantly and release tension from them.

You must have heard of yoga somewhere on the internet, or your acquaintance has told you that they do morning yoga. But you never tried that on your own.

Well, now it’s time to gradually start simple yoga poses. 

How important is stretching for muscles? 

In this millennial world, we are stuck in a vicious cycle of ongoing hectic working routines.

Be it office or work; you are jumping from one role to another.

You don’t give enough time to your body to relax. Even in sleep, you are tense and end up dreaming about that worrisome situation.

The word Yoga means to connect mind, body, and spirit.

It’s a common myth that only athletes and gym freaks need to do stretching. A sedentary human being also needs to do daily stretches to improve muscle function. 

Performing simple yoga stretches releases tension in muscles. It relieves tight knots in muscles that are overworked during the day. 

• Yoga stretches improve the range of motion in joints.
• It relaxes muscles and reduces pain.
• Stretches maintain and increase the overall strength and flexibility of muscles.
• It resolves muscles, tendon, and ligament joint stiffness.
• Having pain free body gives you sound sleep at night.
• It decreases the risk of sudden muscle injury and tears in muscles, ligaments, or tendons.
• Stretchings improve blood supply to muscles, providing nutrients to them.

As your muscles have flexibility and strength, you can perform physical activities efficiently without the risk of soreness afterward. 

Stiffness and tightness in muscles impair the joint to fully open and perform a full range of motion.

Over time it results in forwarding neck posture, your legs can’t stretch, and your rounded back develops. Stretching decreases the chances of formation of these deformities.

Stretching also improves and treats chronic pain such as low back pain, tight traps, and hamstrings, it also keeps the heart healthy and reduces the risk of hypertensive heart disease.

Yoga stretches combined with breathing techniques help reduce depression, anxiety relieves general tension in the body.

It induces a sense of calamity and tranquility in the mind that allows focus better in life.

Yoga connects the mind with the body and synchronizes breathing patterns with the help of yoga techniques such as asana, dhyana, and pranayama.

Easy yoga stretches for tired muscles 

Yoga is known as medicine of mind, body, and soul.

The philosophy of yoga was put forward by Patanjali as Yoga Sutras, it includes changes in the pattern of breathing, meditation, lifestyle, and way of eating and maintaining the diet.

The Yoga Sutras involve 8 principles or 8 awareness paths known as Ashtanga which means eight limbs.

When your muscles are overworked, there are chances that DOMs are developed in them.

DOMs standStretching for delayed onset muscle soreness, and as the name suggests, DOMs develop after 24 to 48 hours of strenuous muscle activity.

The thing with DOMs is that you don’t feel it while performing an activity; that’s why you tend to overdo it.

However, after a few hours, you feel stiffness and soreness in your muscles. Performing yoga stretches can help relieve pain in no time.

1. Lay Down And Relax

• Lay down flat on your back in the supine position
• Relax.
• Stretch your arms upward in full extension
• Draw your feet in a dorsiflexion position
• Feel the energy flowing from hands through your body towards your feet
• Hold for 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Double Knee Rotation Stretch

• Lay flat on back in the supine position
• Bend your knees
• Drop them towards the left and correct position alternatively.
• Repeat 5 times each side

3. Single Knee Rotation Stretch

• Lay down In supine position
• Bend your one knee
• Keep your other knee straight.
• Drop your bent knee in left and right position alternatively. 
• Repeat 5 times each side

4. Double Knee To Chest (Apanasana)

• Lay down flat on the ground
• Bend both of your legs 
• Bring them towards your chest.
• Hold for 10 seconds.
• Then release them 
• Hold for 5 seconds
• Repeat 5-8 times

5. Single Knee To Chest (Apanasana)

• Lay down flat on the ground 
• Bend one leg
• Keep the other leg straight.
• Bring it towards your chest.
• Hold for 10 seconds.
• Then release it
• Hold for 5 times
• Repeat for 5-8 times

6. Child Pose (Balasana)

• Slide your hips on your heels
• Move arms down by your side with palms facing up.
• Touch your head on ground 
• Relax your muscles 
• Feel your breath
• Rest for 3-5 minutes

7. Piriformis Stretch

• Lay down flat on ground
• Bend your one leg
• Cross your opposite leg over the bent leg
• Stabilize it on the knee joint
• With your hands, grab the bent leg.
• Pull it towards your chest.
• Hold for 10 seconds.
• Repeat 5 times

8. Hamstring Stretch

• Lay down flat on the back
• Straighten both of your legs
• Pull one leg straight up towards the ceiling.
• Repeat 10 times

9. Back Extension Stretch

• Lay down in prone position
• Lift your back in extension-making an arc on the back
• Hold this position on elbows.
• Hold for 5 seconds. 
• Repeat 3-5 times

10. Cat Cow Stretch

• Get on all of your four limbs.
• Stretch your one arm and opposite leg out
• Hold for 5 seconds, repeat 3 times

11. Dog Pose

• Stand straight on your legs with toes apart
• Bend your back and reach the ground with your hands 
• You’ll get on your all four limbs, making a triangular shape
• Does not bend your arms and legs during this pose; keep them straight
• Hold for 5 seconds
• Repeat 3 times

12. Seated Heart Opener

• Adapt kneeling position
• Place hands behind you with fingers facing away.
• Lean back and lift your chest
• Make an arch on the back
• Hold for 3 seconds
• Repeat 5 times

Takeaway

The world is adopting ancient wisdom and knowledge. Yoga holds a strong history.

It has proved to provide beneficial results with just simple activities.

However, we tend to forget that our body needs to rest for a while due to busy life.

People try to eat healthily, but they forget that yoga stretches can help you get excellent health, relieve stress and tension in the whole body.

It not only provides better results to the body, but it is also good for the mind and soul.

With these best and simple yoga stretches, you are able to get relief for tired muscles, become more flexible and increase strength.

So when there comes a time you need to perform a high-intensity exercise, your muscles are injured due to increased workload.