A Great Yoga Stretch For Your Lower Body

Going to a yoga class does wonders, but sometimes you just don't have the time.

Of course it often happens that when you don't have the time is when you need a good stretch the most. The great thing is that there are many stretches you can do at home in very little time.

The Yoga Bow Pose is one of my favourite stretches, because it works on releasing many muscles all at once: tight back, neck, shoulders and quads. The other great thing about this stretch is that the better you become at it, the more you'll feel its benefits. With the advanced version of this stretch, which involves rocking your body back and forth, you increase benefits to the digestive system as well.

Yoga Bow Pose (Dhanurasana)

Named Bow Pose because it looks like an archer's bow, the torso and legs being the body of the bow, and the arms the string.

How to:

• Begin on your belly with arms alongside your body, palms facing up.
• Now as you exhale, bend your knees and bring your heels as close to your buttocks as possible.
• Reach back with your hands and take hold of your ankles. Making sure your knees aren't wider than the width of your hips, and keep them close through the duration of the stretch.
• Inhale and with strength lift your heels away from your buttocks, while simultaneously lifting your thighs away from the floor.  This motion will pull your head and upper torso (chest) off the floor.
• As you breathe continue to lift the heels and thighs higher, and pull your shoulders down away from your ears and pull your shoulder blades back to open your heart. Look forward.

via ca.shine.yahoo.com