Special Edition for those who can only spare just a couple of minutes before dashing to work
Half pigeon pose
The sun is up and whether you like it or not, it’s time to leave the bed. That’s when the half pigeon pose steps in helping your body open up to the new day.
Place your body in a runner’s lunge with your left leg forward, and your back leg straight. Square your hips and move your chest forward towards the ground, allowing your head to rest on your forearms. Breathe here for 5 deep breaths and repeat on the other side. Desk jobs don’t allow the rotation and flexibility of the hip joints. Hip openers release tension from the hips and make you feel like you are ready to conquer the day.
This pose doesn’t only look spectacular; it makes you feel like a million bucks too. Whether you are pear shaped or oval, you can easily achieve this pose without much difficulty.
Lie flat on your stomach with your hands right by your shoulders. Squeezing your abs, lengthen your upper body, opening up your chest to the ceiling above. Be centered in this posture for 30 seconds and slowly release. Repeat 5 times. If a poor immune system is what you are suffering from, this stretch is superb to boost your immune system naturally as it detoxifies the lymph nodes in the groin area.
Foldover Stretch
Anything forced never reaps results and the foldover stretches follows that mantra. The body should breathe easy and fold to its max. If you cannot reach for the ground, then reaching till your calves or the top of your feet is good enough. Stand tall with hip width apart, bend forward from the hips exhaling softly and bringing the crown of your head parallel to the floor. Hold for 5 deep breaths and then gently roll up to a standing position to release.