How to Stretch

[Music Playing] Dina Prioste: Hi, I am Dina Prioste, stand and welcome to get exercised. Today, I am going to be demonstrating how your flexible thighs should be. But first, yeah, I learned that and how to expose the knees or in fact the nose and the feet or the ears. So, what the heck is this big old thing up here, it is a horn. It is (muffled). Once, you are going flexible and have been dancing since you were a fetus, do not worry, you can still get a lot out of a yoga class, but do not focus on the stretching because believe me, you do not need to stretch out anymore than you already are. Now, why will I take Yoga? That is stupid. But Yoga can help you build strength in your muscles around your joints which is really the most important thing for you to decrease your risk of injury. What? For example, we are going to practice some of the wide leg seated forward bend. Now, an inflexible person would be sitting on a lot of padding and blankets to help give them height so they can start to bring their navel forward to come forward into the post. A flexible person is probably on the floor. Unfortunately, I cannot demonstrate that for you. I have seen some people in class that look like they could sleep like this. So, if that is you, what I recommend is coming out of the post just a little bit, do not focus on the stretch and start to strengthen the legs. So, you are going to flex the feet to engage your legs, make sure your toes are pointing up directly towards the ceiling. Energetically, you are outwardly rotating thighs quads are activated. I have even heard of some teachers having their students to flex so much that their heels are lifted off the floor, I mean, this is workout, just doing this right here. And, if you are very flexible, chances are you are someone who hyperextends the knees. So, if that is you, keep a slight bend in the knees because you do not want to stretch out the ligaments that would be very bad. Like I said before, your muscles do not need to be stretched anymore than they already are. So, if you are in class and you are in stretching poses, think of the opportunities to strengthen instead of stretch and build muscles around your joints which is going to be very important for you as gradually as you get older. Your Yoga practice or you never have to get old, if you keep challenging yourself to build strength in the poses that seemed easy on the surface. That is me, easy on the surface. Join me next week for some lower back strengtheners that you do not even need to get up off the floor for, so just get back down, lie down, do not get up. Thanks for watching. I am Dina Prioste and you have just been exercised. [Music Playing]