Lesson Info
4. Couch Stretch
Lessons
The 5 Daily Movements Overview
03:56 2Body Archetypes and How to Counteract Them
06:27 3Floor
07:30 4Couch Stretch
02:39 5Breathing
15:07 6Hip-hinging
10:52 7Hanging
07:22 8Walking
14:29Lesson Info
Couch Stretch
(gentle music) So the first exercise we're gonna start to integrate into our daily lives is referred to by my friend, Dr. Kelly Starrett, also did the foreword for "The Align Method" book, as the couch stretch. So we have our lovely model, the beautiful Anna, that's gonna perform the couch stretch for us here today. So here's what we're going to do. First thing is Anna's gonna bring her left knee fairly close to the couch and bring her foot up against the top of the couch, the seating area. Then next position from here is Anna's gonna bring her right foot forward, perfect. So just this position in of itself is fantastic as we're going through, and it's gonna start to feel a stretch through the quads, she's gonna feel a stretch through the hip flexors, and something that's quite important is to make sure that our ribs are staying tucked down towards our hips throughout this position. So if we're in this position and we're flaring our ribs open like that, it might look like we're getti...
ng deeper into the stretch, but in fact, we're just blowing out our lumbar spine and putting a lot of stress in our lower back. So from this position, this is fantastic, Anna, well executed, next thing we're gonna think about is we're gonna start to integrate what's called a PNF stretch or a contract-relax stretch. Very simple, and you can implement this into any joint or connective tissue muscle throughout your whole entire body. So what you're gonna do, Anna, is you're going to kick your foot against the couch for five seconds with about 25% pressure. So 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, and then, on an exhalation, relax and go a little bit deeper into the stretch. Something that can be supportive as well is to throw a pillow underneath your knee here, we have a pretty, comfy, soft rug here, but in general, that would apply support, especially if you're on hardwood. We're gonna do this two more times, so kick, kick, kick, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, and then exhalation. (instructor exhaling) Get a little deeper into the stretch. Last time beautiful model Anna. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. (instructor exhaling) A little bit deeper into the stretch. So you can implement that contract-relax or PNF stretch, pretty much same thing, into any joint throughout the body, any place you're feeling, tension, stress, things of that sort, you can play with this little contract for about five seconds, 25% pressure, and then on an exhalation, relax, and more details like that are in "The Align Method" book, so you can get deeper into this concept. And that is it, I hope this helps your hips.