This is a variation of Downward Dog that I had never seen before that stretches the side of the torso, the hips and the hamstrings all at once.
I picked it up at a yoga class I went to with my wife.
And I always love to learn new things.
A while back I posted the Downward Dog Dynamics video from 7 Minute Flexibility.
Most people think of stretching being done in its static form, that is getting into a position and holding it. That’s one form of stretching.
There’s also isometric stretching, which looks much the same but functions quite differently.
And then there is dynamic stretching. This is training flexibility through movement rather that singular positions.
A simple form of this is “bouncing”. A more complex form is what I like to call flow stretching.
While the following variation can be done in any form, I focus on doing it within the latter.
From the downward dog position, you rotate so that instead of your feet flat on the ground, you come to lay the side of the foot down, with the feet stacked together.
This will of course then be done to the opposite side as well.
As I mentioned above this can focus the stretch onto the hips and side of the torso, as well as the hamstrings and other areas that are normally worked in Downward Dog.
Of course, then in the flow I realized that a Hindu pushup or dive bomber pushup can be done from here too. There’s an interesting feeling across the body!
Take this tip and give it a try.
Check out 7 Minute Flexibility here for how this is one of 14 stretches (with many variations) that work across the whole body.