[gentle music]
- Hi there, I'm Cassy.
And this is Quick Fit , your key to living better, longer
with gentle and effective exercises.
If you've been standing in place for a while,
you can tell you need to change it up.
That's because your body wants to move.
So take a quick stretch break with me to feel refreshed
and get back to doing whatever it is you need to do.
Let's begin with your hands on your hips.
Take a nice, wide stance and just start easing the tension
in that low back and spine from all those hours of standing.
[exhales]
Come out of it with a nice inhale, exhale,
deepening into it with every repetition. [exhales]
Another one, inhale, [inhales]
Exhale, we have soft knees, a rounded back,
shifting your hips one way and then the other,
inhaling, deepening it by adding a shoulder.
Switching hips, switching shoulders.
Inhale, over a little more, [exhales]
crossing, pulling on the back of one thigh.
Breathing in, [inhales]
letting it go as you switch sides. [exhales]
Getting a little deeper every time you switch sides.
Breathe it in, exhale. [exhales]
Reaching down towards those ankles now.
Feeling that stretch all the way down into your hips.
Shoulders to hips are feeling better. [exhales]
Come on up halfway,
let's pull on the back of both your legs.
Let that head relax.
Let those elbows fall forward
with a gentle pull on the back of your legs.
[inhales and exhales]
Then we'll round up.
Nice.
Let's start shifting your hips left and right.
And then you'll get a little wider, start adding those knees.
Feeling the inside of your thighs start to stretch.
All right, big inhale, exhale as you're switching sides.
Don't forget, widen those legs as you're warming up,
loosening up, lengthening.
Real good.
Big inhale, exhale,
let's start twisting more through the torso.
[exhales]
Make sure you're seated well back
and you're bending the knees.
Leaning over through the torso.
One more. [exhales]
Add an arm. [exhales]
Enjoying it, don't rush. [exhales]
Very good.
All right, let's pull the feet in a little closer
and we'll do another tuck. [inhales and exhales]
All right, then pull those hips back and go down into a squat.
All right, maybe only partway the first time.
Tuck easy, and exhale. [exhales]
Loosening up those knees that have been standing in place,
stiff, maybe locked.
All right, now we'll rise into a hydrant, very good.
Let's go back down. [exhale]
One more time, rise into a hydrant, opening up that hip.
Hang onto that ankle, and now let's stir it.
[inhales]
Okay. [exhales]
Now, squeeze your bottom and press that knee down
at the same time.
And you'll feel it all the way down towards your knee.
Cross that ankle over your knee for a nice figure four.
As you sit up tall, let's press that knee down,
squeeze your hind end, opening up this hip flexor.
Let's sit it back, [exhales]
press it down.
Good, let's do that all on the other side.
If you have a chair handy to hang on to,
it'll just make it easier.
All right, we'll tuck, down partway, up, [inhales]
down deeper, [exhales]
up into a hydrant.
Let's do that again.
See, my hip pops as we loosen it up.
[exhales]
All right, enjoy this, hang onto that ankle.
[inhales] And you'll squeeze your bottom,
[exhales] press that knee down
at the same time.
At first, doing those things together at the same time
sounds confusing, but you'll get better at it.
And press, very good.
Cross the ankle over your knee, inhale,
and push those hips forward, opening, [exhales]
using your leg muscles to press that knee down,
sit it back, and push the knee down.
Maybe you want to go through that again.
No need to rush.
Press, [inhales] and push it down.
Let's work into some feet looseners.
Now if you have the opportunity, just kick your shoes off.
If not, just do your best.
All right, so we're stretching the toes out,
working the arch of the foot.
Now let's lift the front of the feet.
Lift the heels.
Lift the front of the feet, lift the heels.
All right, flat feet, and now just sit it back,
let your knees bend.
Find the stretching point for your calves.
[inhales]
Let's go up again. [exhales]
Sit it down, enjoy the calf stretch.
And as we finish up here, let's just take a nice, deep inhale,
lengthening through the spine as long as you can,
relieving the compression, [inhales]
opening the ribs, [exhales]
all right.
And let's finish up with a few twists.
[exhales] Don't forget to breathe.
So we'll inhale, [inhales] and then you exhale, [exhales]
and you get a little longer, deeper move.
Inhale. [inhales and exhales]
All right, now doesn't that feel wonderful?
[exhales]
Repeat these moves as often as you need,
and for more great stretches,
visit pbswisconsin.org/quickfit so you can live better, longer,
no matter what life requires of you.
And I'll see you next time.