How to Get Flexible - The Guided Stretch Routine

By Yoga With Tim

Yoga Teacher at YogaWorks Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, and Laguna Beach.

How to Get Flexible - The Guided Stretch Routine

Source: YouTube
Jan 05, 2023
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2,787 Likes

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About This Class

I recommend repeating one of the first 4 classes today and then practicing this sequence right after if you have time. Day 2 is 25 minutes, which would put you at a 35 min session.

In General, our yoga practice, of warming up and then linking together poses that are held for 30-45 seconds is a great way to improve our health, range of motion, strength and overall movement quality.

But the big gains in flexibility come from the long holds at the end of class.

On my subscription service, the Conscious Movement Community (CMC), I post classes that are 1 hour long in addition to the various courses I have to help improve your practice.

My CMC students all agree that the big gains in their practice have come from following the CMC course (30-45 min classes) after the challenge and eventually working in 1 hour classes which are updated weekly, a few days a week into their routine.

In these 1 hour classes, we have all the time we need to get a full practice with the deep stretches.

But in a 30 min class, there simply isn't enough time to get it all.

That's why I created the Stretch Routine.

At the start of the challenge, I shared on Instagram how I started adding a focused stretch routine to my yoga practice with poses that I struggled with and knew I needed to improve.

Practicing targeted stretches like this (for a long hold of 90 seconds, or doing sets of 30 seconds 3 x) is the best way to increase your flexibility gains.

If your goal is to become more flexible this is the fastest way to do it.

And the good news is you don't need to do it daily. Add the stretches that you struggle with in this routine just 3x a week to the end of your yoga practice.

It should take around 10min.

Studies show that 3x a week will illicit significant gains, and going over that can give you a bit of an edge, but it is not required.

Tim

Meet Your Teacher

Yoga With Tim

Yoga Teacher at YogaWorks Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, and Laguna Beach.

I believe yoga can change your life...Growing up I was overweight, lacked self confidence and had an overall negative self image. I felt awkward and uncomfortable in my own skin, and my general disposition was removed and depressed. Physically, I was in pain in my upper back neck and shoulders from the years of poor posture caused by my attitude toward life. When I started exercising on my own, I didn’t understand what a full picture of health looked like and was still disconnected from my body. I was in my first year of college, and had become addicted to drugs and alcohol in an attempt to deal with the overwhelming feelings I was struggling with.

I desperately wanted to change it, but had no idea how.

I attended a lecture given by a true health enthusiast as a requirement for my Psychology class. You might not remember this ad campaign, but he was the guy from the Chiquita banana commercials that’s jumping hurdles.

He stressed the importance of stretching and going upside down on a daily basis,

something that wasn’t a part of my routine. The man was 80 years old and radiated health … he could still jump hurdles and run a 6-minute mile. He had students from the class come punch him in the abs while he was flexing to demonstrate how strong he was. Needless to say, it was entertaining yet also inspiring.

One morning on the way to class I saw a flyer for a yoga class. I figured if I went, they would make me stretch and go upside down. Plus, I was living a toxic lifestyle and rationalized that yoga could be a means to a healthier life. I’m not going to lie, I struggled with the shapes and was sweating profusely trying to keep up. But something unusual happened at the end of the class.

My head got quiet. And I felt calm and peaceful.

It didn’t last long, but I got a little glimpse of what I was looking for. I continued to stick with it, and pretty soon I started feeling more connected to my body. I noticed that when I participated in drinking or getting high, I didn’t feel the same connection and relief that I felt at the end of that first yoga class. Pretty soon I was practicing yoga every day, so there was no more time to eat junk or or stay out late drinking as I knew I wouldn’t like how I felt the next morning on the mat.

Yoga slowly changed my life, one day at a time.

I changed who I would hang out with, I started making healthier decisions, and built a community of like-minded friends who were supportive.

I knew from my experience on my mat, that a challenge was an opportunity for growth.

I could struggle with something in my yoga practice, but If I kept working on it, soon I would develop style and grace, or I would gain a whole new perspective.

I kinda fell into teaching yoga. I was in my third year at San Diego State University, living in Ocean Beach. Some friends encouraged me to start teaching yoga classes to pay my rent for the summer instead of returning home like I was planning. I taught my few guinea pig friends, and posted flyers all over town that a friend made that looked super legit.

A studio owner saw my flyers and asked me to come in for an audition. Soon, I was subbing classes and teaching a Saturday morning yoga class, which I really had no business doing. In fact, I remember one Saturday morning a student asked me how to do Half Moon Pose, and all I could say was, “just watch me.” I knew deep down that I had to commit to change the way I was living and pursue studying with a master yoga teacher.

After graduating San Diego State University, I started training with Megan Bello from Orange County Yoga Studio. Soon after, I began an apprenticeship with Anna Delury while regularly taking workshops with Manouso Manos. The opportunity to study with such knowledgeable Iyengar teachers was priceless and eye-opening. The Iyengar method made sense to me; it was concrete, focused and effective.

It wasn’t until I was introduced to Vinnie Marino’s class that I realized I could take ideas from my Iyengar foundation and blend my own style of Vinyasa Flow.

I truly enjoy practicing at home, in fact it was one of the many reasons I started my YouTube channel. But when I have the opportunity, my favorite teachers to study with are Paul Cabanis,Vinnie Marino, Megan Bello, Anna Delury and Manouso Manos.

My YouTube channel, Movement With Tim, was important, because it gave me a way to share yoga and other important exercises with people for free, and give a variety of practices for all types of people.