Yin Yoga for Leg Day

Yin Yoga for Leg Day is a longer (for me) Yin Yoga practice from Yoga Ranger that stretches out the quads, hamstrings, inner thighs, hips and IT bands. It is 19:30 minutes long and, so far, the longest Yin Yoga practice I have done. I have really been tearing my lower body up with the workouts I’ve done the past week so I felt an intense leg stretch was needed. This worked perfectly. The longest you hold any pose is 2:30 minutes and she hits every muscle group in the lower body. Pose #5, Aprille calls Dragonfly pose, but when I looked up it was actually a straddle stretch. Dragonfly pose was something quite elaborate that I cannot imagine holding for 2:30 minutes–if I could even do the pose in the first place! But regardless of what she called it, it stretched me out nicely. The next Yin Yoga practice of Aprille’s I plan to try will be a 30 minute upper body practice.

Yin Yoga for Leg Day is 19:30 minutes. Equipment: yoga block and rolled up blanket or beach towel.

1. Deer pose, sitting partially on rolled up blanket, hold for 2 minutes
2. Butterfly pose, “waving knees” (transitional pose)
3. Repeat #1 on other side of body for 1:30 minutes
4. Repeat #2
5. Straddle stretch (she calls it Dragonfly pose): sit on bottom, open legs wide in a V and walk hands forward between thighs, leaning torso forward, hold for 2:30 minutes
6. Place both feet flat on ground, knees bent and rock knees side to side (transitional pose)
7. Kneel with feet/calves on outside of thighs and walk hands out behind you, leaning torso back, tops of feet are on floor (you can sit on yoga block if you need to–I needed to), hold this pose for 1:30 minutes
8. Sit on bottom with legs extended straight in front of you and wiggle feet side to side and circle ankles (transitional pose)
9. Caterpillar pose for 1:30 minutes (Aprille is sitting on rolled up blanket)
10. Lay on back, knees bent and feet on floor, rock knees side to side (transitional pose)
11. Twisted root pose for 2:20 minutes
12. Repeat #10
13. Repeat #11 on other side of body for 2:30 minutes
14. Repeat #10
15. Still laying on back, knees bent and pressed together, feet on floor, lay still, taking deep breaths for one minute
16. Bring knees into chest, rock them side to side
17. Sit cross-legged, take a deep breath, raising arms overhead and ending with hands in prayer

For more info on Yoga Ranger and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.