18 Minute Relaxing Sleep Flexibility Routine is a very deep stretching session from Tom Merrick. This may be relaxing for Tom but it was not relaxing for me. Most of the stretches were so deep that they were uncomfortable. And one I did not feel like he intended. #5 below is apparently a glute/hip stretch. It was just uncomfortable for me. I did not feel it stretching the targeted area. If I were ever to do this routine again I would substitute with a figure 4 stretch. Otherwise, this session did stretch me very deeply and also gave me some mobility work, especially for my shoulders. But will it relax you before bed…? I guess it all depends on your level of flexibility and mobility. I am not nearly as flexible or mobile as Tom, so it did not relax me. However, I will say that one of the stretches did feel good (#7 below) and the final stretch was relaxing. So at least he ended the session on a relaxing note.
18 Minute Relaxing Sleep Flexibility Routine is 19:54 minutes. Equipment: yoga block, bolster and fitness mat. There is a timer in the upper right hand corner of the screen counting down the stretch intervals. The stretches will all be held for different periods of time and if it is a dynamic stretch, there is no timer.
- Kneel or sit on mat, look down angling chin toward one arm pit, place opposite side hand behind head with thumb behind ear and elbow raised and open to side (hand is in “L” shape when placing it behind head)
- Still sitting or kneeling, tilt head to side, leaning body and placing hand on mat beside you to deepen the stretch, other arm reaches away
- Repeat #1 & 2 on other side of body
- Lay on side, knees bent in front of you at 90 degrees, head rests on yoga block and bottom arm is extended straight in front of you on mat, other arm is also extended with palms together, slide top arm out further, keeping fingertips on mat, slowly draw arm up and overhead and hold, taking a deep breath then continue slowly drawing the circle to other side of body so arms are now in a T, hold briefly then reverse the motion, drawing arm overhead and back to start; repeat this 2 more times then do the entire sequence on other side of body
- Lay on back with both knees bent and feet on mat, step one foot to side so it is outside of mat, cross other calf over thigh and pull knee into chest
- Sit on mat with knees bent and feet on mat, wrap arms under thighs so hands are cupping opposite elbows, slowly straighten legs, pausing and holding at increments
- Frog stretch (kneel on mat with knees wide and toes together, forearms on mat in front of you, push glutes back toward heels then rock hips forward, repeat this slow rocking back and forth 4 more times–the rocking is coordinated with inhales and exhales)
- Sit on mat with one leg extended straight and other leg bent and bringing heel beside glute, lean torso back and hold (he gives the option of placing the yoga block under your foot to relieve any pressure)
- Reclining butterfly with glutes on mat, back on bolster and arms extended to sides in a T
For more info on Tom Merrick and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.
