Bend your right leg and place your right foot flat on the ground. Your right foot should be next to your left knee. Keep your right foot pointing straight ahead. [2] X Research source Place your left arm behind you, with your palm flat on the ground. Try to get your arm directly behind you. [3] X Research source Stretch your right arm in front of you, just over your knee, with your palm facing up.
Use your right leg to help you push off the ground and kick your left leg up and over your body. Keep your left leg straight as you move it off the ground, and think about moving it directly over your body. [4] X Research source Don’t let your left leg or right arm sway to the sides. Keep them straight as you move into the bend. [5] X Research source
You will need to rotate your left arm 180 degrees to form a stable base for your bridge. You want both of your hands pointing in the same direction. [6] X Research source
Hold the split position for a second before moving your right leg to the ground behind you.
Shift your weight to your back leg and point your toes forward. Your toes should be bent to grip the mat.
Place your hands by your ears, palm down. Make sure your fingers are pointing towards your feet, and your elbows are pointing towards the ceiling. [8] X Research source Lift your back off the ground by pushing up with your hands and feet. Keep your hands and feet on the ground as you lift. Your goal is to lift your back completely off the ground while keeping your arms and legs straight. [9] X Research source
Arch your back backward and slowly move your arms closer to the floor. Look for the ground behind you. [11] X Research source Use your arms to feel for the ground so that you don’t hit your head when you land. When you feel the ground, firmly plant your hands to complete the backbend. [12] X Research source If you are having trouble performing a standing backbend, use a wall to help you. Stand facing away from the wall. As you start your backbend place your hands on the wall and walk yourself down to the ground. [13] X Research source
Make sure you have enough momentum to get your legs over your body, and onto the ground behind you. If you are having trouble kicking your legs over, try performing a bridge in front of a wall. Keep your feet next to the wall, and walk your feet up the wall before you push off. [15] X Research source You may find that you can’t quite kick your legs over your body the first few times that you attempt a kick-over. If you try to kick, but keep landing in the bridge position, that’s okay. Kick-overs are difficult, and it will take a lot of practice to complete one. [16] X Research source
Keep your arms close to your ears with your hands in the air. Keep your arms straight and tight. [18] X Research source Move into a standing backbend and let your extended leg move with your body. Keep your leg straight and don’t let it move from side to side. [19] X Research source As your hands touch the floor, let your extended leg go over your body. Your standing leg should follow until both feet are on the ground. Finish in a lunge position with your front foot pointing forward, and your back foot slightly turned out. [20] X Research source
To do the cobra, lay on your stomach and place your hands on the ground in front of your head. Keep your hands about shoulder width apart. Use your hands to press your upper body off the floor. Don’t let your hips or legs lift off the ground, and remember to keep your arms straight. Hold the stretch for several seconds, and then release. [22] X Research source To do the see-saw, lay on your stomach and stretch your arms back towards your feet. Bend your legs up and try to grab your ankles. When you can grab your ankles with your hands, lift both your upper and lower body off the ground. Your core should be the only thing touching the ground. Gently rock back and forth for several seconds, and then release the stretch. [23] X Research source
You can also stretch your hamstrings by doing a hamstring kneeling stretch. Get on your knees and place both hands on the ground in front of you. Extend one leg in front of you, placing it between your arms. Keep your other knee on the ground, bent at a 90-degree angle. Pull your toes back towards your body. Move your body forward until you feel the stretch in the back of your leg. Hold the stretch for up to a minute before releasing. Lie down on your back and extend one leg in the air. Make sure your hips are square and keep your other leg flat on the ground. Grab the calf of the extended leg and pull your leg towards your nose. When you feel tension, hold the stretch for about a minute. Do this stretch two times on each leg.
Keeping your body still, extend your forward pointed leg and raise it. Try to raise your leg at an even pace. When you have your leg extended fully in front of you, lower it back down to the ground. Repeat this movement 10 times. Do this exercise twice on each leg. Try a variation on leg raises by doing them from the bridge position. Get into a bridge position and then shift your body weight to your shoulders. Extend one leg forward and point your toes. Lift this leg into the air until it is over your shoulders. Lower the leg back down, keeping your toes pointed forward. Repeat this raise 3-5 times on each leg.
Flex your back and lower your shoulder towards the wall until you feel tension. Take one arm away from the wall and transfer your weight to the other arm. Hold this stretch up to 30 seconds and release. Stretch the other arm and then repeat.
Keep the elbow locked and hold the bridge position with one hand on the ground. Place the other hand down to fall into a full bridge position. Gently lower yourself down to the ground. Repeat this exercise 5 times.
