Live Well: Use yoga to ease travelers' aches

Yoga is great for the globetrotters, the explorers and even the daytrippers, who endure long flights and car rides with nary a stretch or a wiggle. To combat aches and pains, employ these simple postures and movements:

Cat/cow
Usually this is done on all fours, in a tabletop position. But we can do it seated. Place your hands on your thighs, inhale and press your chest out, creating a prominent low-back curve, and look up toward the sky. Exhale and round your back, pull your belly button in toward your spine and send your gaze down toward your legs. Repeat. This feels delicious and will help stretch the spine.

Figure four
This will open up your hips. Seated, place the right foot on top of the left thigh. Keep that foot flexed. Gently press down on the right knee for the stretch. Sit tall with a long spine.

Forward fold
We did this from a standing position several weeks ago, but you can try it seated as well. It helps elongate the spine and stretches the hamstrings. Tight hamstrings can contribute to low-back pain.
Stretch your legs out in front of you, as far as they’ll go, and extend your arms up overhead. As you inhale, imagine growing even taller, lengthening through the sides of your body, and on the exhale, melting forward toward your legs and reaching your hands toward your feet. Keep your feet flexed and bend your knees a little to make it more comfortable.

Knee to forehead
From seated, bend your right knee and pull it in toward you. Tuck your chin toward your chest and round the spine, trying to bring your knee to your forehead. Hold here for a few breaths. If you were lying on your back, this would be wind relieving posture. Enough said, right? This can help any travel-induced digestive issues, as well as stretch your back.

Cowface arms
Cowface (gomukhasana) stretches out the shoulders and chest. It’s good for long trips where you stay constantly hunched over in your chair. The full pose includes the legs, but we’ll stick to the upper body here. Extend your right arm straight up to the sky and bend at the elbow so the fingers are pointing down toward your back. Bring your left arm behind you, bend the elbow and try to hold your own hand. Repeat on the other side. If your shoulders are tight and your hands don’t reach, use a prop. Grab a T-shirt or something similar to help out. Dangle it from your right hand and grab the bottom of it with your left hand. Once again, sit up tall with your shoulders back and down away from your ears.

Simple neck stretches
Drop your right ear toward your right shoulder and hold. Drop it to the other ear. Then drop your chin toward your chest and hold.

Twist
Sit tall in your chair and, keeping both hips facing forward, take a gentle twist to the right. Inhale and lengthen your spine, exhale and twist a smidge more if it feels OK. Hold for 3-5 breaths.

Side body stretch
Use the armrest if you have one. Lean on it with your right arm and stretch the left arm way up overhead and over toward the right. Keep your shoulders down, away from the ears. Look up under the left armpit if your neck feels OK with that.
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Jennifer Mulson teaches vinyasa yoga at Corepower Yoga and Gold’s Gym in Colorado Springs. Read more Live Well columns and watch yoga videos at gazette.com.