Do you suffer from a sore neck or back when driving? Check out Car Yoga: 5 yoga poses to help stretch and prevent stiffness on long journeys this summer. Car rental experts Sixt, have teamed up with yoga experts to offer their expert advice on how to look after your body on road trips and stay comfortable. Practise these simple poses before embarking on your next car journey as well as when you are behind the wheel.
Car Yoga: 5 Yoga Poses
1 Forward fold
This is perfect for outside of the car or when stopping at the service station. A forward fold is good for calming the mind and deeply stretching and lengthening the hamstrings and calves.
Stand tall, then exhale as you bend forward at the hips, lengthening the front of your torso. Bend your elbows and hold on to each elbow with the opposite hand. Let the crown of your head hang down. Keep a slight bend in your knees. Breathe and stay here for a few moments. To release, place your hands on your hips. Draw down through your tailbone and keep your back flat as you inhale and return to stand.
Take your time to unravel, starting with your tailbone, then your lower back, mid-back, upper back and neck. When you get to the top, take a few slow rolls of your shoulders up, back, down and round.
2 Neck rolls
This is beneficial for passengers and the driver. Neck rolls relieve tightness and soreness in the neck.
Brace your core and pull your shoulders down and back. Tip your head gently to the right side, lowering your ear toward your right shoulder. Hold the stretch there. Roll your head gently forward, dropping your chin toward your chest. Hold. Then finish with the left side. Repeat an equal number on both sides.
3 Modified seated cat and cow
This pose releases tension of the neck, spine, shoulders and back. It’s a modified seated cat and cow which works.
Inhale deeply while curving your lower back and bringing your head up, tilting your pelvis up like a “cow.” Exhale deeply and bring your abdomen in, arching your spine and bringing your head and pelvis down like a “cat.” Repeat several times.
4 Eagle pose arms
As a passenger, this stretch is good for targeting the upper back.
Reach both arms out in front of you and wrap your left arm over your right, crossing the left elbow over the right upper arm. Place the back of hands or palms together. If this is too much for you, give yourself a hug, hands to shoulders.
5 Wrist rotations
Specifically for wrists, try gentle rotations in small circles in both directions. Also try a supported stretch – use one hand to gently bend back the palm of your other hand until you feel the stretch in your wrist. Repeat on both sides.
Car Yoga: 5 poses is an ideal companion for your journey, keeping you healthy, alert and flexible. The search for “car yoga” in the has increased with the rise of staycations.
Source: Yoga teachers, Eloise Skinner and Daisy Proctor
