Muscle and joint pain can hinder daily life. You can reduce stress, enhance flexibility, and lessen discomfort by doing specific exercises. Six excellent stiffness and pain-relieving exercises:
1. Neck Rolls
Start by sitting or standing tall with relaxed shoulders. Slowly lower your chin to your chest and gently turn your head to one side, bringing your ear near your shoulder. Roll to the other side after a few seconds. Repeat both ways to relax the neck and upper back.
2. Cat-Cow Stretch
Start on hands and knees at a table. Cow Pose—arch your back and lift your head and tailbone to the ceiling—inhale. Exhale and round your back, tucking your tailbone and chin to your chest (Cat Pose). Switch between poses to stretch and mobilize the spine.
3. Seated Forward Bend
Place your legs in front of you on the floor. Inhale to lengthen your spine, then exhale to bend at the hips and fold forward to reach your feet or shins. Hold the stretch for several breaths, feeling a slight leg and lower back stretch. This stretch relieves hamstring and lower back stress.
4. Child's Pose
Sit on your heels and kneel. Lower your chest to the floor and rest your forehead on the mat (or cushion). Hold the pose and breathe deeply to relax the back, shoulders, and hips.
5. Hip Flexor Stretch
Make a 90-degree angle with your front leg by kneeling on one knee and placing your other foot flat on the floor. Stretch the front of your hip and thigh on the kneeling leg by engaging your core and slowly shifting your weight forward. Keep stretching, then swap sides to evenly stretch both hip flexors.
6. Standing Calf Stretch
Stand with one foot forward and one back, flat on the floor, facing a wall. Lean forward, brace your hands on the wall, and bend your front knee while straightening your rear leg. Feel the back leg calf stretch. Stretch both calves by holding and switching legs.