Shadowing Practice: How To Develop CRAZY Monk Flexibility - Learn English Speaking with Video
Les maken...
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I have to be honest with you, I hate stretching.
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I find it boring and incredibly sore.
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Last year I promised myself I would stretch every day to become more flexible, and did I get any more flexible?
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No. No, I did not.
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So I gave up.
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But I know how important stretching is, and I am not a quitter.
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So, this year I am making the same promise to myself, and I am taking you along with me.
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I'm making this video not just for myself, but for all you girlies who also secretly hate stretching.
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So, let's channel our inner Shaolin monks minus the 40 years of daily rigorous practice, because I don't have that kind of commitment, and I doubt you do either.
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I am going to give you 12 beginner -friendly stretches that will help your flexibility, and by the end of the month, you might just about be able to put your foot above your head.
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Okay, maybe not quite, but we can at least aim to touch our toes.
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And don't worry, I won't make you do whatever this is.
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Let's get into it.
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Being flexible is not a personality trait for yoga girls with expensive water bottles.
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Your muscles are attached to your joints, and when those muscles are tight, they pull everything slightly out of position all day long.
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That's the stiff neck, that's the lower back that complains when you tie your shoes.
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That's the reason you bent down to pick up a $10 bill you found on the ground
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and just remained there for the foreseeable.
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Tight muscles also make you more likely to strain something, because a tense muscle is basically a short muscle, and a short muscle does not like being asked to move suddenly.
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So for our day to day, stretching is good for you.
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You know it's good for you.
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Which brings us neatly to the real question, which is why on earth none of us actually do it?
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We don't stretch because it's boring.
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We don't stretch because it doesn't give us anything back immediately.
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We don't stretch because we sit down for roughly 9 hours a day, which quietly shortens the muscles at the front of your hips until standing up straight becomes a genuine effort.
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And we don't stretch, because the first time we tried it, we reached for our toes, got about as far as our shins,
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felt personally insulted by our own hamstrings, and never went back.
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If any of that landed with you, you're in the right place.
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Before we get into the exercises, let's talk about what it seems like some people are born with freaky mobility
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and you pull a muscle by just thinking about it.
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Some of it, annoyingly, is genetics.
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Your connective tissue, the tendons and ligaments holding you together, is made mostly of two proteins.
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Collagen, which is strong but doesn't stretch much, and elastin, which does the stretching.
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Some people are simply born with more elastin in the mix, and their joints move further with less protest.
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There's even a specific gene linked to a bigger range of motion in the hips.
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The shape of your actual joints matters too do.
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Some hip sockets are just built shallower, which allows more movement.
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That's not something you can stretch your way out of, which is probably why for many of us, we will never be able to do the splits.
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Ok, here's your beginner routine.
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Full body, with modifications if you need them.
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Exercise 1.
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The Hamstring Stretch We're starting with the hamstrings, because they are the single most common reason people can't touch their toes,
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and quietly, the muscle everyone underestimates.
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Stand up, feet about, hip width apart.
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Keep your back straight and slowly bend your body forward from the hips, not from the waist, from the hips.
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Let your hands travel down toward the floor and go as far as feels okay.
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If you can touch your toes, congratulations!
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You're already miles ahead of me and frankly showing off.
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If you get to your shins and stop, that's completely normal and it's exactly where most beginners start.
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To make it slightly easier, keep a soft bend in your knees if the back of your legs is screaming.
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And I won't lie to you, this one is going to feel sore.
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That pull down the back of your thighs is the hamstrings finally being asked to do something they've avoided for years.
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Hold it, breathe, and let them slowly give in.
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Exercise 2, Downward Dog.
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From that forward fold, plant your hands on the floor
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and step your feet back into a downward dog so your body makes an upside down V.
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Once you're there, gently rock your feet from side to side, pedaling your heels toward the floor one at a time.
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If it's too sore, walk your feet further back and don't worry about the heels touching down, you can build up to that.
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For the deep version, work toward pressing both heels completely flat on the floor and feel your hamstrings literally burn.
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Exercise 3, Cobra.
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From your downward dog, lower your hips and transition into a cobra.
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Lie on your front, hands under your shoulders, and gently press your chest up off the floor.
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After all that folding forward, this one bends you the other way.
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It's great for opening up the chest, the abs, and the front of your hips, all the bits that get short and tight from sitting hunched over a desk all day.
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It also gives your lower back a lovely stretch in the opposite direction to everything we've just done.
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The key here is your gaze.
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Keep it straight ahead, not down at the floor.
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The second you drop your chin, your neck collapses and the whole stretch loses its point.
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Keep your chest proud and eyes forward.
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And if you want more, you can slowly twist your upper body from side to side, looking over each shoulder in turn to really deepen it through the ribs and waist.
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Exercise 4.
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Pee in the woods.
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I don't think this is what the Buddhist monks call it, but I've named this one pee in the woods because it sounds more fun This might feel strange at first, but it will do wonders for your hips,
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so stay with me Sit straight down into a deep squat.
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Keep your feet flat, push your knees out over your toes and drop your hips as low as they'll go
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Exactly like you're taking a pee in the woods and trying very hard not to touch any of the mushy leaves
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This exercise is brilliant because it opens your hips, ankles, and lower back all at once Fun fact, this is how humans are meant to rest.
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Something which we totally forgot how to do as soon as chairs came along.
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If your heels lift off the floor or you feel like you're about to topple backward, that's completely normal.
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Hold onto something in front of you, or pop a rolled towel under your heels.
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To go deeper, bring your palms together at your chest and use your elbows to gently press your knees wider.
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Sit here and breathe.
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Exercise 5.
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High Lunge Right Side.
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Come into a lunge, right foot flat in front, left knee hovering off the floor behind you.
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Now gently push your hips forward until you feel a stretch across the front of your left hip and thigh.
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This is the muscle that spends all day shortened while you sit, so it may complain loudly.
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Keep your chest tall and your front knee stacked over your ankle, not drifting past your toes.
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If this is too hard, drop your knee down into a low lunge instead.
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Exercise 6.
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Sitting Leg Stretch Right Side.
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From your lunge, transition to a sitting down position.
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Tuck your left foot in toward your inner thigh so that leg folds out to the side, and stretch your right leg straight out in front of you.
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Now keeping your back long, reach forward over the straight leg toward your toes.
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This one targets the hamstring and lower back on the extended side, and it's a gentler, more controlled version of the toe touch from earlier.
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To make it easier, loop a towel or resistance band around the sole of your foot and hold both ends.
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Let the towel do the reaching so you don't round your back.
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If you're up for a challenge, reach past the foot and gently draw your chest down toward your thigh.
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For exercises 7 and 8, repeat the previous two but on the left side.
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Exercise 9.
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Lying Leg Stretch Right Side.
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Lie flat on your back.
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Keep your left leg down along the floor and lift your right leg straight up toward the ceiling.
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Take hold of it wherever you comfortably can and gently draw it in toward your chest.
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To make it work harder, flex your foot back and forth, pointing and pulling the toes so the stretch travels all the way down into the calf.
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To make it easier, keep a soft bend in the lifted knee and hold behind the thigh.
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If that's too easy, loop a band around the sole of your lifted foot, hold the ends, and gently draw the leg closer.
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The band lets you get far deeper.
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And trust me, this one hurts.
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Exercise 10 is the same as 9, but lift your left leg instead.
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exercise 11 seated wide forward bend sit down
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and open your legs out wide to either side as far
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as they'll comfortably go keeping them straight with your toes pointing
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up sit up tall first then keeping your back long hinge from the hips
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and walk your hands forward along the floor between your legs
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folding your chest down as far as it'll go the wide
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angle means you feel this one through the inner thighs and hamstrings at the same time if this is Too intense?
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Bring your legs a little closer together and only fold as far as your hands reach.
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If you want to challenge yourself, try to place your elbows down on the floor in front of you.
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And tell me in the comments below if you can do this.
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I have never been able to do it.
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Exercise 12, Butterfly Sit.
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Sit down and bring the soles of your feet together, letting your knees drop out to the sides so your legs make a diamond shape.
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Hold your feet, sit up tall, and then gently lean your chest forward over them.
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This is the big one for opening the hips and inner thighs.
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Slide your feet further away from your body if this is too painful.
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The further out they are, the milder it is.
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To make this challenging, bring your heels in closer toward you and use your elbows to gently press your knees down toward the floor.
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If you want to go one step further, try and place your elbows on the floor in front of you.
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Before we end, I have a bonus exercise.
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I want you to stand up and do the hamstring stretch we did at the very start.
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Can you go a little lower than you could 10 minutes ago?
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Most people can, even on day one, because you've spent this whole session teaching your nervous system to relax and let you move.
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That small extra inch is the entire point.
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It's proof this works.
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So that's your routine.
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12 exercises, 30 seconds each which comes to a grand total of six minutes out of your entire day.
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I've done the math so you can't argue with it.
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There are no excuses left, and believe me, I looked for some.
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Do this at least three to four times a week, because consistency is the only thing that actually works.
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Remember, the real changes don't kick in until you've been at it for a few weeks, so the girlies who stick with it are the ones who'll be folding in half by next month.
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And if you want to become genuinely unstoppable, pair this with my isometric holds video.
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Do both, stay consistent, and I promise you'll be a different person by day 30.
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Now go channel your inner monk, I'll see you on the floor.
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