Road Trippin’ Part 2: Yoga Poses For the Car

As we talked in Road Trippin’ Part 1, sometimes your weekend adventures include long car rides to get you to that trailhead, paddle or ride. Instead of walking around all creaky and stiff, try this short yoga sequence to relieve all that driving stress.

In this sequence, we’ll focus on yoga poses for the car that target the hips and the shoulders. Sitting for long hours will tighten your hips and can add to a stiff lower back. I also always find that I need some shoulder and chest opening poses to counter slumping forward when I’m tired in the car.

You can hold each of these poses in this sequence for 10-20 breaths or you can incorporate them into a flowing practice by holding these poses longer when you are doing simple sun salutations.

1. Downward Facing Dog

First bend both knees and reach your belly towards your hips to flatten out your spine. Then bend and straighten one leg at a time to stretch each calf-this is especially nice to do if you drive standard.

2. Kneeling Lunge with shoulder opening variation.

If the shoulders are tight here, you can use a strap or belt instead of interlacing fingers. Also be sure to engage the abdominals to take any crunching out of the low back as you backbend slightly here.

3. Ankle to knee- Chair pose variation.

After driving, I love anything that targets my outer hips, this will help to free up the low back. Skip this one of the knee bothers you, other wise keep the foot flexed in order to protect the knee.

4. Locust pose with shoulder variation

Again we are opening the chest and shoulders, this one also stretghens the back muscles and core, so it’s great for a sore back. As with all back bends make sure to use the core muscles. Imagine you are pulling your belly button off the mat, and drop your tail bone towards your hamstrings.

5. Ankle to knee pose

One more stretch for the hip and low back. This one is a nice variation to take instead of pigeon pose if that bothers your knees. Bring your ankle to knee and clasp the hands behind your other knee as you hug it towards the chest. Rocking, swaying and sighing can feel great here, so enjoy!