Hello everyone, this is Tutu Mora with the Y bringing you tools to feel
well in your body, mind and spirit. So, today we're going through part two of
our IT band stretch series. And for the majority you
won't need any props and I'm going to include an optional
foam roller stretch at the end. So, if you do
have a foam roller then that'll be for you. If you don't,
I have not yet thought of a home product that will substitute for it,
so the first portion of this video is what you can use to relieve your
symptoms. So, all you're going to need is a chair.
And I would invite you to put your chair on a yoga mat so that it is a firm
non-skid surface. I would also recommend you choose a chair without wheels
just so it does give you that security, even more so if you can push it up
against a wall. It never hurts to really make sure that, that chair
isn't going anywhere. So, what i'm going to do is - I'm just
going to tilt my screen down - we're going to be using this chair right here.
And so, the height may be a little bit different, but that's
that's okay. So, once you've set up your chair
here, we're going to step back out. If you've got long legs, like I do,
you're going to want to step back out even more than you may think.
And you're going to want to have your feet - I'm stepping a little closer so you
can see them - you're going to want to have your feet
parallel. And so, it can be really easy to kind of turn
your foot out through this exercise, but as you're able and you might not be able
to keep it completely parallel, but see if you can
just invite in that little extra awareness.
So, we're going to start here on the left side
so, stabilizing through the right. You're going to find your right foot,
as parallel as possible, and you're going to bring your left foot
to the chair. So, the first part of this, you can put your hands on your hips,
because your hips are going to want to be square,
facing the wall in front of you. And so, it's going to be very easy for you to
want to sort of turn your hips a little bit
to accommodate this stretch, but see if you can really
allow yourself to have that square pelvis here. Even if it means
that you know your leg turns out a little bit this way,
see if you can find that square pelvis. And so, the first thing we're going to do
is just take a gentle little lunge forward.
Allowing that hip flexor on the stabilizing side to get a little stretch.
So, finding that nice lunge and breathing into that.
And then we're going to bring that leg straight.
Point through the toe here. Keeping those hips square,
we're going to hinge at the hip. I want you to feel like you're filling
out the tops of your back pants pockets as you hinge at the hip and breathe into
this space. So, breathe into that back pants pocket
space. Breathe into that low back. And then we're going to, again, take this
forward into our little lunge.
Breathing into that before then taking it, once again,
back, hinging at the hip.
Breathing to fill out this space. So, you're hinging as if you're just filling
out those back pants pockets.
One more time, we're going to hinge forward. This time as we do, we're going
to bring those arms straight up in the air, find a little
reach through the back of the armpit. Bringing those arms straight up, deepen
that stretch, almost like your arms were going to come
overhead and a little bit behind you. And then, we're going to take that
forward, again hinging at the hip, this time reaching forward with those
fingertips as you hinge reaching through the crown
of your head. And then bringing yourself all the way
back up. And so, finding yourself on both your
feet, take a couple steps around the room feeling into how it feels on both sides
and it should feel a little bit off balance, but we're going to balance
you out - but just, it's good to feel into the difference
after that kind of stretch. So, now our left side is going to be the
stabilizing side. And we're going to bring our right foot
to the chair. Hips square towards the wall in front of you.
If you're able, invite that parallel foot into it, but that can be pretty tricky so
see if you can just find a balance. And then we're going to take that little
lunge forward. Reaching through that hip flexor.
Breathing into that.
And then, taking it back, pointing that toe,
hinging at the hip, as you fill out those back pants pockets. Now on
the side that you're experiencing that discomfort, this is going to feel like
quite a stretch because this is where that discomfort can originate - in that
hip and throughout the outside line of the
leg. So, be gentle with the stretch, allow your breath to help you,
and then we'll take it forward again into that lunge.
And pointing the toe,
hinging at the hip, filling out that back pants pocket.
One last time. Coming into that lunge. This time the arms come up. Find that
little reach through the back of the armpit
as those arms float up towards the ceiling and then,
as if they're coming back behind you. And then
hinging at the hip, as you straighten out that leg. Point the toe.
And then reaching forward. Crown of the head reaches forward
getting a nice little spine stretch in there before you bring it all
the way back up. And then setting that foot back down on
the floor. So, now walking around should feel really
good and a lot looser through those hip spaces.
And so, it should feel like you've got a little bit more space
for movement, especially down that outside line of the leg.
So, now I'm going to show you that optional foam roller stretch here.
And so, I'll have you grab your foam roller and the mat.
And you're going to lay down on your side
with the foam roller underneath your legs. So,
you're going to have to support yourself with your upper body here and with your
heels. And your foam roller is just going to
start massaging that whole outside
line of the leg. So, it will feel a little awkward,
but it'll feel really good when you get up.
So, let's do a couple more here.
Alright so now, let's take that over to the other side.
So, finding yourself on top of the roller, supporting yourself
with your upper body here and we'll take that
little massage.
This is one you might need to return to
for a couple days as this space starts to loosen itself up and on
the affected side it might also just be a little bit tender.
And so, just feel into the amount of rolling that feels good for you.
And then once again, when you're done take a stand up
and walk around. And it should feel even looser, like you've got a little bit
more space and it's just a little bit comfortable to stand and walk around.
So, I hope you found this helpful and I'll see you back here next time on
the Y's YouTube channel. I hope you take care.