Modern Dance Straddle Stretch Variation

Video Transcript

"Hi, my name is Chell Garcia-Trias, and I'm a dance teacher in Austin Texas. And I'm going to show you a variation on a side straddle stretch. So first we're going to find our straddle position. I'm going to straighten my legs out in front of me. My knees are straight, my feet are flexed, toes are pointed at the ceiling. And I'm just going to gently open my legs to the sides, just where it's comfortable, so I'll go right there today. It's okay if your legs are in a little bit, or if they're out further, that's great. And what I'm going to do, is I'm going to find my sits bones pushing in the ground, and those are the bones that you can feel if you rock side to side, you should feel two little bones, one on each side, rocking in the ground. I'm going to square my shoulders off with my foot. So I'm going to turn, just my upper body. My sits bones are still pushing into the ground. And I really might have to push my left side down, if I'm reaching for my right. I'm going to make sure to push that left hip back, and my butt cheek into the ground. And I'm going to parallel my shoulders with my foot. And now that I'm here, I'm going to reach up through my spine, and then I'm going to reach my chest towards my shin, just to where it's comfortable. So I'm going to come up and over towards my shin. I can rest my hands on my knee, I can rest them on my thigh, if this is where I'm comfortable, that's great. I'm just going to stay here and breath. If I want to go a little further, I might reach towards my shin. And if that feels comfortable, I might also reach towards my foot, and reach my chest towards my shin. I'm going to take some deep breaths down here; dropping my shoulders, pushing my shoulders back, down. And when I'm ready, I'll come back up, and I'll make sure to push that sits bone back into the ground as I'm coming up. So that's a great side straddle stretch. It's a great stretch for your calves and for your hamstrings."