STRETCH IT OUT
These CAR YOGA poses will help you stay stress-free on the road (just don’t try them while you’re driving!)
Forget your yoga mat and the downward dog, here are five new yoga poses you can do with your car
LET the Lotus go and ditch the downward dog - it's time to test drive the "ham sandwich" instead.
Citroen has teamed up with the Boys of Yoga to create a series of new CAR YOGA poses to keep you stress-free on your summer roadtrip.
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To celebrate International Yoga Day today, the yoga experts have come up with a series of five poses designed to help drivers and passengers unwind.
They can be done before driving, during a rest break at a service station and when you arrive to ensure you're chilled out - but crucially not when you're driving!
The poses help loosen the spine, stretch your hamstrings and relax your legs.
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Hands Up, Back and Forward
Warm up and engage the shoulders, chest and spine before a drive
- Reach up and place your hands flat on the roof, press firmly into the ceiling lengthening the sides of your body in turn
- Reach back and hug yourself, hold the outside edges of the seat, right over left, then left over right
- Pull the chest forward, pull the chest back
- Reach forward and grab the steering wheel, extending the arms and drawing the chest back
- Move the chest forward on the inhale in a slight upward arch while drawing the shoulders down
- Move the chest back on the exhale, arching the back against the seat creating a gentle curve in the spine
- Repeat three times
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6 Point Turn
Give your spine a full workout before a drive.
- Start in a seated upright position and roll the spine down and forward curling the head toward the steering wheel
- Then roll up to a seated position moving the eyes to the roof of the car arching the spine gently
- Coming back to the neutral position, sit tall and take a twist to the right rotating the upper spine 90 degrees
- Coming back through neutral again, rotate left to balance the pose
- Finally, from an upright seat, place your hands on the steering wheel and bend to the right moving the head towards the door, and then back through centre before bending to the opposite side
- Finish the exercise in the neutral position
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The Ham Sandwich
This will help stretch out your hamstrings during a long journey.
- Exit the car and stand facing the side of the car
- Move into a forward fold with bent knees
- Move closer to the car until your upper back is touching the side
- Keep the knees bent and then lean more into the door feeling the stretch in the back of the hamstrings
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The Rest Stop
As the name suggests, do this at a service station and it'll help rest, re-circulate and re-energise the body.
- Roll out your Yoga mat with the nearest edge as close to the side of the car as possible
- Lie down on your back with your bottom at the edge of your mat closest to the car
- Lift your legs up the side and straighten your legs against the side of the full length of the car door
- Stretch your arms out wide
- Relax, breathe and stay for 3-5 minutes
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Driver Warrior
When you arrive you'll feel like a champion having battled the traffic - the Warrior will reactivate your legs.
- Exit the car and open the car boot
- Start with both legs grounded, facing towards the car
- Extend your body forward and place your hands evenly on the boot sill
- Ensure you are standing far enough away to extend one leg backwards parallel to the road and hold for 30 seconds
- Alternate legs, making sure you maintain a steady pose and balance
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