hello hello Reader!

Today, I will be rolling along from Toronto to Halifax. It's about a 17-hour drive, but I will be in the back seat with my aunt watching movies while my brother and uncle take turns driving. I love a road trip (especially when I'm just hanging out and not behind the wheel), and so sooo excited to be beside the ocean soon!

But 17 hours in a car is a long while. I already feel the tension growing in my body. Last time I did this trip in 2022, my uncle was a fan of stopping very rarely. I know I have to prepare more this time.

Sitting for extended periods of time means limited blood flow in our legs and back, some muscles in a lengthened position, some shortened, that physical stress starts to build up.

So for June's (late.. ok early July) Move Your Body Monday, I am being a bit selfish with this one. Let's dive into three stretches to help your body recover after being in a car (or plane!) for a really, really long time.

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Side Lunge

• Grab onto that car door, chair, whatever is chest height and widen your feet past your hips
• Bend one knee and let your hips move in that direction, and back as if you're about to sit into a chair with that one leg
• Look for a nice stretch in the inner thigh area
• Hold anywhere from 2-10 seconds before switching - I personally like to go back and forth at a faster pace and then slow it down to a nice hold for each side

Go deeper: To intensify this stretch you have two options, either go deep into those lunges like a cossack squat, or just hold the lunge for an extra 10 seconds before switching

Deep Lat Stretch

• Grabbing onto a car door, bench, walk your feet back hip width
• Keep a soft bend in your knees as you gently let your chest sink down
• Let your head relax past your shoulders and find the stretch in the lats and shoulders
• Breathe deeply and hold for 20-30 seconds

Make it a combo: Do one arm shoulder circles in this position for a little extra.

Standing Lunge

• A classic, have your hands in front of you (or to your hips if you prefer) and take a nice big step back with one leg so your heel is just lifted a bit off the ground
• Tilt your pelvis forward (think towards your belly button) and squeeze your glutes to really feel the hip flexors being stretched
• Get a bit of a deeper bend in your front knee, you can lean your chest forward to help if need be
• Hold for 15-20 seconds before switching sides

Additionally: you can add a small side bend to get even deeper into the hip flexors, you can even add some tiny knee taps to increase intensity

Now, I'm going back to sleep. My uncle wanted to leave early, as in, hit the road at exactly 6am early even though I live 45 minutes away. So you can probably imagine I'm going to take a nap in the back of this car for the next mmmmm 4 hours.

Stay hydrated, and keep moving when you can!

See you next week,
Vera

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