Five Great and Easy Stretches to Do in Your Next Infrared Sauna Session

An infrared sauna session can help to ease muscle soreness, eliminate lactic acid build-up, and improve flexibility. With the Sculpt Spa Las Vegas Recover Vitamin Injection, it is the ultimate post workout ritual. The Recover vitamin injection includes Folic Acid, B Complex, Magnesium. It reduces inflammation, helps to strengthen bone and muscle, and serves as essential building blocks for the body to repair and recover.

There are many health benefits one can experience from regular infrared sauna use. Reaping the benefits from your sauna use can be enhanced with a gentle stretching regimen. When you combine the heat from your sauna with the effects of stretching your muscles, you’re increasing the health benefits for your body. By stretching and sweating from the heat of the sauna, you are loosening up your muscles, increasing your flexibility, as well as flushing out lactic acid.

Here are five simple stretches to try out during your next session. (See them demonstrated here on Instagram)

1. Butterfly Pose
   Sit up straight and tall with your knees bent.

   Drop your legs to the sides and bring the soles of your feet together.

   Grasp your feet and ankles and slowly lean forward, keeping your spine straight.

   Place your elbows on the tops of your thighs and gently press down until you feel a stretch.

2. Side bent with legs crisscrossed

   Sit upright with your feet flat on the floor or stand with feet hip-width apart.

   Lean forward slightly to keep from “hunching” your back and shoulders.

   Keep your hips, shoulders, and ears in a straight up-and-down line.

   Raise your right arm overhead and bend your upper body to the left in a reaching motion. Keep your upper body facing straight ahead—don’t twist it to the side as you bend.

   Make sure you feel the muscles gently stretch all along your side from your lower back up to your shoulder.

   Hold the stretch for 20 seconds. Return to the starting position. Repeat the stretch 2 times.

   Switch sides and do the stretch in the opposite direction. Repeat twice. 

3. Forward Fold

   This stretch activates your abdominals, quads, and calves. It stretches your hip muscles, hamstrings, and lower back. These same muscles often feel tight and sore after several hours spent sitting at a desk. The forward fold stretch also stimulates digestive, urogenital, nervous, and endocrine systems.

   Bring your arms straight out to the sides and up over your head, reaching toward the ceiling.

   Inhale and draw your spine up long.

   As you exhale, begin to come forward, hinging at your hips. Imagine your pelvis as a bowl of water that is tipping forward.

   On each inhale, lengthen your spine. You may come a bit out of your forward bend to do this.

   On each exhale, deepen into your forward bend. Imagine your belly coming to rest on your thighs, rather than your nose coming to your knees. This will help you keep your spine long.

   Keep the neck as the natural extension of your spine, neither cranking it to look up nor letting it go completely.

   When you have come to your full extension with the spine long, decide whether you want to stay here or let your spine round forward.

   Take hold of your ankles or shins, whichever you can reach. You can also use a strap around your feet. Keep your feet flexed strongly throughout.

4. Supine figure four

   The figure 4 stretch can help keep your hips and glutes healthy and mobile. It works a variety of muscles: the piriformis, gemellus superior, obturator internus, gemellus inferior, obturator externus, and quadratus femoris. This group of muscles helps to rotate the thigh outward at the hip joint. Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor.

   Cross your right ankle over your left knee and keep your right foot flexed.

   Bring your left knee toward your chest. Reach your right hand through your legs and interlace your fingers just below the crease of your left knee.

   Using your arms, pull your left knee toward your chest, pausing when you feel a stretch in your right glute and hip.

   Hold there for at least five breaths (though you can hold the stretch for up to two minutes) then release and repeat on your left side.

5. Neck and shoulder opening

   This stretch works the front of your neck and the muscles between your shoulder blades.

   Sit cross-legged and upright with a long spine, open chest, and relaxed shoulders.

   Place your hands behind your head at the base of your skull, and gently tip your head back, using your hands for support.

   Bend your back slightly and imagine your elbows growing heavy to pull you into the stretch.

When you add stretching to your sauna experience, your flexibility is greatly improved. Time spent in the sauna increases your blood’s circulation and promotes the movement of oxygen around the body. This helps the muscles to loosen and perform low-impact exercise while feeling completely relaxed.

Enjoy Infrared Saunas at Sculpt Spa 

There’s nothing like the infrared sauna experience at  SCULPT SPA, Las Vegas’ premier destination for aesthetic treatments. At our Las Vegas infrared spa, you’ll enjoy your private spa suite, check out the latest must-watch streams via Netflix and Hulu, and get a refreshing eucalyptus towel at the end. 

Why wait? Book an infrared spa appointment with Sculpt Spa today. LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR SERVICES NOW!