Happy Friday-before-Christmas Beautees!
Today’s Form Friday is all about stretching….particularly the inner thigh stretch performed in our B.Barre I classes. This stretch is phenomenal is performed properly. First off, just like all our stretches, it is an active stretch…NOT a rest! You should be pushing your muscles (but not straining) to lengthen, define and replenish while also working on flexibility.
For the inner thigh stretch, you’ll stand profile to the barre with your inner foot lifted, extended and placed on the barre. Your foot should be slightly in front of your hip so that you can rotate your heel in on the diagonal and drop the inside hip to the mat for the deepest stretch. You’ll want to press your heel toward the mirror, further increasing the stretch. Take your outside arm up and over, hinging slightly over the inside leg, while maintaining distance between your ear and shoulder. Many mistake this for an IT band stretch, but the focus should actually be on the inner thigh. So don’t focus on how close you get your arm to the barre; its about lifting and pressing the heel toward the mirror to get the optimal stretch. Here is a photo for reference:
