The Inchworm Flow

To do the Inchworm Flow, start standing with your feet about hip-width apart. Then, keeping your legs straight, bend over and place your hands on the ground. Walk your hands out away from your body as you lower down into a plank position.

Once in the plank position, drop your hips and arch up into an upward facing down position.

Drop your hips toward the ground as you press your chest out with your arms straight. You can change your foot position and come forward onto the tops of your feet instead of staying on the balls of your feet.

Do not shrug your shoulders as you open your chest up toward the ceiling. Make sure to keep your glutes tight as well so that you don’t feel this in your low back. Beginners can do a variation, letting their legs touch the ground as they arch back.

Then come back up into plank and then push back into downward dog. Press your chest back between your arms with your arms straight. Drive your butt up into the air as you extend your spine and feel a stretch down your hamstrings and calves. Try to relax your heels down toward the ground as you lengthen through your hamstrings to lift your butt toward the ceiling. Hold for a second or two as you lengthen through your spine.

Push back a little further into downward dog then come forward close to the ground, performing a dive bomber push up. Pretend like you are sneaking under a fence as you come forward. Bend your elbows and drop your chest close to the ground as you more forward from the downward dog into an upward facing dog. You want to sneak forward close to the ground as if crawling under a fence before arching up into upward facing dog.

Once in upward facing dog, press your chest out and open toward the ceiling. Do not shrug your shoulders. Also, drop your hips toward the ground and feel your hips stretching. Squeeze your glutes to protect your low back.

Hold for a second or two, even rocking slightly from side to side as you hold, then press your butt up and walk your feet forward into your hands. Keep your legs straight as you walk your feet in toward your hands. Take small steps.

Once you’ve walked your feet forward, hang over for a second with your legs straight to stretch your hamstrings and then stand up. You can also roll up one vertebrae at a time and finally roll your shoulder back at the top.

You can then walk your hands back out and repeat.

If you don’t have much space you can turn around and repeat instead of continuing to move forward. You can also change the move up and make your upper body work harder by walking your hands back in toward your feet instead of walking your feet in toward your hands to come back up to standing. That can also make the move a bit easier on your hamstrings. It is also a great variation if you have to do the move in place.