Kids stretching routine: Move Your Body With These Animal-Inspired Stretches

Move Your Body With These Animal-Inspired Stretches

Have you ever gotten up from a nap or after sitting a long time feeling like you need a nice big stretch? Maybe you find yourself reaching for the stars with your arms or bringing your hands all the way down to the floor to touch your toes.

Stretching is actually really good for you! Not only does it help your body stay loose so you can throw a ball extra-far or do the splits, it can also be a great way to calm your mind and take a break from thinking—like when you’ve been doing schoolwork, learning a new language, or playing the guitar.

And what better way to make a fun activity even more fun than to let animals inspire us for each stretch—plus learn a few fun facts about them along the way.

A huge shoutout to DZ Vegan Kid Athletes, three vegan sisters, for demonstrating each stretch. These girls are impressive athletes who are doing so much for animals by showing that you don’t need to eat meat, eggs, or dairy in order to be strong.

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A post shared by PETA Kids (@petakids)

So put some comfy clothes on, find some space, and maybe ask a family member to stretch along with you!

Reach for the Sky Like a Giraffe

Since giraffes are really tall (the tallest mammals on Earth, actually), there’s no better way to act like one than by stretching up as high as you can. Reach your hands toward the sky. As you stretch, pretend to grab leaves from a tree.

Did you know giraffes are herbivores? They eat mostly leaves, seeds, buds, and branches off super-tall trees. They also only need to drink water once every few days! They are very social animals who live together in groups called “towers.”

Touch Your Toes and Sway Like an Elephant

Bend at the hips, and let your arms hang down. Then swing your arms left to right—like elephants do with their trunks!

Elephants are herd animals—all the females in the family stay together their whole lives. Elephants also have excellent memories, and they mourn the loss of friends and family members who have died.

Stretch Your Whole Body Like a Dog

Starting in a standing position, bend down and place your hands on the floor out in front of you and then straighten your legs, pushing back with your hips to stretch your whole body. This stretch is called Downward Dog, and for good reason—maybe you’ve seen a dog stretching like this. You can try shaking your “tail,” too!

Dogs are loving individuals who look to their human families for love and attention. They enjoy being petted and playing games. They are great listeners and can even hear sounds humans can’t.

Crouch Down Like a Frog

Place your feet a little bit wider than your hips, and drop your bottom almost to the floor. Put your fingers on the floor in front of you to help you keep your balance—you’ll look just like a frog who’s ready to leap off a lily pad.

Frogs are so interesting. They can jump over 20 times the length of their own body, and instead of drinking water, they absorb it through their skin! Some frog species use a “babysitter” to watch over their eggs until they hatch.

Stretch Your Belly Like a Snake

Lie down flat on your stomach. Place your hands on the floor on each side of your chest, and push your upper body upward, stretching your tummy.

Snakes smell with their tongues and can even tell which direction a smell is coming from. Most of them are loners—they really enjoy their alone time.

Drop Your Belly Like a Cow

Get on your hands and knees, and drop your belly toward the floor as you lift your chin and chest toward the ceiling.

A herd of cows isn’t too different from a pack of wolves—some individuals are leaders, and there are complex social dynamics. Each cow can recognize 50 or more members of the herd, and relationships are very important to them.

Arch Your Back Like a Cat

After doing the cow stretch, arch your back toward the ceiling as you move your chin down toward your chest.

Cats can jump up to six times higher than their own height. They use different body language, purrs, and other sounds to communicate what they want. They also love to sleep near or on things that smell like their human companion (aww).

*****

That was great! You got your body moving, hopefully you feel more relaxed, and maybe you learned something about animals. Share this with your friends so they can be inspired to take a break and stretch, too. ☺️

Quiz: What Animal Are You Most Like?

Stretching (for Teens) – Nemours KidsHealth

Medically reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD

A balanced exercise routine includes
aerobicactivity, strength training, and stretching. Stretching not only feels good, but may help prevent muscle injuries.

Warming Up

It’s important to warm up your body before any physical activity. Warming up for about 5–10 minutes goes a long way toward preparing the body for exercise.

Warming up:

• increases your heart rate and respiratory rate
• increases muscle temperature
• boosts the amount of blood and oxygen delivered to your muscles
• prepares the body for a workout

A warm-up can even be the activity you are about to do but at a slower pace. For example, if you’re about to go for a run, warm up with walking or a light jog. If you’re going to go for a swim, do a couple of slow warm-up laps. If you play a sport, focus on the muscles that are used for your particular sport. For instance, if you play baseball, you might warm up your shoulder with light throwing.

Dynamic stretching uses many muscle groups in a sport specific manner and can be part of your warm-up. Besides warming up the muscles that will be used in the activity, dynamic stretching allows for full range of motion of the joints.

Stretching the Right Way

Stretching used to be considered the main activity before a workout. But traditional, or “static,” stretching may lead to decreased muscle strength and performance, especially if your muscles are not warmed up enough. Stretching cold muscles can lead to injury.

To get the most out of warming up and stretching, try dynamic stretches before and static stretching after a workout.

Stretching properly may reduce muscle injuries and improve athletic performance. It also increases:

• flexibility
• joint range and motion
• blood flow to muscles

Here are some tips on how to stretch properly:

Stop if it hurts. Stretching should never hurt. If you have reached a point in your stretch where it hurts, pull back to where you still feel a stretch but can hold the stretch comfortably.

Hold each stretch for 10–30 seconds. Holding a stretch for any less won’t sufficiently lengthen the muscle. Holding a stretch too long may overstretch muscles. Overstretching may cause injury and decrease performance. Stretch the muscles slowly and don’t force it.

Don’t bounce. Bouncing while stretching may injure the muscle you’re stretching.

Remember to breathe. Don’t hold your breath when you stretch. Inhale slowly and relax into the stretch as you breathe out.

Stretch both sides. You may be more flexible on one side, but try to do equal stretching on both sides. Big differences in flexibility may lead to injury.

Stretch regularly. To maintain flexibility, stretch at least 3 days a week.

Cooling Down

You need to slow down your body after a workout or exercise. Do 5–10 minutes of gentle movement and stretching to help your body recover from a workout.

Your cool-down routine should include gentle movement and stretching. Cooling down and stretching at the end of a workout helps you to:

• slow your heart rate and breathing
• reduce the chance of feeling dizzy or lightheaded
• relax and feel the benefits of your workout

Whether you’re new to working out or a lifelong athlete, be sure to include a good before-and-after routine for better performance and recovery.

Medically reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD

Date reviewed: March 2022

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Stretching for children – stretching lessons for children with twine

Stretching for children

Stretching is necessary not only for those children who are professionally involved in dancing, gymnastics or other sports. Even for those children who do not want to take places on pedestals, stretching will bring a lot of benefits:

• will help to acquire a beautiful correct posture;
• will help develop coordination of movements;
• will teach you to control your body;
• will strengthen muscles and ligaments;
• forms a beautiful slender figure.

Children often want to achieve success in sports – sit on the splits, make a bridge, spin the wheel. At a younger age, muscles and ligaments are very malleable and easily influenced, so it is easier and easier for children to translate their plans into reality. The main thing is to draw up a training plan and conduct training only under the supervision of an experienced trainer. The elasticity of the muscles can also play a negative role, because they are very easy to injure. Do not stretch the child without the appropriate knowledge and practice. What will happen in the stretching class? The lesson takes place in several stages, during which a warm-up (warm-up) is carried out, a set of stretching and relaxation exercises is performed. This approach allows you to achieve results quickly and with maximum safety.

Stretching for beginners

Children’s stretching is an opportunity to raise the child’s authority, help him to believe in himself, to make sure that everything is possible. Be sure to contact professional teachers for stretching, especially if the child has not previously played sports. The reason is not only that the twine stretch for children must be carried out correctly. Not every child is ready to completely immerse himself in work, obey the coach and follow all his instructions. The task of the coach is to find an approach to each of the students, to become not a friend for him, but a mentor who does not force, but helps.

What do the kids do during the Cosmo Dance stretching class, since we don’t just do the splits? Our students work on the muscles of the whole body, stretch their legs, back, arms, gain flexibility. We will teach you how to perform a variety of exercises and tricks that young athletes are so eager to master. Now bridges and wheels will not be something inaccessible!

How can I sign up for split and general stretching classes for children at Cosmo Dance? Choose a convenient time for training and a branch of the school that is more convenient for you to get to. You can visit trial classes with different trainers in order to find a teacher that is most appropriate in character and approach for your child.

Split and general stretching for children in Cosmo Dance means treating young athletes as if they were adults, attention and respect for students, an individual approach to each of them. This is an attentive staff and a high level of training of our teachers, comfortable rooms for training and relaxation. This is a place where your child will gain not only the ability to control his body, but also real friends, a great mood and energize. We are waiting for you in class.

Video Stretching for children

What to wear

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Trial session

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Individual session

Just you and the trainer

Bunny Bunny Spiral Pendant Baby Rattle Toy for newborn stretching on the car seat gift

Suspension-spiral Crumbs Toy baby rattle Bunny Bunny for newborn stretching on the car seat gift buy at the price of 1559 ₽ in the online store Detsky Mir

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Crumbs

Rating: 5

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BunnyKittenFawn

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You can exchange or return goods of good quality within 14 days from the date of purchase.

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About this product

“Spiral toy with rattle “Bunny Bunny” is a universal educational toy that will interest any baby. You can take the spiral toy with you on the road, for a walk or hang it on the bed. It is multifunctional: it squeaks, rustles, rattles and, if necessary, will help the baby with teething.The toy itself is made of materials that are pleasant to the touch: plush and sentipuh What are the advantages of the toy? perception: two different rattles, a soft toy, rustling leaves, a teether 2. You can diversify the games with your child, since each part of the rattle can be used separately from the spiral snake 3. Convenience and ease of use: the hanging toy is easy to attach to 4. The materials used to create the toy are durable, so the child can safely twist, shake or chew on it. 5. An additional item to the wonderful “Bani Bunny” collection: a comforter, a rattle-ring, a developing cube, a squeaker. The toy is suitable for playing with a baby aged 0 months, and at the age of 1 year, a child can start playing with it on his own. If you have any questions, we will be happy to answer them, and look forward to new prospects for further cooperation.”

Characteristics

Art.
Country of origin	Russia
Main material	textile
Package width, cm	15.0
Package length, cm	29.0
Package weight, kg	0.183
Package height , cm	11. 5
Type	suspension
Country of origin	Russia	12cm x 15cm x 29cm
Package weight	0.18 kg
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• Overall Impressions 900 31

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  Brand Representative

  Good afternoon! Thank you for trusting us with the development of your baby! With toy pendants, the child will not be bored on the road. And for fun educational games at home, soft cubes for the smallest art are suitable. 1000141313 and a squeaker for newborns Bunny-carrot 1000584997. With love for you and your children, the children’s happiness factory “Makishi”!

  10 May 2023

  Julia P.

  09 May 2023

• General impressions

  👍

  Brand Representative

  Good afternoon! Thank you for trusting us with the development of your baby! With toy pendants, the child will not be bored on the road. And for fun educational games at home, soft cubes for the smallest art are suitable. 1000141313 and squeaker for newborns Bunny Carrot
  1000584997. With love for you and your children, the factory of children’s happiness “Myakishi”!

  March 22, 2023

  Ekaterina E.

  March 17, 2023

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Price for Suspension-spiral Crumbs Toy baby rattle Bunny Bunny for newborns stretching for car seat gift – 1559 ₽.

Yes, we can deliver goods to any region of Russia, including the following cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar, Perm, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Voronezh, Novosibirsk, Kazan.

You will receive 31 bonuses. Bonuses can be used to pay 100% of the purchase price: 1 bonus = 1 ruble.

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