Stretching exercises are the preparatory phase you put your body through before attempting any type of exercise. These exercises loosen up your muscles and prepare them for the workout that follows. Doing exercise without stretching exercises would most often than not, risk muscle sprains and cramps. Stretching exercises are done after workouts too so the muscle relaxation is gradual.

It is very important that you do not attempt heavy routines such as cardiovascular exercising without the initial warming up of the muscles. You would end up doing more harm to yourself than help. The easiest and most common of all stretching exercises are as follows:

Sitting Stretching Exercise

1. Sit on the floor with your legs fully stretched. Bend slightly attempting to touch your toes. It does not matter whether you are able to touch your toes or not; what is important that you are stretching all your back muscles through this exercise. Repeat it four times.

2. Maintain the same position as in stretch no 1 and but now spread your legs and repeat the same move: bend to touch the toes of each foot. Repeat it four times.

3. In the same sitting position stretch your hand above your head and cross your legs together. Maintain the position for four seconds and repeat four times.

4. Uncross your legs and keep them straight; bring your hands down behind your back and bend forward as much as you can attempting to touch your legs with your head. Hold the posture for four seconds and straighten up. Repeat four times as with the other exercises.

Standing Stretching Exercise

1. Put your hand on your hips and run gently on the spot. Try getting your knees as high as you can without straining. Continue this exercise for one about 1-2 minutes.

2. Stretch your legs and bend to touch the toes of each foot. Do not force yourself to reach your feet; bend as much as you can without feeling pain. Repeat the stretching exercise for four times for each leg.

3. Put your hands behind your head and twist your body towards left four times and then towards right four times. Repeat four times.

4. Stretch out your hands at your side (like an airplane) and then bend to have your right hand touch your left toes and vice-versa. Repeat four times.

5. Put your hands on your hips and half rotate your body bending forward once to the left and once to the right. Straighten up and repeat the exercise four times.

6. Put your hands on the hips and jump on the spot for a couple of minutes.

7. It is common to stretch your body when you wake up in the morning or after a long nap. Try this exercise every morning as you get out of the bed: stand on your tiptoes and stretch your hands fully as if you would wish to touch the sky. This is a very simple exercise, but one that can indeed show you hands-on what a boon exercising can be. Immediately after you do this exercise you would feel charged and ready to handle anything the day is likely to offer you.

Beware that in the beginning your body would feel as if it is made of wood. You would literally feel it creaking. With time and daily stretching exercises, you will find that not only your body becomes more flexible but also that you are filled with more energy and optimism. If you end up doing no other exercise, only these exercises would be often good enough or rather better than nothing. However, do ensure that you do them every day, preferably early in morning at dawn or as soon as wake up before your breakfast.