We had so much fun designing and writing this partner yoga (inspired) workout! All of these stretches feel great, and most of them are intermediate friendly, or easily adjusted to meet the needs of each person. As an added bonus, there is even a toning benefit to this feel good partner stretching workout.
What's fun and challenging about this workout is that you really need to communicate with your partner. You can't just jump right in to the exercise and expect balance and flexibility limitations to just work themselves out - you have to talk to one another, and use feedback from both parties in order to make it work.
All of these partner stretches are minimally..what's the word..awkward, if you will, so feel free to tackle this routine with a friend or family member - they are no so intimate that they feel strange with a friend, but they are a lot of fun with your significant other, too.
Remember that you should never stretch to the point where you feel any kind of pain - respect your body and the messages it sends you by not pushing it to the point where it is vulnerable to injury. Some of these exercises may yield a very small range of movement, and that is just fine.
Workout Structure
9 Partner stretches
No equipment
Fluid stretches held for varying amounts of time
Supported Quadriceps Stretch - Stand on one leg and pull the opposite leg to your butt so that you feel a stretch through the front of your thigh. Rest the opposite hand on your shoulders partner for balance.
Chest/Shoulder Stretch/Press - Place both hands on your partners shoulders and bend at the waist until you both feel a stretch through your lower back and shoulders.
Partner Backbend Stretch - Grab one another by the hands or arms (depending on your body sizes) and lean backwards so that you feel a stretch all through your core. If one of you is significantly lighter than the other, you can make up for the difference by stepping forward with one foot, as I do, in between Daniel's feet.
Tree Pose Pulls - Stand back to back and go into a tree pose. Stretch your arms out wide to your sides and place your palms so that they're facing one another; now pull back and forth ever so slightly, and slowly, so that both of you feel a stretch through your chest.
Seated Torso Stretch - Sit crisscross applesauce back to back and turn in opposite directions to stretch all through the torso.
Child's Pose + Toe Touch - Have one person get into a child's pose, and the other person stand near their feet. While the person is doing the child's pose, the one who is standing bends forward for a hamstring and lower back stretch, while walking their hands up and down the opposite person's back (a mini back massage!).
Seated Hamstring Pulls - Sit with legs wide; grab each others hands (or forearms depending on your flexibility) and gently pull each other back and forth, holding the stretch briefly before pulling the other person back.
Butterfly Pulls - Stay in the same position as the seated hamstring pulls, but bend at the knees to bring the soles of your feet together; repeat the slow pulls back and forth.
Toe Touch + Backbend - This one has to be my new favorite! Don't be intimidated; if you can do a backbend, this will probably feel easy, and even if you can't do a backbend, you will find that this actually demands less range of motion than that more traditional move. Have one person lean forward for a seated toe tough stretch. Have your partner press their back into yours to push up into a bridge; now let your arms hang for a nice stretch.
We hope you enjoyed this partner workout as much as we did! Here's a throwback favorite of a partner workout, one we did for our 100th workout video, a year or two ago: Partner Workout Video with Daniel and Kelli Let us know if you enjoyed it and we would be happy to make you more like it.