Exercises to soothe muscle aches and pains

Every once in a while our bodies crave a refreshing stretch to feel stronger and leaner. If you're feeling sluggish, your muscles are sore from an intense workout or you're recovering from an injury, try these exercises to soothe your aches and pains:

Use squishy balls and foam rollers

These simple moves from Health.com will help you move your muscles in new, revitalizing ways using tools like squishy balls, foam rollers and resistance bands. The idea is to release tension, massage tightness and relax overworked muscles. After this short, 18-minute workout, you'll feel yourself standing up straighter with better posture and moving more freely with reduced discomfort in your muscles and joints.

Get your yoga on

In addition to squats and push-ups, stretching after workouts is important for strengthening your muscles. This will improve your flexibility and reduce your risk of injury the next time you work out. Yoga poses, such as sun salutations, downward dog and seated twist, are the tried-and-true way to stretch sore muscles. Follow these yoga-inspired stretches from Cosmopolitan to get started.

Go for a swim

This low-impact cardio exercise is the ideal head-to-toe stretch. Feeling weightless will give you freedom of movement, plus you'll get your heart rate pumping for healthy blood flow to all your muscles and joints. Swimming is also great for heart health, reducing stress and hitting all the muscles workout routines often overlook. The best bonus: Research from Indiana University shows swimming can actually make you look and feel younger.

To complement these soothing exercises, try the ELEMIS Muscle and Fitness Collection for tension-relieving rejuvenation. For a therapeutic soak, go for the ELEMIS Musclease Herbal Bath Synergy, which will ease soreness from muscle spasms and stressed joints.