It is common to have cramps and pains in the legs particularly for sedentary people. Those who sit or stand for much of the day without much movement can see circulation in the legs weakening, legs becoming stiff, with the gradual loss of muscle tone.

It is important if you spend a good deal of the day at a desk or table, to compensate for this by doing a good deal of walking. Short walks around the office won't be good enough exercise to outweigh the effects of long periods of sitting or standing.

Raising the legs and resting them several feet off the floor for a few minutes will improve circulation when sitting. A brisk ten minute walk with a steady rhythm and arms allowed to swing will also help

The legs can become very tired even with inactivity because energy gets trapped within the stiff long muscles of the legs.

Perhaps the best techniques for getting rid of stiffness and cramps in the legs and for releasing this trapped energy are stretching exercises.

Yoga leg stretching movements include locks, and stretches against these locks. In this way only the amount of stretching as seems necessary will be performed. When working with the legs, longer holding periods are needed with few repetitions.

Yoga exercises can affect the legs in different ways. These include intense stretches which are designed to relieve tension, stiffness and cramps straight away. Others help to strengthen, develop and restore muscle tone.

An intense stretch first thing in the morning is an excellent time to carry out a yoga exercise because the legs can be particularly stiff at this time. And it only need take less than a single minute of your time.

Some people think that touching the toes is a good exercise. This does not demonstrate physical fitness, only that there is sufficient movement to carry the torso down that far. The fact is that the spine can never become truly flexible with this approach - which is one of the main objective of yoga - and nor can the legs really stretch properly with toe touching exercises.

Also if several weeks go by without doing the toe touching exercise, one can become very stiff, and have to start exercising all over again before it is possible to touch the toes. There is also the risk of back strain with the pulling and forcing required.

In contrast, once a yoga position is truly mastered, the flexibility and muscle patterns necessary to carry out the exercise are never lost.

With little expenditure of time and effort, the practise of specific yoga exercises for the legs will give them new life, without soreness or strain.