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2 basic exercises to change and improve your body
Spine Stretch
Spend 5-10 minutes on this exercise once a day
The Spine Stretch alleviates aches and pains by reducing muscular tension along the spine and helps to regulate organ function.
Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you.
If your hips are tight and your muscles have to grip to hold you in this position, sit on a pillow to relax your hip muscles as much as possible.
Take a few deep breaths, lifting your shoulders as you inhale, relaxing them in time with your exhalation.
Slowly drop your chin to your chest and allow the weight of your head to fully drop.
Relax your back and chest, keeping your shoulders over your hips. Notice where you feel sensation in your back...and where you may feel nothing at all.
Focus only on relaxing every muscle you can find and allow the stretch to rise to the surface.
Wherever you feel the stretch is where your muscles are tight. It can be different for each person.
Begin to 'drop' forward, reaching for nothing, letting your body rest where it naturally stops. Breathe, leaving your hands relaxed on your legs.
Allow the stretch to rise up and meet you. Do not pull to obtain a stretch. Repeatedly go back to your arms and neck and relax them again.
After some time, begin to drift gently from side to side, noticing how the stretch changes.
Settle in the center, and using your hands to push yourself back over your hips, slowly roll up through your spine, keeping your head dropped forward until the very end.
This stretch becomes more profound with practice as you increase your ability to give way to the muscles you are unconsciously holding. The more you relax, the more you feel.
If done regularly, you will quickly notice
- increasing flexibility
- a decrease in neck and shoulder tension
- reduced pain of wrist, elbow and shoulder conditions.
The Bolster Stretch opens the chest and addresses tensions running from the neck and shoulders down through the wrists and fingers. Use a bolster, or roll up a pillow and blankets into a cylindrical form. The height should be enough to raise your torso from the floor, allowing your shoulders to fall back when lying down. It should also be long enough so that it runs from the base of your skull to your lower back.
Lie on top of it so that it runs along your spine making sure that it catches the base of your skull and lifts your head. Avoid letting your neck fall back over the end of the bolster, instead, let it be drawn along by the gentle pull under the base of your skull. Let your arms stretch out at shoulder height, and make your legs comfortable. After a minute or two, if you feel no stretch at all, move your arms up along the floor. The focus here is to teach your body how to let tensions drop until deeper sensation rises to the surface. By resting your arms higher than shoulder height the stretch sensation will increase, however, be sure that you have relaxed as much as you consciously can before doing this. Clasping your hands behind your head will give you the deepest stretch. Breathe into every muscle as the weight of your lifted shoulders stretches into tissues that normally remain constricted on a subconscious level.
Stay in this position for a good five to ten minutes. As the muscles elongate you may feel numbness, tingling, or hot and cold sensations that radiate down your arms. If the sensations become too great, lower your arms by an inch or two until you're comfortable.
