Reps:<\/strong> 3-8<\/p>\n\u201cMake sure you distribute your body’s weight evenly to your feet, hips and shoulders,\u201d says Nagy-Bhavsar.<\/p>\n
\u201cTypically, everyone lifts and shifts their weight up to the shoulders and arches their back. This will not help alleviate back pain.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoving vertebrae by vertebrae helps to isolate movements and mobilize the spine.\u201d<\/p>\n
How to do it:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor close to your buttocks, arms by your sides.<\/li>\n
- Inhale as you gently lift your tailbone and lower back, rolling the spine up for a count of eight to 10 seconds, until your shoulder blades are off the floor.<\/li>\n
- Exhale as you gently roll back down, one vertebrae at a time, for a count of eight to 10 seconds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
3. Arm opening<\/p>\n
Reps:<\/strong> 3-5 each side<\/p>\n\u201cThis exercise is a spinal rotation, especially good for the thoracic area and lower back,\u201d says Nagy-Bhavsar.<\/p>\n
\u201cTry not to overextend the shoulder. Instead, move with your back, spine and head\/neck, and follow the movement with your eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
How to do it:<\/strong><\/p>\nNagy-Bhavsar advises you should avoid this exercise if you have acute shoulder pain.<\/p>\n
\n- Lie on your right side, knees bent at 90\u00b0. Support your head with your right arm or a cushion.<\/li>\n
- Inhale as you reach and extend your left arm on the floor in front.<\/li>\n
- Exhale as you sweep your left arm across your body, rotating your upper back and chest toward your left side.<\/li>\n
- Inhale as you slowly return to the starting position and repeat.<\/li>\n
- Complete all the repetitions on one side, then repeat on the other side.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
4. Cat-cow<\/p>\n
Reps:<\/strong> 6-8<\/p>\n\u201cCat-cow moves the spine from flexion to extension, helping to mobilize the spine, creating space. It also helps to release tension in the neck.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s especially nice for those who work at a desk and don\u2019t move for long periods of time. It can be done in a standing and sitting position, too,\u201d says Nagy-Bhavsar.<\/p>\n
How to do it:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Start on your hands and knees, with your shoulders over your wrists and hips over your knees.<\/li>\n
- Exhale as you gently round your spine upward, tucking your chin toward your chest and pressing through your hands (this is cat pose).<\/li>\n
- Inhale as you gently arch your back, lifting your chest and tilting your head slightly upward (this is cow pose).<\/li>\n
- Move your spine one vertebrae at a time with your breath.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
5. Thread the needle<\/p>\n
Reps: <\/strong>3 each side<\/p>\n\u201cAdding a bit more to the cat-cow stretch, threading the needle is a combination of a rotation with an extension, lengthening the back and spine.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s divine for mid-back tightness and back pain and makes you feel good as it improves the range of movement in the upper body,\u201d says Nagy-Bhavsar.<\/p>\n
How to do it:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Start on your hands and knees with your shoulders over your wrists and hips over your knees.<\/li>\n
- Inhale as you lift your right hand above you, twisting to the right to reach higher.<\/li>\n
- Exhale as you thread it between your left hand and left knee, rotating your torso to the left and lowering your right shoulder toward the floor.<\/li>\n
- Hold here for two breaths.<\/li>\n
- Inhale as you reverse the movement, twisting your torso to the right and reaching your right hand up.<\/li>\n
- Do all your reps on one side, then repeat on the other side.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It’s no great secret that Pilates can help you build strength, especially in your core\u2014but this simple practice…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":107174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[1198,210,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-107173","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114947095573015355","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}