Thursday, April 1, 2010

Postural Righteousness: Stretching

For our second installment of Postural Righteousness we'll be working on stretches. Before you watch the short video it is important to recognize how your personal body is aligned.
To do this, stand in front of a long mirror that will show you your entire body. Notice if one shoulder is higher than the other, is your head tilted, is one hip higher than the other, is one foot more forward or more turned than the other. Try to align yourself so that you are even. Then begin these stretches.
#1 Chin to Chest:
Place hands on top of head and relax your neck so that your chin travels down towards your chest. Do this without forcing your head down. Hold for 20-30 seconds taking deep and complete breaths and repeat 2-3 times.
#2 Ear to shoulder:
Place your right hand over the top of your head so that you can grasp hold of the left side of your head. Using the weight of your arm, let your head relax sideways so that your ear travels towards your shoulder. Breath, and hold it for 20-30 seconds. Switch sides, then repeat each side 2-3 times.
#3 Chin toward armpit:
Place your right hand on the top left side of your head, look at your armpit or knee or hip and allow the weight of your arm to gently stretch the opposite side of the back of your neck.
These will all make more sense if you watch the video
The next stretch isn't in the video but is a great one as well.
#4 The Door Jam stretch
You can use any vertical solid surface really. With your arm held bent at a 90 degree place the length of your forearm on a door jam and turn your body away from the door jam. This stretches you pecs and sometimes your biceps.
Repeat all exercises 2-3 times or throughout your day.

If you have any questions please feel free to post to the blog that way everyone can benefit.

1 comment:

Write your mind here.