Top 5 stretches you can do until you can see your Chiropractor.
Watch our video and see the full text explanation below.
1) Child’s Pose
- Start on all fours in Tabletop position
- Then stretch back, bringing your seat to rest on your heels and your belly to rest on your thighs
- Arms stay outstretched on floor in front with palms down OR bringing arms alongside with palms up
- Should feel nice stretch in lower back
- Relax here for 30sec-1 min, Breathe Deeply, Relaxing any areas of tension
MODIFICATION: Bring knees further apart
Place padding under your thighs
Rest Forehead on cushion
2) Cat/Cow Stretch
- Wake up Entire Spine & Stretch shoulders, neck and chest
- Start on all fours in Tabletop position
- Press into hands and feet (inhale) to look up, allowing belly to hang and fill w air
- Exhale, tucking chin to chest and arching spine to ceiling
- Repeat this pattern of movement , focusing on longer breaths, deepening into movements
- Repeat 5-10 x’s
MODIFICATION: wrist concerns- move hands slightly forward
Knee concerns – padding under knee
Back concerns – don’t go as deep
3) Knee to Chest (Lying on Back)
- Relaxes Hips, Gluts, and Thighs
- Lie on back, knees bent, feet flat on floor
- Gently draw R knee towards chest, grabbing behind thigh or top of shin
- Extend other leg or keep a slight bend
- Lengthen spine all the way down to tailbone and avoid lifting your hips
- Breathe deeply, releasing any tension
- Hold 3-5 breath cycles, deepening with each exhale
- Repeat other leg
MODIFICATION: cushion under head
Strap/belt around leg
4) Piriformis Stretch
- Works Piriformis mm(found deep under gluts), This stretch helps relieve pain& tightness in gluts and low back
- Lie on back, knees bent, feet flat on floor
- Place R ankle on L thigh
- Place hands behind L thigh and GENTLY bring thigh to chest until you feel a stretch
- Hold 3-5 breath cycles, deepening with each exhale
- MODIFICATION: If really tight – Keep L foot on floor, cushion under head
- If want deeper stretch – push away R knee
- ALTERNATE POSITION: SEATED
- Lift seat and bring towards heel, then gently push away R knee
- REMEMBER to do opposite side!
Wall Angel with Chin Tuck
- Opens Shoulders and arms, strengthens neck muscles, combats tech neck and stress posture
- Standing back against wall, feet 1-2 feet in front
- Yoga block/pillow or empty box behind shoulder blades
- Pelvic tilt, core engaged
- Open arms, slowly fanning arms imagining elbows and hands are touching wall
- Do a couple passes of this movement, then rest arms at sides
- Keeping core engaged, shoulders open and down, Carefully draw chin in bringing back of head towards wall
- Now imagine a string attached to top of your head pulling your head up, elongating neck
- Then retract head back further as if making a double chin (don’t worry it won’t stay like that!)
- Relaxing gently to neutral (not ostrich position), Repeat Chin tuck 3-5 more times