autostretching0212

THE UPPER BACK 5.

Yourdifficulty is: Tight Muscies: Eąuipment: Starting Position:

Stretching:

Stimulation:

Common Errors:

Notes:

Normal Mobili ty:

Bending backward in some part of your back above the waist.

Muscies that bend upper back forward.

Finn cushion or large, tighlly rolled towel.

Lie on your back on lloor willi buttocks close to wali, knces drawn up. and feet on wali. Cushion under tight part of back, hands clasped behind neck. Alternatively (see pictures al farright): Place left foot on lloor, knee bent, and right heel on left knee.

1.    Draw chin back. Exhale and let upper back sink down over cushion toward floor, so that stretch is felt in front of rib cage.

2.    Look toward navel. Inhale and tense chest and belly muscies; hołd for 5 seconds.

3.    Relax and draw chin back. Exhale and let upper back sink further down over cushion, to limit - maybe a little bit tnore.

4.    Repeat until you feel you can stretch no further and muscies feel tight. Hołd this finał stretch from 15 seconds to a minutę or morę.

1.    Draw chin back; look straight up.

2.    Exhale and press head, shoulders and upper rib cage down ovcr cushion as far as you can without arching back.

3.    Hołd position a few seconds.

*    Lower back arched.

*    Chin juts forward.

*    Cushion slides or is too soft.

1.    Move cushion up or down to gel effect in desired part of back.

2.    If strain is too great with cushion placed near waist, so that you can't relax, then try lying on a sloping surface with head and upper back a little higher- hallway to a sitting position.

3.    In this exercise. stretch is often felt only in upper back, which is a sign that spine is stiff in this part and needs limbering up.

You should be able to straighten your upper back and bend it slightly backward.

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