Are you tired of dealing with a stiff back that gives you grief everyday and stops you doing what you love?
Suffering from a stiff back is super common & super frustrating!
These are 3 effective stretches that can help ease your stiff back and improve your overall mobility!
Stretching can be amazing for releasing tension and increasing flexibility.
Try out these exercises to release the stiffness in your back fast!
Try these 3 stretches to ease your stiff back!
- CAT COW
Cat Cow is an exercise that involves flowing between two different poses to help improve spinal flexibility and relieve tension in the back. Here’s how you perform it:
- Starting Position (Neutral Spine): Begin on your hands and knees, aligning your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Your spine should be in a neutral position, not arched or rounded.
- Cat Pose: As you exhale, round your spine towards the ceiling like an angry cat, tucking your chin towards your chest. Imagine pulling your belly button towards your spine.
- Cow Pose: Inhale as you arch your back, lifting your tailbone and chest towards the ceiling. Your belly should drop towards the floor, and you should lift your head to look forward.
- Flow: Alternate between Cat Pose and Cow Pose, syncing your breath with the movements. Exhale as you transition to Cat Pose and inhale as you move into Cow Pose. Continue this flowing movement for several breaths.
The Cat-Cow exercise is often used as a gentle warm-up or as part of a dynamic stretching routine. It helps improve flexibility in the spine, releases tension in the back, and can provide a gentle massage to the abdominal organs.
2. THREAD THE NEEDLE
Targets the shoulders, upper back, and neck. It’s great for releasing tension in these areas and increasing mobility. Here’s how you do it:
- Starting Position (Tabletop): Begin on your hands and knees in a tabletop position, with your wrists aligned under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
- Thread the Needle: From the tabletop position, inhale and lift your right arm towards the ceiling, opening your chest to the side. Then, exhale as you thread your right arm underneath your left arm, bringing your right shoulder and temple towards the mat. Your right cheek should rest on the mat.
- Stretch and Hold: You will feel a stretch in your right shoulder and upper back. You can stay in this position, deepening the stretch by gently pressing your left hand into the floor to twist your upper body slightly. Hold the stretch for a few breaths.
- Return: To come out of the pose, press through your left hand, lift your right arm back up to the ceiling, and return to the tabletop position.
- Repeat: You can repeat this on the other side by lifting your left arm and threading it underneath your right arm.
The Thread the Needle exercise helps to release tension and increase flexibility in the shoulders and upper back. It also provides a gentle twist that can help with spinal mobility and overall relaxation.
3. ROLL BACK
Start by sitting up on your mat.
Grab around your knees, rolling backwards then coming back up in a controlled way to support your spine, rolling it out as you go.
This is a great stretch to improve your overall spine mobility and to stretch out that stiffness in your back!
