Fast Fitness - First Morning Stretch
Friday, April 11, 2008
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Instead of sitting on the bed first thing in the morning, which loads the discs, try this:
- Before getting out of bed, turn face down propped gently on elbows
- Hold briefly
- Get out of bed without sitting.
Don't droop your head downward, jut your neck or chin forward, hunch your shoulders, or fold back sharply at the lower spine. Find a low gentle position that makes your whole back feel good. The idea is to feel better and straighter, not strain, force, or make your posture worse. That would be silly.
Also do this several times throughout the day. Feels good after long sitting and physical work.
For most people this stretch works well. If it hurts your lower back, go to a lower position. If you flatten completely straight and still feel pain or pinching in the lower back, then how can you stand up straight without the same problem? Don't use this First Morning Stretch until you find why it is not comfortable. One common reason is front hip tightness. Try the Quick Relaxing Hip Stretch.
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Read success stories of these methods and send your own.
Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
RSS feeds still down - Click "updates via e-mail" (under trumpet) upper right.
See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
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Read success stories of these methods and send your own.
Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
RSS feeds still down - Click "updates via e-mail" (under trumpet) upper right.
See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
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Photo by David from Belgium
Labels: disc, fast fitness, hip, hip stretch, leg stretch, lower back, posture, stretch
2 Comments:
At Friday, April 11, 2008 7:44:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
I do this stretch every morning before getting out of bed. I have recommended this same stretch to all my friends who tell me that they wish they had known about it years ago.
I also do "The Quick Relaxing Sretch" on a daily basis. The pictures of Bernie show how it is done.
At Tuesday, April 28, 2009 4:39:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
I have been doing back extensions for awhile, as I have been told that this is good exercise for counteracting all of the forward bending which people do throughout their day. At times I think I have overstretched without knowing it doing back extensions and caused some pain. Do you not recommend the full back extension, which we see used so often?
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