2) Child's Pose, click here.
This is a stretch "borrowed" from Yoga. Whether your arms are forward or backward, we consider this folded position Child's Pose with your chest resting on your knees and your knees resting on the floor with your feet tucked under you. As your quads relax and lengthen you should more easily be able to also rest your hips on your heels.
Video coming soon.
Passive StretchesEach one of the pictures on this page links to printable instructions and video downloads of passive stretches we recommend to get the most out of your SMR efforts. Some of them can be performed as active stretches and a few can also be exercised as functional movements. Start with learning how to perform them very slowly as passive stretches, and as you make progress add more activity to address the more nuanced areas in addition to the targets of each stretch.
|
1) Cat Claw, click here.
This is essentially a particular modification of Child’s Pose from Yoga. The specific difference between Cat Claw and Child’s Pose is that with Cat Claw you reach across with both hands toward one side and drop your head underneath your armpit to allow a deeper stretch of the musculature attached to your shoulder. As you move your hands from one side to the other you should “walk” your fingers across, much like a cat’s paws clawing at the carpet. By walking your hands across instead of lifting and placing your arms on the other side you are less likely to stimulate the muscles attached to your shoulders which should allow a deeper stretch across the joint.
Video coming soon.
Many of us suffer from occasional lower back pain. Matter of fact 80% of all adults will at some time experience it and many of us have chronic low back pain which affects our choices of activities every day.
One of the likely muscular causes of lower back stress is a shortened and tight Psoas Muscle. 
If your psoas is shortened it is constantly pulling on your lumbar vertebrae, hip, and thigh. As it tightens more each day, the lower back muscles compensate to stabilize the amount of tension on either side of your spine. This leads to excessive stress placed on the vertebrae and discs between the vertebrae.
One effective way to safely lengthen the psoas to reduce the stress on your spine is to practice the "Supported Corpse Stretch" every single day until you no longer feel any stretch or tension in either your lower back or the front of your hips & thighs.
Tune in to your body and practice these and the other techniques found in the Alexander Method of SMR to find lasting relief from back pains that have muscular origins.
|
Passive Stretch: a passive position you hold for a long period of time (typically 2-5 minutes or more) to allow muscle tissue to lengthen beyond its functional capacity so as to encourage the growth of additional sarcomeres within each muscle involved to allow greater ROM and ease of movement. Active Stretch: an active position you hold for a short period of time (typically 1-10 seconds) to lengthen and retrain muscles to more effectively coordinate across a joint and allow for improved movement patterns, especially when each muscle is at its full-range functional length. Functional Movement: a constant motion movement you slowly practice to train muscles to more effectively coordinate across a joint and allow for improved movement patterns, especially when each muscle is at its full-range functional length. |
Passive Stretches
Active Stretches
Functional Movements
|
