5 Stretches That Will Transform Your Posture
Do you get neck or lower back pain? Feel you slouch or are just sick of having shoddy posture? These 5 stretches can change that forever
Let's be honest, bad posture is super ageing
Standing taller and having better posture will instantly make you look younger, feel better, more confident and to put it bluntly... more attractive
But I'll let you be the judge of that one
Putting the superficial benefits to one side, bad posture will play absolute havoc on your quality of life over time
We all know someone that suffers from excruciating back pain. The sort of pain that stops them enjoying something as simple as a walk or picking their kids up
Pain that causes them to swear every time they get out of a car or huff and sigh when they have to bend over to pick something up from the ground
The same goes for chronic neck pain
Have you ever had neck pain so bad you feel physically sick every time you turn your head?
I have and it was beyond agony
I've had chronic back pain and pain so bad in my neck that I would have paid someone to finish me off with a shovel just to stop the pulsating pain tearing through my skull
Nasty stuff. So let's look at some incredible stretches you can be doing every day to eliminate any pains, stand taller and feel better!
1. CHILDS POSE
ABC yoga pose right?
And for good reason
The childs pose will release tension in your back, shoulders and chest
3 key areas that can cause pain or overtighten and cause a rounded posture
The childs pose will also help people who suffer from anxiety or are feeling particularly stressed
2. HIP FLEXOR STRETCH
Think of the hip flexor stretch like the "reverse sitting" stretch
The hip flexors runs from the lower back to the front of the thigh muscle (a physio would have a mental breakdown if they read that vague description but I'm trying to keep this as simple as possible!)
Sitting causes it to shorten and tighten. This restricts your movement and pulls on your lower back
Tight hip flexors result in lack of movement and pain in the lower back, groin and/or knee
If you sit alot or are an office worker you need this one a lot!
3. DOWNWARD DOG WALL STRETCH
When we sit, our hamstrings shorten. This over a long period of time will lead to super tight hamstrings and sleepy bum muscles
This might not sound like a big deal until you drop your keys on the floor, bend over to pick it up and your lower back screams at you
You see, the simple movement of picking something up from the ground should use our leg muscles, but when they're fast asleep or so tight they become useless, your body resorts to just using your lower back
Most people think that their backs are hurting because their backs are weak, when in fact it's because their hamstrings, bum and abs are weak
An overworked back = a pissed off back
Performing the downward dog wall stretch will release tension in your calves, hamstring, lower and midback as well as your shoulders and chest
An absolute essential stretch in my eyes
4. PIDGEON STRETCH
The Pidgeon pose is the perfect stretch to release tension and maintain hip flexibility
It releases tension in the hip flexors, the glute Maximus and minimus as well as the piriformis and psoas
In essence the pose completely stretches the groin and hip muscles that can lead to poor movement and a pinching feeling across the lower back and hip
5. CAT & COW
If we sit too long or are generally fairly inactive and unsupple, our spines can stiffen and become fairly rigid
Performing the cat&cow stretch releases tension in the back, neck, hips, abs, chest and even lungs
It's been proven to also aid menstrual cramps and sciatica
In essence the cat & cow pose puts your spine through a full range of motion both in the flexed and the arched position resulting in a much happier spine, neck and back!
CONCLUSION
Stretching is unbelievably important to improve the way you look, feel and move
It's oftern overlooked which in time can lead to muscle imbalances and bad posture
Luckily for you, you've got a really simple guide you can use to solve these problems forever
So how oftern should you be doing them?
I'd say 2-3 times a week would be amples, more if you want to
Hold each stretch for atleast 30 seconds, aiming to increase the stretch more and more over the weeks
Thanks for reading and as always, make sure you don't just read this. Impliment!
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