Your Ultimate Guide to keeping your body loose and limber with some quick easy everyday tools that you can do in under 10 mins.
Osteopathy has taught me the importance of mobility. The older we get the more injuries cause stiffness and poor posture. Most people don't have time to do 30 min every day to keep up that stretch routine.
To boost mobility you have to keep moving! This everyday at home tools can help with back pain, neck pain, rib stiffness, Headaches, and overall wellbeing.
1.Proper Breathing Techniques for Improved Mobility and Stress Relief (physiological sigh)
- Enhancing your lung capacity and thoracic spine mobility through correct rib and diaphragm breathing is crucial.
- Taking the biggest breath you can expanding your lungs to your greatest volume then taking more at the top. like a small grasp for just a tiny bit more.
- This fills the tiny alveolar sacs in your lungs more than usual. This causes a great recoil to exhale more CO2 out of your body allowing more oxygen into our blood. This technique is proven in controlled studies to effectively help with stress and sleeping through inhibition through the vagus nerve.
- Expand your ribs upward to allow more oxygen into your lungs, a simple practice often underestimated.
- This mindful breathing not only aids in stress reduction but also promotes better thoracic spine and rib mobility, benefiting your overall well-being.
**2. Body Roll for Enhanced Spinal Mobility**
- The body roll exercise focuses on increasing mobility in both the thoracic and lumbar spine.
- Begin by lying on your side with your top leg straight and the other extended forward.
- Gently swing your top arm backward to initiate a controlled twist, all while focusing on your breath.
- This exercise is particularly effective for relieving stiffness in your back and improving overall spinal mobility.
**3. Cat-Cow Stretch for Addressing Kyphosis Issues**
- Address kyphosis (flexed thorax) with the cat-cow stretch, which reintroduces extension into areas prone to forward slumping.
- Start on your hands and knees and lower your chest to create extension (cow pose).
- Then, flex your spine by rounding your back (cat pose).
- This routine enhances spinal mobility and is vital for maintaining posture and flexibility.
**4. The Benefits of Sleeping on Your Back**
- Sleeping on your back promotes symmetry in your posture, as both shoulders and the pelvis rest flat on the bed.
- This position naturally aligns your cervical spine, reducing strain on your neck.
- If you experience lower back discomfort when sleeping on your back, try placing a pillow under your knees to alleviate pressure on the sacrum and lumbar region.
- This simple adjustment can help prevent long-term spinal issues caused by years of side sleeping.
I practice osteopathy in Kelowna at the modern method clinic downtown at 810 clement Ave. if you have any questions please do not hesitate to give me a call.