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Flexibility is the key to success

17.03.14 by Thomas Millar


Maintaining mobility in the body as we get older should be a priority. Simple tasks like sitting down and standing up, picking up things from the floor or tying one’s shoe laces can become a real challenge if we don’t watch out and keep the stiffness at bay. Below, you will find a succession of stretches that cover all the main muscles surrounding the most important joints in your body to make sure you stay as mobile as a toddler. The hip flexor stretch:

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Starting with one knee down, the other knee bent at a right angle. First, tuck the tailbone under, push the hips forward and bend the non-supporting knee (left knee on the pictures) forward over the toes. The goal is to feel a stretch along the front of the hip on the side of the supporting knee (right hip in the pictures.). To increase the stretch, you can reach up, either with one or both arms, and reach to the opposite direction of the hip being stretched (towards the left in the pictures.)

 

The Piriformis stretch:

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Lying on your  back, cross one ankle (right ankle in the picture) cost of cialis 5 mg across the opposite knee, and gently hug and pull the supporting knee towards your chest (left knee in the picture), holding on to the thigh with both hands. The upper body is relaxed and the shoulders are down on the floor. The stretching sensation should be felt in the hip on the side of the leg crossed over (right hip the picture)

 

The Cat Stretch:
The cat stretch is a very safe and efficient movement to maintain and improve flexion (rounding) and extension (arching) in the spine. Start by pushing the upper back towards upwards, pull the shoulder blades apart, tuck the tailbone under and look towards your bellybutton during the outbreath.

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Then as you breathe in, push the chest down towards the floor, drawing the shoulder blades together looking ahead. The goal of the cat stretch is to get as much mobility in the upper back (thoracic spine) as possible; really trying to move from the shoulder blades area rather than the lower back. If you know extension (second picture on the right) aggravates your back stop the movement when your upper body is parallel to the floor with your spine neutral.

 


Tummy toning exercises

23.01.14 by Thomas Millar

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