for Better Posture...

Thoracic back mobility

1- Place the foam roller under the base of your shoulder blades. Bring your elbows closer to each other. Place hands under the head. Slowly move your head back as you feel a stretch in the rib cage and abdomen. Relax your hips and try not to overarch your lower back. Take deep and steady diaphragmatic breathing, and notice your breath travels 360 degrees in your body. As you exhale slowly and controlled, notice a saddle release in the front of your rib cage, abdomen and neck. Always start as short as 10 seconds, and keep practicing every day a bit longer.

Chest Opening

2- Place the foam roller under the base of shoulder blades. Put hands behind the base of skull, bend knees and feet flat on the floor. Slowly extend the back and neck. Make sure to support your neck with hands- simply rest the neck on your hands. If you feel to much compression on the back, place the roller higher on the back, more toward the upper back. This time, keep your elbows open as wide as you can. Follow the breathing as above. Always wait for the natural release, don't force the stretch!

Piriformis stretch

What is piriformis?

Piriformis is one of the "deep six hip rotator" muscles that are located deep to the gluteus maximus.

What does it do?

Piriformis externally rotate the hip joint, and abduct the hip joint when hip is flexed. It stabilizes the pelvis while standing, controls medial rotation of the hip joint during the early phase of walking and running.

FUN FACTS:

Piriformis is a descendant of the great caudofemoral elevator muscles that can still seen today extending from a reptile's femur to its tail. These muscles provide reptile with the greater thrusting force to extend its leg while running.

How to stretch it?

Lie on the floor or bed, pull your knee toward the opposite shoulder, with your opposite arm, pull your foot toward the opposite shoulder. You feel a stretch right underneath your bottom toward the tailbone.

Why are the Hamstrings always tight?

What are the hamstrings?

The hamstrings are one group of three muscles: Biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranous. They all originate from ischial tuberosity (your sitting bones) and extend down behind the knee with a tendon. Biceps femoris attaches to the fibula (your calf bone), and the other two hamstrings attach to tibia (your shin bone).

Why your hamstrings are always tight even though you stretch them everyday?

The tightness is most likely originating from somewhere else- lower back and hip flexors, not from your hamstrings directly.

When our hips don't move as much as they are designed for, muscles of the hips (hamstring, hip flexors, glutes) are all shortened. This happens when we sit too much! Sitting creates tight hip flexors, tilts your pelvis, arches the lower back, and weakens the glutes and deep core muscles. As a result of poor pelvic position, the hamstrings are shortened and become tight.

What to do?

Active stretches will help to loosen up the tight muscles and improve the range of motion. Self-myofascial release with foam roller will releasse tight lower back and glutes.

Lie down on the floor, lift your bottom off the floor into bridge position, and place the soft density foam roller under the sacrum. Lift and straigthen your LEFT leg up first, and then lower down as straight as you can. REPEAT moving your leg up and down at least 10 times. SWITCH to RIGHT leg, and repeat the exercises.

When do you use your hamstrings?

You use them when you bend your knees and move your legs backwards.

Running, cycling, swimming, climbing stairs.

Stabilizing your hip while bending over to tie your shoes or pick up the trash from the floor.

FUN FACTS: The name "hamstring" originated in 18th century England. Back then, buthcers would display pig carcasses in their shop windows by hanging them from long tendons at the back of the knee.