Picture a cow in a pasture or a sleeping cat—could their lives be any more relaxed? Since stress aggravates back pain, take a cue from these animals and practice this relaxing yoga-inspired stretch.
Get down on your hands and knees. Your hands should be pointing forward and aligned underneath your shoulders, and your knees should be aligned underneath your hips.
Inhale, and slowly arch your back over a count of 5, dropping your belly towards the floor and raising your head, chest, and tailbone up.
Don’t overuse your lower back muscles; let gravity do most of the work.
Hold the stretch for 3 seconds.
Exhale, and slowly round your back over a count of 5, dropping your head and tailbone down and pulling your belly inwards
Hold the stretch for 3 seconds.
To vary the stretch, rotate your midsection in a clockwise circle as you arch up and then down. Repeat 5-8 times and then rotate counter-clockwise for the same number of times.
Repeat the stretch 3-5 times in each direction.
Americans spend an estimated $24 billion a year on back pain treatments.
Something wrong? Report this How-To
Video is in Shape Up! (27 videos)
Comments (4)
practical advice-easy to do and definitely very helpful for you back
over 4 years ago by momliebman
In case you wondered why it's sometimes called the tiger position, try to picture a tiger that is just waking up and stretching.
<a href="http://www.trainwithmeonline.com/stretching_exercises.html">stretching exercises</a>
about 1 year ago by maruti
I like it because it streches my back.
about 1 year ago by errginn
When you are ready to come out of it, you can just walk your hands right back up the wall to come out of the stretch.
<a href="http://www.trainwithmeonline.com/stretching_exercises.html">stretching exercises</a>
about 1 year ago by maruti
Sign in or create an account to post a comment. Or, sign in using your Facebook to comment
and share your activity with your friends