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Be Lazy With Child’s Pose

By on Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 | No Comments

Being very lazy, this is another one of my favorite exercises to do on waking up.

This passive stretch helps to lengthen the lower back and relax all the muscles of the back. There is no effort or strain in doing child’s pose. You just let gravity and time do the stretching.

Kneel on the bed or the carpeted floor or on a mat.

Sit up straight to start. If this is too much on your knees, take a towel and roll it up and put it behind your knees.

Now that your quads are stretched, separate your knees as much or as little as you like. I like to have my knees separated so that my torso fits between my legs when I lean forward.

Lean forward and lie on your thighs, or it your knees are separated, between your thighs.

You can put your arms in front of you on the floor and get a nice shoulder stretch at the same time, or keep your arms at your sides.

If your head does not reach the floor, put a pillow in front of your knees for your head to rest on.

Some people feel a little claustrophobic doing it, but if you separate your knees wide, you will feel fine.

Think of this like the first back stretch in Morning Exercises but you are flipped over onto your knees instead of your back.

You can see Beth do it here when she is pregnant with Ava:

Another Silly Thing That Works

By on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 | No Comments

The other day Ava was crying.  She’s only five months old, so she does that a lot.

To quiet her, I was carrying her in a pouch that hangs around the front of my body.  It is a very comfortable way to hold her and it keeps both hands free.

As I was walking around the house, I slowed down my steps so that they were slow motion.

Try it.  No need for a baby as a prop.

Pay attention to how you place down your heel and roll forward on that foot to the toes and how the other leg starts its motion.  As you do it, slow down the motion as much as possible.

I tend to walk with my toes pointing at 11 O’clock and 1 O’clock, so when I do this exercise, I try to put my feet down straight ahead.

Also flat, I tend to roll out to the outside of my feet, so I have to work to place my feet down flat.

As you continue to walk super slow, work your way up from your feet to your knees.  Try to keep them pointing over your second toe.

I feel all sorts of muscles working that I don’t ordinarily feel.  In fact, my hip flexors start to cramp when I do this.

Try it and write a comment below on how it feels.

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