Rotating Your Spine To Sit More Comfortably

This exercise is the 2nd of a 3-part series, designed to give you ease and comfort in sitting. You will learn that it doesn’t take stretching or even strengthening the muscles of your back to regain mobility and flexibility. In fact, it takes the release of unconsciously held muscle tension. A few minutes of focused attention several times each week will help retrain your brain, the control center of your entire body, to change these habitual patterns of muscle tension and create natural ease in movement through your spine and pelvis.

Transcript

In this exercise,

You'll experience the ease of rotating your spine,

A movement that so many people avoid doing because they just don't have the mobility.

When your thoracic spine or the middle of your back is immobile because of sitting for multiple hours each day,

Then it leaves your lower back and neck to carry the responsibility for doing daily movements that are critical for living life.

We tend to dread turning to look behind us and come up with all kinds of workarounds.

But to have a healthy spine and feel ease and comfort when sitting or when moving,

We need to be able to rotate our spines a certain amount.

This exercise will show you that it doesn't take stretching or even strengthening the muscles of your back to regain that mobility and flexibility.

In fact,

It takes the release of unconsciously held muscle tension.

A few minutes of focused attention several times each week will help retrain your brain,

The control center of your entire body,

To change these habitual patterns of immobility and create natural ease and movement.

So please find your chair with a firm seat and let's get started.

So sit forward on your chair with your legs hips distance apart and your feet flat on the floor underneath your knees.

Rest your hands on your thighs,

Relax your shoulders,

And feel the bones of your pelvis on the seat of your chair and find that neutral position,

That place where you're neither rolling too far forward or too far back on the bones of your pelvis.

If you're not clear about this,

That's okay.

You'll become clearer as this exercise moves forward.

Take a moment and really find that neutral position.

It's okay if it's not clear and relax your jaw and your belly and your legs.

And now very slowly begin to turn your torso,

Shoulders,

Head,

And eyes to the right.

Go very slowly and notice where you feel that first little bit of resistance and only go as far as that.

So only go where you don't have to use any muscular effort to turn and then come back to the neutral,

Facing forward and pause for a moment.

And now do this again.

You turn your torso,

Shoulders,

Head,

And eyes,

That little tiny bit to the right that's easy and you let your pelvis and legs stay facing forward.

Don't go to the range where you have to use muscular effort or strength to continue to turn.

Even if you're only turning a small distance,

Just notice where that range is where it's completely easy to turn.

Remember the size of the movement has no bearing on the improvement you're gonna feel after this class.

And now come back to neutral,

Facing forward,

And pause.

Notice if you were holding your breath.

And now this time,

Do the same thing.

Turn to the right with your torso,

Shoulders,

Head,

And eyes and just pause there in that easy range.

Look at the wall wherever you've turned to and mark a spot on the wall.

So this is your reference point for later in this exercise.

So make sure you can remember what point you've marked on the wall.

And now come back to the neutral and rest for a moment.

And now this time,

Look at that spot on,

Look at a spot on the wall in front of you and turn your shoulders,

Torso,

And head to the right,

But keep your eyes facing forward.

So don't let your eyes move with your head.

Really go slowly.

You're moving your shoulders,

Torso,

And head to the right,

But your eyes are staying forward.

And you only go in this movement to the degree that it's completely easy to turn without any effort.

And now come back to the neutral and pause for a moment before doing it again.

Really go slowly.

So doing two or three movements very slowly,

Paying attention to your sensations is much more valuable than doing the movement many times in a repetitive way.

We're not interested in the number of movements or in doing the movements bigger.

In fact,

Going slowly and making the movements small so that they're completely comfortable and easy has much more benefit.

All right,

And now the next time you come to neutral again,

Rest,

And now let's go back to that reference movement.

Turn your torso,

Shoulders,

Head,

And eyes to the right and see where you can easily turn.

And just notice if something has changed.

Good.

Now come back to neutral and rest again for a moment.

Now this time,

Keep your eyes and head facing forward as you turn your shoulders and torso to the right.

Go slowly and only turn as far as it's completely comfortable.

Notice if you're turning your head too.

Really pay attention to what you're doing.

So most people think they're keeping their head facing forward,

But they're really turning it.

So notice what you're doing.

Keep your head and eyes facing forward as you turn your shoulders and torso to the left,

Just to the right,

Just to the degree that it's easy.

And then turn back to the neutral and do it again slowly.

See if you can observe yourself with a nonjudgmental attitude and just notice what it is that you're actually doing.

When you know what you're doing,

You can do what you want.

And now come back to the neutral and rest.

You can lean back in your chair.

You can even pause the audio here if you want and take a little longer rest.

Okay,

And now come back to your chair with your hands resting on your legs.

Your feet are flat underneath your knees.

Your knees are separated.

And now let's check that reference movement again.

Turn your torso,

Shoulders,

Head,

And eyes to the right and see if there's been any improvement.

Is something easier in this movement or smoother?

Do you notice a little more range?

Good,

And now come back to the middle again.

Now this time,

Begin to slide your left knee a tiny bit forward and then back to the neutral position and pause.

So do this slowly and pause between each movement.

You keep your feet on the floor and you just simply slide your left knee the tiny bit that's very easy forward and then back to the neutral and you pause.

And notice when you slide your left knee like this a little bit forward,

Notice how the left side of your pelvis shifts a little bit on the seat of your chair.

And can you feel that when you slide your left knee that tiny bit forward,

Your left shoulder moves a little bit.

You might even notice your right shoulder moves a little back.

Just notice what happens naturally.

And then when you come back to neutral with your knee,

Your shoulders come back to neutral and now pause for a moment.

And now this time,

Slide your left knee forward that little tiny bit and allow your torso,

Shoulders,

Head and eyes to turn to the right at the same time.

So only do the movement that's completely easy and comfortable and then let everything come back to the neutral at the same time and pause.

And then do it again.

Go very slowly and see if you can sense when you're needing to use some muscular effort.

Maybe you're using effort in your lower back or your neck.

Maybe you're holding your breath.

Is there any place you notice in your whole self where you're not relaxed?

Can you open your mouth a little bit and allow your belly to be relaxed and not help?

Is your tongue pressing into the roof of your mouth or into the backs of your teeth?

Can you let your tongue rest in the lower palate of your mouth gently?

And what if you initiate this movement as you exhale?

Can you feel how that allows your chest and your ribs to soften a little bit?

Good,

And now come back to neutral and rest for a moment.

And one more time,

Simply turn your torso,

Shoulders,

Head and eyes to the right just to where it's completely comfortable and easy.

And notice where your original reference point is that you marked on the wall earlier.

Have you passed that?

Is that point higher or lower than you were looking now?

So not only can you effortlessly rotate your spine further,

But you've grown a little taller as well.

Good,

And now come back and rest.

You can lean back in your chair if you like.

So the key to this exercise is that you made extremely small and easy movements without using any force or any muscular effort.

And you moved slowly so that you could really feel when you were inclined to use that muscular effort.

When you pay attention to yourself in this way,

You'll find that the improvements happen spontaneously and effortlessly.

Your brain will command your muscles to let go because your nervous system perceives that it's no longer necessary to grip or to contract.

Your nervous system doesn't feel threatened by instability and therefore your muscles can relax.

I know this is not like any flexibility exercise you've ever done,

So I get it that it's a new concept,

But you just experienced increased mobility without stretching or forcing.

So now you can do the same exercise on the other side.

Simply replay this audio and make the adjustments for turning to the left.

And if you practice this exercise just a few times a week,

You'll reinforce the new,

Healthier neural pathways of relaxation in your back muscles.

And you'll find that sitting will become more and more comfortable for you.

And just moving in general will become more comfortable.

Thank you for practicing with me.

Reviews

A great practice thanks Susan. I have been aware that my Thoracic area is tight and this exercise really helps 🙏

Hello beautiful 🌞🏝️🌞🏝️🌞Thank you so much for the wonderful practice 🎀🎀🎀like unwrapping a present I have pleasure turning around 🗺️have a blessed day 🕉️ Namaste