Side-bending To Sit More Comfortably

This exercise is the 3rd of a series of 3 designed to improve your ease and comfort in sitting. Side-bending is one of the most critical spine movements necessary to have a healthy and flexible back, and to be able to sit comfortably. When your ability to bend sideways becomes limited, the muscular and skeletal alignment of your body suffers and this shows up as the muscles along one or both sides of your neck, chest and back being stiff and painful. You end up needing to use more muscle exertion than is necessary — even to hold yourself up in sitting. By the end of this lesson, your back will feel more mobile and you'll have the ability to sit more dynamically. You'll need a chair with a firm, flat seat for this exercise.

Transcript

In this exercise,

We'll explore one of the most critical spine movements necessary to have a healthy and flexible back,

Which is what you need in order to sit,

Stand,

And move comfortably.

You might not be aware of this,

But you actually do the side bending movement many times each day.

It's the movement you make when you lean over to pick something up,

When you're sitting in a chair,

Or when you reach for a stapler,

Or even when you reach for a glass from a cabinet.

When your ability to bend sideways becomes limited,

The muscular and skeletal alignment of your body suffers,

And this shows up as muscles along one or both sides of your neck,

Your chest,

Your back,

Being stiff and painful.

You end up needing to use more muscle exertion than is necessary even to hold yourself up in sitting.

So find your chair with a firm surface and let's begin.

Sit on the forward part of your chair with your legs a comfortable distance apart and your feet underneath your knees.

You can rest your hands gently on your thighs,

Relax your shoulders,

And just take a moment to sense and feel the contact of your pelvis with your chair.

Do you feel like one side of your pelvis is heavier or one side is more lifted away from the chair?

Don't worry about trying to fix anything,

Just observe yourself as you sit at the beginning of this exercise.

It's your ability to observe yourself just as you are that enables your brain to make the improvements in your musculature and in your posture.

Now,

Very slowly,

Tilt your head towards your right shoulder a tiny bit and then return it to the neutral starting position,

And then pause and do this again.

See if you can do it without turning your head.

So your face is facing forward and you tilt your head towards your right shoulder,

Just the tiny bit that feels completely easy and comfortable,

And then you bring your head back up and you pause before you do it again.

Try exhaling as you tilt your head to the right like that,

To your right shoulder.

Let every movement be very small and very slow.

So there's absolutely no goal to touch your ear to your shoulder.

You're not stretching,

You're not doing yoga,

You're not trying to do more.

In fact,

The less you do,

The more improvement you'll notice at the end of this exercise.

So see if you can relax your shoulders and your neck and only do what's completely comfortable and easy.

Remember,

You're working with your brain,

Not with your muscles.

So you exhale and you tilt your head to the right.

Don't stretch or strain.

If you feel any tension in your neck or your back,

Then make the movement even smaller.

Even if you're barely moving at all,

That's okay.

Notice that as you tilt your head that little bit to the right,

The ribs on your right side are moving closer together and the ribs on your left side are moving a little further apart.

And if this is difficult for you to feel,

Then just place your hands on the sides of your ribs and see if you can feel and sense that the ribs on the right get closer together and the ribs on the left expand a little bit.

And now pause for a moment in that neutral upright position.

And now begin to lift the weight of the right side of your pelvis a tiny little bit and then come back.

Lower your hip onto the chair and pause.

Make this movement very small.

It's okay if you're barely moving.

You simply transfer the weight onto the left side of your pelvis so that you can lighten the right side of your pelvis the tiniest little bit.

And then you return the weight of your right side of your pelvis to the chair in neutral and you rest for a moment before you do it again.

Go very,

Very slowly.

Let it be a very small movement.

In fact,

The right side of your pelvis doesn't have to lift off the chair at all.

It can just lighten a little bit.

Make each movement small and go so slowly that you can feel exactly where you might be using your muscles or where you might be contracting.

Keep doing less and making the movements even smaller.

Do you feel any contracting in your jaw or your belly as you do this?

Maybe your shoulders or your arms or your back?

And if so,

Do an even smaller movement.

And notice how when you lift the right side of your pelvis that teeny little bit,

Notice how your right foot presses into the floor a little bit.

It does it naturally.

You can feel that.

See if you can relax your right leg,

Your shoulders,

Your hands,

Your belly,

Your jaw.

And notice that when you lighten the right side of your pelvis,

That tiny little bit,

The ribs on your right side move closer together and your head spontaneously tilts a little bit to the right.

Good.

And now pause for a moment in neutral.

And now at the same time,

As you exhale,

Tilt your head a little towards your right shoulder and lift the weight of the right side of your pelvis,

The tiny little bit that's easy.

And then return to the neutral position and pause.

Really take a full breath before you do it again.

Make each movement smooth and comfortable.

If you're feeling strain or effort in any place,

You might be doing too much.

You can barely do the movement.

Remember,

We're working with your brain and your nervous system.

We're not trying to make change through your muscles.

It's a very different concept.

And notice that your right ear and your right hip move a little towards each other while your left ear and your left hip move further apart.

It's as if your spine is bending in a letter C,

A very subtle letter C.

Good.

And now pause in the middle and rest in sitting for a moment.

And now let's go back to that first movement you did.

Slowly tilt your head towards your right shoulder and come back.

Do it a few times and just notice how the right side of your neck and your chest are already a little more flexible.

And this movement is already a little bit easier than the first time you did it.

And once you have a sense of that,

Lean back in your chair and take a rest.

And just notice if the right side of your neck and the right side of your back feel a little more relaxed or a little warmer than the left side.

And now let's do this on the other side.

So come to the forward part of your chair.

Make sure your feet are underneath your knees and your knees are separated,

Hips distance apart.

And then sit on the neutral part of your spine.

And now very slowly and very gently as you exhale,

Tilt your head towards your left shoulder and then bring it back to the neutral position and pause.

So keep your face facing forwards and make the movement very small and very comfortable.

There's no stretching or straining in your neck.

Let your mouth be a little open as you exhale and you tilt your head towards your left shoulder.

See if you can breathe easily.

And notice that the ribs on your left side are moving closer together as you tilt your head to the left like this.

And the ribs on your right side are expanding a little bit.

And you pause between each movement.

You only have to do a few movements with your attention for a difference to start to happen.

Good.

And now rest in the neutral for a moment.

And now very slowly and very gently begin to lift the weight of the left side of your pelvis very slightly and then lower it completely.

And pause.

And do that again slowly.

You simply transfer the weight of the left side of your pelvis to the right side.

And you lower the left side again and rest for a moment.

Let the movement be very small and easy.

Use as little muscular effort as possible.

Let your belly relax.

Let your jaw relax.

Your mouth can be a little open.

Your tongue is resting in the lower palate.

And notice how your left foot presses a little bit into the floor as you gently lift the left side of your pelvis this tiny little bit.

Can you feel the weight shift from the left side of your pelvis to the right side of your pelvis?

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

And now simultaneously tilt your head towards your left shoulder while you lift the weight of the left side of your pelvis that tiny little bit.

And then return to neutral and pause for a moment before you do it again.

Use as little effort as possible so your spine and your chest and neck can move freely and comfortably.

You exhale as you initiate the movement.

See if you can relax your hands and your arms and your legs.

Relax your chest and your jaw.

And notice that your left ear and your left hip are moving towards each other.

At the same time that your right ear and your right hip are moving apart.

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

And now let's go back to that first movement on this side.

So tilt your head a little bit towards your left shoulder and then let it return to the neutral position.

Do it a few times and notice how the ease of this movement and how your flexibility has already improved a little bit.

You haven't stretched,

You haven't used effort.

You simply paid attention to your own sensations.

Good.

And now rest in your chair and feel how the left side of your neck and your lower back are more relaxed now.

And notice that the weight is a little more evenly distributed between both of your pelvic sitting bones.

So when your weight is evenly distributed,

The muscular stress of sitting for long periods of time is significantly reduced.

Your musculoskeletal system doesn't have to work hard to keep you upright and stable.

And your bones naturally and effortlessly stack on each other.

You can practice these easy movements on your own to reinforce new,

Healthier neural pathways of movement.

The most important factor is not the actual movements,

However,

But the focused attention that you pay to yourself and to your sensations as you do the movements.

So the more you can sense yourself and feel when you're using unnecessary muscle energy or force and then letting go of that effort by making the movement slower and smaller,

The more mobility and flexibility you'll begin to feel in your spine and actually in your entire body.

And the easier it will become for you to sit comfortably and do all the things you love doing in your life.

Thank you for practicing with me.

Reviews

Thanks again Susan.
This third in the series was the most challenging. The right side felt the improvement, while the left was less so. Seems like a good indication of some needed practice.
Will be aiming to practice all three of the series every couple of days for a while.
This is such valuable work and I'm surprised that only a small number of people have come to it on I.T.
Wishing you a safe and happy start to 2026.🙏