A healthy spine is the basis of the health of the whole organism. Often we ourselves contribute to the deformation of the spine, sitting in the wrong position, falling asleep on a too soft mattress, wearing inappropriate shoes ... Not to mention various injuries, excess weight, a sedentary lifestyle ... Therefore, it is so important to perform exercises for the spine.

Before starting the exercises, it will be useful to eliminate the following factors that adversely affect the condition of the spine:

1. Inappropriate shoes. Take your shoes and look at the sole. If the sole is worn unevenly (for example, the outer side of the foot is worn more than the inside), you probably need insoles. Insoles should also be worn with flat feet (however, in this case, women can wear shoes with a small heel, about 5 cm). Insoles should be made to order - standard insoles practically do not fit anyone. If you constantly wear shoes with very high heels, this is also not good for the spine.
2. Wrong posture at the table. If you work in an office, especially at a computer, then make sure that your spine is in a straight position, that your shoulders are at the same level and that you do not have to lift your head while looking at the monitor.
3. Curved coccyx. If you suffer from lower back pain, your "tail" (the last 3-5 vertebrae) may be twisted. This could happen as a result of an injury (perhaps even in childhood - they hit the coccyx, unsuccessfully moving down the hill) or due to an incorrect sitting posture. A bent coccyx must be straightened.
4. Soft mattress. And also, an orthopedic mattress that takes the shape of the body. It would seem that such a mattress should help to relax, but everything happens the other way around. If you like to sleep on soft, you will be helped by special exercises (described below), which are done before bedtime.

Exercises for the spine - a mandatory complex before going to bed.

These 2 simple exercises will suit even the laziest. They must be done before bed. But you can additionally perform them also in the morning or at any other time of the day.

Why right before bed? During the day, we experience many experiences, not all of which are particularly pleasant, which makes us slouch. Sitting in the wrong positions also distorts our posture - and to fix this, it is not enough just to get up from a chair and stretch. We come home with a far uneven back, which remains so until the evening. Then we lie down to sleep straight up and our expensive orthopedic mattress takes the shape of the body - twisted during the day. And so we sleep without relaxing spasmodic muscles, without straightening our poor, twisted spine.

The following exercises will relax your muscles and straighten your spine before going to bed, which will help you get a good night's rest and restore proper posture.

Hang on the bar before bed. This simple exercise will relieve you of many problems with the spine. The crossbar is a necessary item in every home. If you don't have it yet, be sure to buy it.

Duration - 1-3 minutes. If you can't hang out for a minute, take a break. The main thing is that in total you should get at least a minute of hanging on the crossbar.

If it's hard for you and you can't keep your weight at all - it's not scary. Just grab the bar with your hands and transfer some of the weight to your hands, slightly relaxing your knees, but continuing to lean on the floor with your feet. Thus, you will be able to regulate the weight attributable to the hands. Gradually, your arms will get stronger and you will be able to lift your legs off the floor, but this is not the goal.

A variant of this exercise without the crossbar is possible. Lie on the floor on your back (you can on a thin mat for gymnastics / yoga). Stretch your arms behind your head and stretch with all your might - arms and legs in opposite directions. This option is less effective than hanging from the bar, because your weight does not help you stretch.

Hanging on the bar, described in the previous exercise, stretches the entire spine, except for the cervical region. Body weight does not affect what is above the shoulders. However, this is for the best - the effect on the cervical spine should be more delicate.

Sit or stand up straight, hands freely lower along the body. Imagine that a thread is tied to your crown, by which you are pulled up. Pull your head up (without lifting your chin!), using only the muscles of the neck.

Stretching your neck, stay in this position for a few seconds. Relax your neck and repeat again.

Stretch your neck again and tilt your head slightly to the right and left, 2-4 cm.

Exercises for the spine - an addition to the complex before bed.

These exercises can be done before the exercises described above. They can be done separately, at any time.

This exercise is for the lower spine.

Sit on the floor with your legs straight forward. Stretch your arms in front of you and fold in front of your chest, placing one hand on top of the other (or in the same position as in the photo).

Move your right buttock forward, then move your left buttock as if walking on your buttocks. Try to minimize the use of leg muscles.

Take 8 such steps forward. Then, move the left buttock back, and then the right. Take 8 such steps back.

Repeat the exercise three to five times (8 steps forward and the same number of steps back).

Exercise for the spine - we throw our legs behind our heads.

In yoga, this exercise is called "plow". If you can’t do it as shown in the photo, then you should not try to do it at all costs.

Lie on your back with your arms extended along your body. Raise your straight legs vertically up. Start lowering your legs behind your head, slowly lifting your back, vertebra by vertebra. Strive to touch the floor with your toes without bending your knees.

Hold this position for a comfortable time (at first, limit yourself to 10 to 30 seconds). Then, also slowly, lift your legs up, lowering your back to the floor. Continue the movement by lowering your legs to the starting position.

After this exercise, the back bending of the spine is always performed - the next exercise.

This exercise must be performed every time the previous one is performed.

Roll over onto your stomach and rest your palms on the floor at shoulder level. Raise your head, then begin slowly, vertebra by vertebrae, to raise your upper back while straightening your arms. The head is tilted back. try not to tear your legs and hips off the floor.

Stay in this position for exactly the same amount of time as you were in the plow position (previous exercise).

Then, also slowly, lower your upper body to the floor. First the belly falls, then the chest, and only then the head.

Exercises for the spine - twisting.

A set of exercises for the spine will not be complete if you do not include twisting in it. It is believed that twisting can harm the spine. The exercises described below have a very gentle effect, but if you suffer from any diseases of the spine, you can consult a doctor before doing them.

I suggest using a set of exercises called "Crocodile". The name of the complex is not accidental - it was developed by Australian chiropractors, who took the movement of crocodiles as the basis, since the spines of these reptiles are in very good condition. The complex is designed to prevent and treat diseases of the spine, it is very easy to perform and has no age restrictions (suitable for both children and the elderly).

The complex consists of a series of exercises during which spiral turns of the spine are performed (a twist is called a spiral turn, in which the legs turn in one direction and the head in the other).

These twists strengthen the muscles responsible for the respective movements, improve the elasticity of the ligaments and tendons, and correct congenital and acquired spinal deformities. By relieving tension, the tension between the vertebrae and intervertebral discs contributes to their recovery and reduction of intervertebral hernias.

The complex "Crocodile" is effective in such diseases of the spine as osteochondrosis, hernia, sciatica, etc. It is also recommended for healthy people.

But the impact of these exercises is not limited to the spine. Performing the "Crocodile" complex, you massage the internal organs by squeezing, stretching and turning. You improve blood circulation, and also have a beneficial effect on the nervous system, similar to the effect of acupuncture.

This complex also has contraindications: bronchial asthma, pneumosclerosis, pulmonary tuberculosis.

The "Crocodile" complex is performed lying on your back (preferably on the floor, on a gymnastic mat or yoga mat). When exercising, it is important to monitor your breathing. Inhalation is carried out during a spiral turn, and exhalation - when returning to its original position.

Each exercise consists of 4 spiral turns in each direction (8 turns in total). In the extreme right and left positions of the body, you need to linger for 4 seconds.

After each exercise, be sure to relax in the "fish" pose (here this pose is somewhat different from the well-known yoga pose of the same name). To do this, take a breath and at the same time bend your knees (putting your feet on the floor), and your arms at your elbows (resting your elbows on the floor). The hands hang freely. Then, as you exhale, you need to slowly, without effort, straighten your legs and lower your arms.

Attention! When performing the complex, it is important to follow the specified sequence of exercises.

Here are these exercises for twisting the spine:

1. Starting position: lying on your back, arms to the sides, palms down, feet shoulder-width apart. Make spiral turns left and right.
2. The starting position of the hands is the same. The legs are crossed at the ankles - the right is placed on the left. Make spiral turns left and right. Do 8 twists (4 in each direction).
3. The starting position is the same, only the legs change places: put the left foot on the right. Perform 8 more twists.
4. The starting position is the same, but now the right foot is placed on the toe of the left so that the Achilles tendon of the right foot is between the thumb and forefinger of the left. Do twists.
5. The starting position is the same, only the legs are reversed. Do twists.
6. The starting position of the hands is the same, but both legs are bent at the knee and hip joints, and the feet are on the floor (the distance between the heels is equal to the length of the lower leg). Make spiral turns left and right.
7. The starting position is the same as always, except for the legs: the left is extended and lies on the floor, and the right is bent at the knee and lies on top of the left so that its ankle is located above the knee of the left leg. Make spiral turns only to the left.
8. The starting position is the same, the legs change places. Make spiral turns only to the right.
9. The starting position is the same. The left leg is bent at the knee, the foot is on the floor. The right leg with the outer side of the ankle touches the left knee. Make spiral turns left and right.
10. The starting position is the same, the legs change places. Make spiral turns left and right.
11. The starting position is the same. Bend your legs at the knees and pull your knees up to your chest. Do twists.
12. The starting position is the same. The left leg is straight, lying on the floor. The right straight leg is raised up at a right angle. Lower your right leg to the left, turning your head to the right. Stay in this position. Then raise the right leg up and lower it to the floor, next to the left. Raise the straight left leg up at a right angle. Lower your left leg to the right. linger. Then lift your left leg and lower it to the floor, next to your right. It is done 1 time.
13. The final exercise is called "Rocking". Starting position: sit down, bending your knees, wrapping your arms around them and pressing them to your chest. Lower your chin and press it to your chest. Round the back. Do rolls (10-15 times).

To properly perform a set of exercises for twisting the spine, watch this video:

This method is positioned as a way to quickly lose weight (the waist is reduced by a few centimeters) and even grow a little, just lying 5 minutes a day on a roller rolled from a towel. The Japanese Fukutsuji developed his method for ten years, and then described it in a book that became a bestseller (circulation of 6 million copies). A huge number of rave reviews leave no doubt - the method works.

What is the basis of such a truly amazing effect of this method?

The author of the method proved that one of the main reasons for an insufficiently thin waist is the unnatural (wrong) arrangement of the pelvic bones and ribs. Which, in turn, causes incorrect posture and a shift in internal organs. And if you "lay" them correctly, the waist will become thinner, the chest - higher, the height - more, the posture - slimmer.

The essence of the method is that for several minutes you lie on a roller rolled from a towel.

The static exercise described below allows you to return the bones to their place, thanks to the special position of the body, in which certain muscles are stretched and relaxed. After all, it is the spasmodic muscles that are responsible for the displacement of bones and poor posture (why they spasm and what to do about it is a question for a separate article). As a result, posture defects are corrected, and the internal organs return to their natural position. We see that:

• the waist is noticeably reduced,
• chest gets taller
• posture improves,
• growth is increasing
• figure becomes slimmer
  
• feeling better.
  

At the same time, the exercise does not affect body fat in any way, so it would be wrong to call it exercise for weight loss. But this exercise is extremely useful for the spine!

However, improving the functioning of internal organs and eliminating muscle clamps contributes to the normalization of blood circulation and metabolism, which, in some cases, may well help to get rid of extra pounds. Therefore, those who promote the Fukutsuji method as a miracle cure for weight loss are not so wrong.

And now - the exercise itself to restore the natural position of the skeleton and spine:

1. Roll up a roll of a bath towel and tie it tightly with a thread. In the beginning, use a roller with a thickness of no more than 10 centimeters. Over time, having practiced lying on a roll of a towel, you can roll a thicker roll from a bedspread or from two towels. If you suffer from lower back pain, use a thinner roller first.

2. Lie down on a flat surface (a hard couch is fine, but it is preferable to lie on the floor covered with a thin mat for gymnastic exercises or yoga). Place a roll of towel under your back (lower back) so that it is exactly under your navel, as shown in the picture. Make sure the roller is positioned correctly. Correct it if necessary.

3. Put your straight legs so that there is a distance of about 10 centimeters between the heels. Turn your feet so that your big toes touch each other. The legs may be slightly bent at the knees if they cannot be fully extended.

4. Get straight arms behind your head and turn your palms down. Connect the little fingers of the hands together. The arms do not have to be fully extended. If not, they can remain slightly bent at the elbows. The main thing is that the little fingers touch each other.

5. Stay in this position for 5 minutes. You can set an alarm.

6. After completing the exercise, rise slowly, being careful. Thanks to this exercise, your skeleton and spine will immediately begin to return to the correct position, which can be painful. The more deformed your skeleton was, the stronger the changes will be and the more care you need to take.

7. Do this spine exercise every day, no exceptions.

Finally...

By performing exercises for the spine, we care not only about our physical health, but also about the ability to withstand stress, cope with life's difficulties, love and respect ourselves and earn the respect of others, as well as grow and develop as a person. If it seems to you that I am overestimating the importance of the spine, remember with what expressions we describe strong, strong-willed people, and with what expressions we describe weak, broken people: "he has an inner core", "you cannot break him", "he walks through life with a high head"... or "he bent under the weight of guilt/grief", "bowed before someone's authority", "bent under the circumstances", and about someone they even say "spineless"...

Notice how a confident person stands and walks. Any emotional trauma, resentment, shame, guilt makes a person bend - and this begins from early childhood. Physical injuries, starting with a bad fall or running in the wrong shoes, also contribute to spinal deformity. Regardless of what was the cause of the deformations, they affect both the physical health and the spiritual, mental and emotional state of a person.

In this regard, I want to offer one more, last, exercise for the spine, borrowed from Mirzakarim Norbekov's book "Confessions of a Fool".

Exercise for the spine - smile for no reason.

The essence of this exercise is in the relationship of the emotional state with posture and facial expression. I will not give here a complete theoretical justification - those who wish can easily find and read Norbekov's book. Briefly, the theory is:

Everyone is familiar with such a phenomenon recognized by official medicine as psychosomatic diseases. That is, diseases, the cause of which is in the mental, emotional state of the patient, which leads to physical malaise. But there is also the other side of the coin - so to speak, "psychosomatic treatment." That is, by consciously changing your emotional state for the better, you can significantly improve your physical condition, up to getting rid of existing, often chronic, diseases.

But how to force yourself to experience joy, inspiration, happiness? There is a simple way to do this - you need to take the pose of a happy, self-confident person (straighten your back, straighten your shoulders), make an appropriate facial expression (depict a smile, if possible sincere) - and walk like that ... constantly. Minimum 2 weeks. At first, you will feel stupid, remembering the saying "smiling for no reason is a sign of foolishness." Yes, and a smile out of habit may not look particularly natural, more like a grimace.

But, after a few days (in especially advanced cases - 2 weeks), you will be surprised to notice that you are constantly in a good mood and the smile, briefly seen in the mirror, no longer seems strained. And the shoulders straighten by themselves, without a conscious effort on your part ...

So, we are doing an exercise for the spine, which can be called "a smile for no reason":

Stand up, straighten your back, straighten your shoulders, raise your head high (without lifting your chin). Think of something good. Imagine something that will make you feel joy, pride and happiness. Do not hold back your imagination - here you are being awarded the Nobel Prize, or, if you are a woman, a young handsome millionaire makes you an offer of marriage, heart and fortune ... The main thing is to let a sincere smile appear on your face and your shoulders straighten themselves.

Fix in memory this body position, posture and facial expression.

Now the most difficult thing: constantly, regardless of the circumstances and no matter what emotions you experience, maintain this posture and expression. If you catch yourself on the fact that you stopped smiling, hunched over or lowered your head, immediately return to the starting position.

How does the spine affect our health, ability to adapt to circumstances, change and develop? The spine is the key to health, the key to the ability to adapt, change and develop. My self-esteem, the way I see myself, the way I look is determined and reflected on the spine: compare how the spine looks when you are confident and when you are insecure. The spine is your "inner core". Let's go back in time. Each fall, each injury, each insult, each humiliation - clamps the spine in a certain position. As long as the spine remains clamped, the psychological trauma also remains. How? After all, it happened many years ago. But every trauma, physical and psychological, is stored in the memory. The memory of the event, on a subconscious level, causes the muscles to contract, changing the posture and position of the vertebrae. So the spine bears all the injuries - physical and psychological. Physical trauma forces the body to adapt to it so as not to experience pain. For example: sprained ankle causes limp; pain in the side forces to lean in the opposite direction. This is how the nervous system creates muscle clamps that prevent the body from functioning optimally, and this is how the body is caught in the grip of injury. Every trauma, every crisis leaves a mark: physical-emotional-mental. Every time we remember, tell, hear or see something that will remind us of the event that traumatized us, we will react and act accordingly: If we have experienced joy, victory, achievement, the spine straightens. If we have experienced defeat or loss, the spine bends. Have I taken on the role of the victim? Or decided to become strong? The spine will look accordingly. There is a correspondence between how we perceive ourselves and reality and our body. When the spine is pinched, our ability to experience emotions suffers. What does it mean? Each emotion has its own position of the body (and spine). What does a person look like when he is sad, happy, happy, angry, offended? A pinched spine makes it impossible to experience the full range of emotions. Character traits are also associated with the spine. The ability to change and adapt requires spine flexibility. When the spine is locked in a certain position, it is difficult or impossible to change and adapt. As the spine is clamped, limited, so all reactions and actions are limited by habitual patterns.

Eka-pada-sirshasana (posture - foot behind the head)

Eka-pada-shirshasana (pose - foot behind the head) technique: Sit on the floor. Stretch your legs forward. Bend your left leg slightly and take it with your right hand from the outside by the ankle. With your left hand, grab a little above the ankle (the elbow and shoulder part of the left hand should touch the inner surface of the left thigh).

Using your hands, lift your left leg as high as you can and try to place it on your left shoulder. Lower your left arm so that it is on the outside of your left thigh.

With your right hand, lift your left leg even higher and place its foot behind the neck.

Fold your palms in front of your chest. Stay in this position for a time that is convenient for you (do not overexert yourself). Then slowly return to the starting position. Do the same with the other leg.

Complete 2 cycles.

Breath: In the final position, breathe slowly and deeply.

Concentration: On the breath.

Restrictions: Asana should not be performed by pregnant women, as well as people suffering from sciatica.

Benefits of practice: Asana massages alternately both sides of the abdomen; tones the genitals and eliminates their diseases. The asana is also practiced for the treatment of varicose veins, but in this case the final position must be held for a longer period of time.

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Working muscles

Main working muscles:

1. Muscles that flex the spine: rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique.
2. Muscles that flex the leg at the hip joint: iliopsoas, rectus femoris, sartorius, tensor fascia lata, pectineus.

Accessory muscles:

1. Abdominal muscles that stabilize the position of the spine: transverse abdominal muscle.
2. Muscles that extend the leg in the hip joint: gluteus maximus, posterior thigh muscles.
3. Abductors of the thigh: gluteus medius, gluteus minimus.
4. Adductor muscles of the thigh: adductor longus, adductor short, adductor magnus, gracilis.
5. Muscles that extend the leg at the knee joint: quadriceps femoris.
6. Muscles that perform plantar flexion of the foot in the ankle joint: calf muscle, soleus muscle.
7. Muscles that extend the arm in the shoulder joint: latissimus dorsi, teres major, posterior deltoid muscle.

Starting position when rolling with straight legs. Lie on your back, stretch your arms along your torso, palms down. Raise your straightened legs at an angle of about 60 degrees to the floor, or even higher if this helps you better maintain a stable position of the pelvis.

Inhale. Raise your legs vertically (flexion at the hip joint at an angle of 90 degrees).

Exhalation. Flex your spine, lift your pelvis off the mat and push it towards your shoulders as your legs pass over your head.

Inhale. Lower your legs to the floor, as shown in the picture, if flexibility allows, and then spread them shoulder-width apart.

Exhalation. Rolling slowly on your back, lower your pelvis to the mat. After that, continue to lower your legs to the starting position.

Repeat the straight leg roll again, but start it with legs apart, and in the 4th phase, when the legs are behind the head, bring them together.

Repeat the exercise 6 times, of which the legs in the 1st phase are brought together 3 times and 3 times apart.

Draw in the belly on straight-legged rolls to stabilize the pelvis and prevent excessive arching of the lower back as the hip flexors keep the legs suspended and lifted to a vertical position in phases 1 and 2.

Use the abdominal muscles to posteriorly tilt the pelvis and flex the spine at the beginning of the 3rd phase. Start at the bottom and create maximum arch in the lower back during the back roll phase. People with flexible spines may need to simultaneously contract the extensor muscles slightly to achieve even flexion and prevent excessive flexion in the middle and lower spine.

Use your hip flexors to lift your legs off the mat in phase 3 and control their lowering in phase 4 of straight leg rolls. The abductor muscles of the thigh at the same time slightly spread the legs.

Pull your legs closer to your body and make sure that the lumbar spine flexion is maintained as long as possible in the 5th phase, when the abdominal muscles control the gradual lowering of the torso to the mat. Once it's down, switch the action of the abdominal muscles to keep the pelvis and lower back stable while the hip flexors control the lowering of the legs and the adductors of the thigh bring them together.

During the entire exercise of the rolls, the legs should be straightened, and the socks pulled back due to the action of the muscles that extend the leg at the knee joint and perform plantar flexion of the foot. You should strive to reach with your feet as far as possible, in whatever direction they point.

Lifting the pelvis off the floor in the 3rd phase, press hard with your hands on the mat so that the muscles that extend the arm in the shoulder joint also help to raise the torso. In the 5th phase, the arms in the same position also play an important role, but the muscles in this case work eccentrically.

mental image. In the upward phase of the movement, imagine that you wrap your body around a large gymnastic ball, and when the pelvis begins to lower, mentally move it towards the legs.

Notes

Straight-legged rolls can be thought of as the mirror opposite of forward bending twists. The only difference is that in this case you are pulling the pelvis to the chest, and not vice versa. It is important to start the movement from the pelvis in order to consistently, vertebra by vertebra, bend the spine in the lumbar region. The abdominal muscles tilt the pelvis back. This skill will come in handy later on to get rid of the tendency to tilt the pelvis forward when the outstretched legs create a large moment of force, for example in exercises such as "Hundred" and "Die Hard". The posterior pelvic tilt activates more muscle fibers in the lower abdominal muscles and thereby contributes to the stability of the power center. In addition, in rolls with straight legs, there is a good dynamic stretching of the posterior thigh muscles and the muscles that extend the spine.

Despite the fact that the benefits of this exercise rolling with straight legs are undeniable, it causes forced flexion of the spine in the thoracic and cervical regions under the influence of the gravity of the body, which is not always acceptable and acceptable for individual people. Perform this exercise only if you do not feel discomfort in the back and neck. Consult your doctor and, if necessary, refuse the exercise or make adjustments to it.

Modifications

In the 3rd and 4th phases, move your legs behind your head only as long as the weight of the body is on the shoulders and upper back, and not on the neck. This will reduce the load on the cervical vertebrae. If your hamstrings are not flexible enough, at first limit yourself to keeping your legs parallel to the floor in the upper phase. It is not necessary to touch the mat with them. If the muscles in this area are very tight, you can slightly bend your knees when they are over your head. If the tightness of the muscles in the lower back or shoulders does not allow you to raise the pelvis to shoulder level, bend your elbows and rest your palms on the lower back to create support for the torso.

Options

With your feet over your head, perform ankle dorsiflexion to increase the stretch in the hamstring. When returning to the starting position, pull the socks back.

If you do not like to run, jump, but want to have a toned figure and have a cat's grace, then pay attention to stretching.

Relax on the twine

Modern stressful life can negatively affect our flexibility and mobility: the accumulated stress in the body causes stiffness of the joints and limbs. We may know about it, or we may not suspect anything. The result is the same: tight muscles. Stretching will help to cope with this, that is, stretching. Stretching is exactly what will eventually give you the opportunity to sit on all types of splits, learn to throw your leg over your head, curl up like a snail, or simply “tighten” the muscles of the hips and abdomen - it all depends on your personal goals and the abilities of your body.

For whom. Everyone can learn to stretch, regardless of age or body flexibility. To do this, you do not need to be at the peak of physical development or have special sports skills. Exercises are performed easily and smoothly, in accordance with the individual level of muscle tension and flexibility.

How. Stretching is based on static loads, which allow you to work on the figure at a calm and measured pace. Previously, only professional athletes used stretching in their training, but today it has become a popular independent form of fitness.

Utility. Leisurely stretching exercises have always been considered the most useful. Due to the stretching of the muscles, more blood flows to them, thereby they relax and become more elastic, the joints become more mobile, and measured, deep breathing favorably affects the brain, especially after a hard day's work. The transition from physical tension to relaxation and again to tension contributes to the formation of the skill of deep relaxation, and this has a beneficial effect on the emotional state.

Result: healthy, toned, beautiful body, grace, plastic movements and self-confidence.

Respecting the measure

Stretch!. Source: Stretch!.

Often, those who have started stretching are concerned about only one question: “When will I sit on the twine?” Of course, it all depends on the capabilities of your body, the efforts that you will make. In general, VD advises to relax and enjoy the process itself. The main thing is to observe the measure, do not overdo it when exercising, otherwise you risk damaging muscles and tendons.

Main principle

You shouldn't be in pain! To avoid pain, in addition to competent construction of exercises, it is necessary to warm up the joints and muscles. Before stretching, jump in place, shake the press, do push-ups. In general, you need to sweat a little. The second fundamental point: do not make sudden movements. In each position, you need to stretch for a long time, since the muscles and ligaments must adapt, and fix the final position for 30 seconds. The point is that the tension in the stretched area disappears completely. If it doesn't, either increase the stretch time or decrease the amplitude. Under no circumstances should you hold your breath. It should be calm and deep.

Homework

Stretch!. Source: Stretch!.

Stretching is easy to do at home - it does not require any special devices. The main thing is that the clothes should be as comfortable as possible, not restricting movements, and it is better to do it in light socks - they will glide well on the floor. Stretching is a whole range of exercises aimed at improving flexibility and developing mobility in the joints, try the simplest of them!

Exercise 1:

Bending your knees, lean forward, touching the floor with your hands. Straighten your knees as much as you can. Hold your body in this position for 15 counts. Slowly arch your back, bending your legs and returning to the starting position.

Exercise 2:

Sitting cross-legged on the floor or standing, turn your head to one side so that you can look over your shoulder. Hold on for 5 counts. Return to the starting position, then turn your head to the other side and repeat the fixed pose. Repeat twice. At the end of a set of stretching exercises, take a few deep breaths.

Exercise 3:

Lie on your back, pull your right knee to your chest. Hold the pose for 5 counts. Repeat the exercise on the other leg.

Exercise 4:

Now straighten your right leg as far as you can without causing pain, and try to pull it towards your chest. Hold for 10 or 15 accounts. Lower your leg slowly. Perform the exercise with the other leg.

Exercise 5:

Sit on one leg and slide the other leg to the side until you feel a stretch across the entire inner surface of your right thigh. Hold for 15 accounts. Change legs and do the exercise on the other side. Control the position of the feet: they should look up throughout the exercise.

A few rules for stretching

• It's better to stretch less than too hard.
• Each stretch pose should be held for 10-30 seconds, long enough for even slight tension to disappear. If this does not happen, then the stretch was too strong and it must be loosened in order to achieve the desired, pleasant sensation.
• Breathe slowly, deeply and evenly. You can't hold your breath. Begin each exercise with a breath. Only when tilting you need to exhale first.
• During the exercise, maintain a stable position, focus on the part of the body that you are stretching. This way you will feel better.