3 Spine Mobility Movements

Your spine is capable of doing a lot and unfortunately many do very little with it. This lack of movement can cause your back to become very tight and immobile. Here are 3 movements to play around with to regain some of your mobility and loosen you up!

Cat Camel - In the cat position, you will push your butt back and up (anterior pelvic tilt) while arching your low, mid and upper back. Try to squeeze your shoulder blades together (retraction) and lift your chin towards the ceiling. Hold for a bit and then proceed to the camel position. In the camel, you are trying to do the opposite of the cat by tucking your hips under (posterior pelvic tilt) while flattening your low back and driving your mid and upper back up towards the ceiling (shoulder blades in protraction) and then tuck the chin into your chest. Take it slow, no prescription, just move around in these positions until you feel good.

Spine CARs - Hug yourself and be sure to keep your lower body tight. From here, side bend and start working yourself into a large circular motion by flexing forward and then side bending to the opposite side and then arching up towards the ceiling and reverse. This should be slow. Slower the better. Push towards end-range and feel a stretch (don’t push into pain). Just get things moving. Again no prescription but 3-5 reps is a lot if you are really pushing and taking it slowly.

Wall Peels - In the wall peel start with your back flat up against the wall in a slight wall sit position (so take the arch out of your low back). With your entire back flat against the wall start with your tailbone (sacrum/hips) and trying to roll/peel your way off the wall moving one vertebra at a time. Slowly work your way up to your neck and then reverse the movement and place one vertebra at a time back onto the wall from the top down until you are flat again.