Health & Wellness Blog

Proper sitting posture is with the spine aligned straight over the pelvis, allowing for only the slight natural spinal curvature; however, many people sit back on their tailbones, which causes the lumbar spine to bow out and can lead to compression of the low back. This exercise helps bring the spine back into alignment and it also helps you become aware of your spine's range of motion and where you need to be in order to maintain good sitting posture.

Sit on a yoga block, or a similar sized, supportive object with your legs extended out in front of you. Your legs can be straight or slightly bent, depending on your level of flexibility. Find your ischial tuberosities, or sitting bones, and make sure you are sitting directly on them, not on your tailbone. From here, begin to rock your pelvis forward and back, rolling through center each time. If your knees are bent, try to straighten them a little bit more with each rock. To determine the proper alignment of your pelvis, imagine it as a bowl filled with water; each time you rock the pelvis forward, the front of your pelvis should dip down as if water might spill over the lip of the bowl, and the back of the pelvis rises up. Similarly, each time you rock back, the back of the pelvis dips down and the front of the pelvis rises up. Repeat this for about one minute.

Cat-Cow is a yoga posture that works in a similar way as the seated pelvis rocking exercise. It brings the spine back into alignment, while encouraging more flexibility and better circulation of blood and nutrients to the spine. To perform this exercise, stand on hands and knees on a mat or other padded surface. As you inhale, lift the head and tailbone and look up at the ceiling, letting the belly hang down towards the floor. On an exhale, begin to arch the back like a cat, drawing the head and tailbone down as the mid-back curves upward. Continue to alternate between flexion and extension of the back for 10 rounds.

Twists, or exercises that promote rotation of the spine, are excellent ways to bring the spine back into alignment. They are often used in the practice of yoga for just such a purpose, at the end of a practice or after a physically challenging inversion or backbend in which the spine may have become misaligned. To perform a supine twist, lie on your back on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat and about hips-width distance apart. Let both your knees fall over to the right side until they touch the floor. Extend your arms out to either side and look to the left, so that your upper and lower body are twisting in opposite directions. Take five to 10 breaths here and then switch sides, bringing your knees over to the left and turning your head to the right.