Are you sitting comfortably? Are you sure? According to a growing body of research, sitting down is just as unhealthy as smoking, leading to problems with posture, pain and performance. The reason for this is that lack of movement, especially holding a rigid posture, restricts the blood flow to the nerves and muscles. The solution is regular movement, simple.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do an extreme gym workout or go for a run. You can achieve just as good results with gentle, slow and safe movements. Here is a simple series of exercises which will help you to correct posture, relieve pain and improve your general range of movement.

Arch and flatten limbers up and releases tightness in the back and the pelvis. Not only is it an excellent way to connect into your muscles, it will increase the range of movement in the hips, tighten the abdominals and gently strengthen the pelvic floor effortlessly. This is the first movement we learn on the somatics course; if practised regularly you will feel the results.
Arch and Flatten: mellow micro movements for maintaining mobility.

Position. Begin with knees up and your feet in line with your buttocks. Place your arms by your sides, arms moving away from the torso. Take a few deep breaths into your waist line, gently allowing your abdominal muscles to open and release. Allow the belly to lift like a balloon as you inhale and flatten on the exhalation. Bring awareness into the breath. Close your eyes to sense more.

Movement: A. Inhale and slowly arch your back, slowly roll the tailbone into the mat as you allow your back to arch slightly. Arch into a comfy height. Think about the back muscles being contracted as you arch. Your tailbone is rolled down in the direction of the feet. The front of the body is open, lengthened and stretched. Wheel the hips away from you.

Exhale and allow the back to ease down to the mat as your tailbone rolls back to neutral. Gently allow the back muscles to sink into the mat. Rolling the hips under, notice the tailbone rolling up off the floor, feeling the tilt in the pelvis. Notice your head shifting up the mat.                                                 Repeat 10-15 times.

Sensing: As you work with the breath, the movement allows for a deeper connection with the abdomen and diaphragm and releases inner tension creating a massage effect on the internal organs; aiding the digestion, re-oxygenating the brain and lungs and helping to remove toxins. Not bad for an easy small movement lying down.

Find out more about my classes in Cornwall.

To learn this exercise sequence and many more like this one, go to my new Soul Somatics video download

available via Vimeo On Demand