Posts Tagged ‘Fingertips’

Steepled Shoulder Squeeze-yoga

Help for shoulder pain

Benefits

Improves fexibility of the wrists and shoulders stretches hamstrings, gives the heart a rest

Focus

Keep both legs straight, and press your palms together firmly.

Stand with your feet 4-6 feet apart, toes turned out slightly.

Raise your arms to shoulder height, then bend them and take them behind your back. Bring your fingertips together, palms resting on your lower back.

Rotate your wrists so that your palms face out (backs of your hands against your back), fingertips still together. Lean forward, and drop your head down so that it is lower than your heart.

Press your fingers up along your spine, toward your shoulder blades. At the same time, ease your palms toward each other, fingers pointing toward your head. The pull of gravity will help you bring your palms closer and higher between your shoulder blades. Pull your shoulders back, and bring your palms together firmly.

Turn your left foot in slightly. Inhaling, bring your upper body over your right leg. Exhaling, lower your head toward your knee.

Inhaling and exhaling through your nose deeply and slowly, hold the pose for 3 Full Yoga Breaths . On each exhalation, lengthen your body down along your thigh.

Inhaling, slowly bring your upper body back to the center.

Turn your left foot out and your right foot in slightly. Inhaling, bring your upper body over your left leg. Exhaling, lower your head over your left knee. Hold the pose for 3 Full Yoga Breaths. Focus on lengthening your upper body with each exhalation.

Inhaling, bring your body back to the center, and slowly return to an upright position. Breathe normally.

Very gently, release your hands and flick your wrists strongly (as if you have something sticky on your fingers) to release any stiffness in your WrIsts.

Stomach Bandha

Benefits

Improves function of the pancreas, which produces insulin, to maintain steady energy levels throughout the day and moderate unhealthy sugar cravings

Focus

Pull your abdominal muscles back up and under tightly.

Stand with your legs 4-6 feet apart. Bend your knees and squat; place your hands on your knees, fingertips facing in.

Inhale, then exhale forcefully through an open mouth.

Holding your breath, close your mouth, and tuck your chin into your chest.

Suck your abdominal muscles back, up, and under your rib cage. Continue to hold your breath for a count of 7.

Release your abdominal muscles.

Inhaling, straighten your legs and come up. Exhaling, bend forward and hang loosely.

Repeat the sequence 3 more times. Practice to gradually increase to 7 repetitions.

If you are not used to holding your breath, this exercise may make you cough or feel a little dizzy at first. If it does, exhale and release your head down between your legs, then try again.

Warm-Up

The following warm-up stretches lubricate stiff joints, increase circulation, and improve your flexibility. They will make your practice of the routines more comfortable and help you avoid injury. Use your visualization skills with each stretch to improve their benefits.

Visualize yourself moving intuitively into and out of the stretch according to your body’s needs. Be aware that rushing too quickly into an exercise program is a sure-fire route to lower-back pain, so be patient with yourself However, carrying a little extra weight is not a limitation, often a person with a large build can be both stronger and more flexible than a person who has been working out. For example, repetitive choreographed routines can lead to the overuse of muscle groups and joints as well as shortening and tightening of the muscles, leading to inflexibility and muscle fatigue.

Use ice to decrease pain

Exercise Your Neck and Shoulders While Watching TV

Help for shoulder pain

These days because of our busy lifestyles it is getting increasingly harder to find the time to take care of our health especially when it comes to exercise. As they say necessity is the mother of invention and so we need to find ways to get the exercise we need and this usually means multi-tasking.
Below you will find some tips to utilize your time to exercise your head and shoulders while sitting at your computer or watching televison.
1. Head Rolls
Simple head rolls can really help strengthen your neck. Sit up straight in your chair, and slowly roll your head to the right, then to the back, to the left, and then to the front. Do this 5 to 10 times, but don’t get dizzy!
2. Shoulder Stretches
This is great for shoulders. Stand upright and push both arms straight back with your palms facing down and hold for five seconds. Bend in your arms at the elbow, fingers pointing straight ahead, and hold for five seconds. Do this 5 to 10 times.
3. Swinging Ax
This is another great shoulder strengthener. Stand up; clasp your hands by your right shoulder, like you’re holding an ax. Gently swing the ax by straightening your elbows and moving your hands toward your left thigh. Alternate shoulders, and repeat 7 or 8 times.
4. Air Fighting
Get ready for a fight with this great shoulder exercise. Raise your arms in the on guard position, hands in a fist. Keep your hands at shoulder level and push your elbows as high as you can, isolating the pressure on your shoulders. Do this 10 to 15 times.
5. Funky Chicken
Do that funky chicken! Put your fingertips on your shoulders, elbows pointing out to the sides. Pull your elbows back as far as you can, then push your elbows forward and try to touch them together. Do this 10 times.
6. Shoulder Roll
When is the last time you said, I don’t know, with a shoulder shrug? This is actually a very good exercise. You can do it sitting or standing. Just shrug your shoulders as high as you can, hold it there for 3 seconds, then let them down. Do this 10 times.
So there is a few ways to sneak in some extra exercise while sitting down. Your neck and shoulders are quite often neglected when it comes to exercise yet many people suffer from stiif necks and sore shoudlers.
By taking a few minutes each day to do some of the above simple exercises you can help avoid these problems in your neck and shoulder areas.

Use ice to decrease pain