Emma’s Exercise
“Backbend at the Wall”

*This is FULL extension.*

Take the backbend as deeply as YOU can. Let your lowback dictate how far you arch. The main imagery here is to think of your spine as fluid. 🌊 Remember to avoid 🍌banana back (banana LOW back more specifically). Your body will look like a giant bow with a nice and even equally distributed curve. Really listen to your body and stay tuned into what it’s telling you. Go slow.

⚠️ Low back concerns? Like usual, be hyper aware of what your low back is doing ⚠️

This is a great way to practice a backbend if you cannot be on the ground. There is also a chair version that I will post soon.

Your start position is a lot like your push up position/plank position-except your legs are separated wider than hip bone distance apart. Your pelvis and spine start in neutral along with your shoulder blades. Use your MUSCLES to get you into position=Fire your serratus to place your shoulder blades in neutral and fire your core to find your neutral pelvis. Then maintain that connection throughout the entire exercise! 👍

The wall is such a good place to start for the shoulder blades stability awareness. You need that awareness before you can take this exercise down to the ground (we practiced this when we did push ups at the wall last week). And here you are building it! It’s very exciting! You are developing body awareness!!🎉🎉🎉

The question is always- can you maintain minimal movement in your shoulder blades while you’re backbending? AND keep your serratus on?

This is another exercise that LOOKS easy and is not. I shot this multiple times because I noticed my spine is stiff in the mid to upper back-I was having a hard time moving my vertebrae sequentially. My thoracic wanted to move in one chunk every time. It takes concentration to move each vertebrae individually! But it is also so much fun! Notice what spots are wanting to move in a section instead of individually? You may experience it in a different part of your spine. Maybe in your cervical spine (neck) or lumbar?

INHALE- arch your back from head to tail.
EXHALE- reverse your movement and stack your spine back up tail to head.

Use your core both directions! 👍 Work your core to move your spine.

And really try and identify each vertebrae-from your cervical spine (neck), to your thoracic spine (upper and mid back), to your lowback!

Do not rush this. You have nowhere else to be.
😀