Too much time spent sitting at a desk, in a car driving, watching TV or looking at your phone? Our poor backs really hate being in forward flexion like this!
This simple stretch is really one of my faves for tight sides and hip flexors. It’s suitable for everyone, and can be done at any time, and I will have it in every Pilates class I teach …
Back health is so important
Most of us live a good portion of our waking lives in the sagittal plane of moving in flexion and extension … even when walking and looking at the floor, we are flexing forward! (Maybe we should all practise walking with our heads held up and smile at each other – now that would be amazing for our postures and our spiritual wellbeing.)
The lower back takes such a huge amount of the load gravity putting all its weight there and years of this can really take a toll on your lower lumber vertebrae and your poor intervertebral discs.
So that’s why, when you come to the mat in my Pilates classes, I get you to move your spine in every sagittal plane. (Also known as the ‘longitudinal plane’, this is an anatomical plane dividing the body into the right and left.) Pilates should not consist of lying on your back for one hour!
How a side reach targets key muscles
The muscles that we really target in a side stretch (now, here comes the technical bit!) are your Quadratus Lumborum muscles. They are deep postural muscles that originate from the transverse process of L1-4 and medial half or rib 12 and insert into the posterior of the iliac crest. You have one on the right and one on the left. When you sit and flex forward for long periods of time, these muscles get super tight – for me, it literally feels like someone is hanging off my lower back! The QLs also aide the Erector Spine in extension i.e., when you’re picking something up off the floor and coming up.
The other super big muscles we stretch in a side reach are your Latissimus Dorsi (I often call them your ‘Lats’). They’re the largest and broadest muscles of our back. If you’re constantly carrying a load, such as a suitcase, shopping bag or child, they also take a good portion of strain. The Lats will really appreciate a seated side reach stretch; taking your arm over your head on this stretch also helps open up the intercostal muscles in-between the ribs and aid better breathing.
Make a simple and easy commitment to helping your back: my top tip for this month is for you to do a seated side reach stretch at least twice a day, especially if you work at a computer.
Step-by-step instructions for a seated side reach
Sit on a sturdy chair or stand up with your feet hip width apart, making sure your knees aren’t rolling in or out. You should be able to draw a line from your hip bone down the centre of your knee to your second toe.
Keep your shoulders on top of your hips and your chin and eyes level with the floor.
Feel the crown of your head lifting up to the ceiling and tail bone reaching down in opposition so that you lengthen the spine rather than sit into your hips.
Raise your right arm overhead and bend your upper body to the left in a reaching motion, keeping both sides of your waistline long. Take care not to twist or lean forward or back.
Feel your muscles (QLs, Lats and intercostals) gently stretch all along your side from your lower back up to your shoulder.
Hold for 10 seconds and repeat 3 times, then switch sides.
Breathe in as you lift your arm, breathe out as you stretch over. Breathe in on the return, breathe out as you lower your arm.
BINGO. Now how easy was that! Please do let me know how it felt for you – or if there are any exercises or tips you’d like me to post. Drop me a line at vanessa@soulcentralpilates.com.
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Looking to hone your Pilates technique, one-to-one, and get 2022 off to a perfect start? I’m offering private one-hour lessons in December and January only – ideal for your Christmas present wish-list!
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