Tone up your abdominal and waist area – February 2012
Sit upright in a chair and hold the sides of the chair seat with your hands. Pull your shoulder blades down as you breathe out and lift both feet off the floor so that your knees come up towards your chest. Breathe in as you return your feet to the floor. Repeat several times
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Balancing on the high point of the hip joint – January 2012
Many people have the habit of sinking in their hips when standing or walking. This can aggravate and accelerate osteoporotic/arthritic conditions because the weight from the pelvis to the head of the thigh bone does not go in the direction best aligned to help maintain the strength of the bones and joint.
Bear weight on your right leg so that you can lift your left foot and leg out to the left side of your body.
Imagine that the left side of your body is one unit (like a plank of wood) so that as the left foot and leg move to the left, the left side of rib cage, left shoulder and head all move to the right.
You are only moving at your right hip joint.
Return to standing on both feet and repeat exercise several times before doing it on the other side.
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Balance - December 2011
Practice walking forward and backward slowly (about 10 secs for a step). Do this next to a wall for support if you are feeling unsure of yourself.
As you become more comfortable and sure-footed you will be able to walk backward faster with ease and your balance will improve walking forward. Walking slowly forward and backward requires greater balancing skills than to stand on one leg or the other.
When you balance on one leg, you tend to remain in a fixed position but when you walk slowly forward and backward your muscles are constantly changing and so are the pressures through your joints.
Your vestibular system must be more active than it is when holding your body in one position.
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Opening & reaching – Nov 2011
Lie on your left side with your hips and knees bent at right angles.
Your arms straight out in front of you at chest level. Hands resting on top of one another.
If your neck is uncomfortable put a folded towel underneath your head.
Slowly slide your right palm over your left palm and on to the floor in front of you.
Then slide your right palm back along your left forearm and upper arm.
Can you let your back help by allowing it to roll towards the floor? Your head can roll too.
The next time you do this allow your right hand to slide across your chest towards your right shoulder.
Repeat a few times then rest on your back.
Repeat on the other side by rolling on to your right side and sliding your left hand.
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Reaching – October 2011
Sit on the edge of a chair and lift your dominant arm out in front of you with your elbow straight but not stiff.
Begin moving this arm forward as if you were reaching for something. Then return to your upright sitting position. How does this feel?
Now each time you reach see if you can feel if your lower back is arching or rounding. Repeat a few times.
Rest in sitting then reach again and see if you can make the opposite movement to what you did before with your lower back. i.e. if you rounded you will now arch and vice versa
Rest in sitting.
Repeat the reaching movement and pay attention to your knees and feel which knee moves forward as you reach.
Once again after a rest do the same reaching movement using the opposite knee to move forward.
Play with these movements and then repeat just sitting and reaching and see how it feels now compared with at the beginning of the exercise.
Repeat with the other arm.
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Coordinating legs, pelvis & head - September 2011
Lying on your back, arms on the floor out to the side at about shoulder height.
Roll your head from side to side.
‘Stand’ your left leg so that your knee is bent and the left foot is ‘standing’ on the floor.
Gently push through your left foot to lift the left side of your pelvis and roll it to the right. You can change the placement of your left foot to find the easiest place to roll your pelvis.
Your head may roll to the right or it may find it easier to roll to the left. Go with whatever feels more natural
Keep your left knee facing the ceiling.
Feel how pushing through the foot carries a twist up through your body that connects with the rolling of your head.
Rest with your arms and legs long. Roll your head from side to side and see if the movement of your head and neck is easier than at the beginning
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Improve your walking – August 2011
1. Face a door or wall and place your fingers on it. Avoid any leaning forward or putting pressure on your fingers.
2. Now stand on your right leg. Keep that leg straight and push through that leg as if you were pressing into the ground and feel the uplift. (getting taller)
3. Think of directing the force through your body and notice how the body starts to turn. While you are doing this your other leg should have no weight on it. It can be touching the ground with the toes with the heel lifted to maintain your balance.
Feel the connection between pushing through a straightened leg and following that force as it travels through your body. It will probably rotate you slightly through the left.
Practice this activity on one leg, rest, and then do it with your other leg
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Easier Reaching (Pt 2) July 2011
Stand sideways to the wall with your right ankle, hip and shoulder against the wall.
Place your right arm in front of you with your palm on the wall. Slide you hand up the wall until it reaches above you. Slide it all the way behind you (palm still on wall) looking at your hand while you do the movement.
When your hand is behind you can you touch your shoulder against the wall?
Now bend you right elbow and slide the back of your hand against the wall so that your hand can slip under your waist, in the opening between your hip and shoulder, until it is in front of you again. Go around in large circles this way several times.
Repeat with left side against wall
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Easier Reaching (pt 1) June 2011
Stand in front of a wall with your toes a few centimetres away from it.
Put your hand on the wall at about shoulder height. Slowly slide your hand up and down the wall.
Repeat with other hand
Stand sideways to the wall (right side against the wall).
Place your feet apart so that the right side of your foot touches the wall. Put your right hand straight out in front of you with your palm against the wall and slide your hand forward and backward on the wall.
Allow your body to turn as your arm glides back and forth. Rest.
Repeat with your left side against the wall and your left hand sliding forward and backward
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Exercise of the month - Strong bones May 2011
The answer might be vibration. Several studies suggest that gentle vibration improves bone growth.
While most of the studies use a vibrating platform, there’s evidence that we can create our own helpful vibrations by bouncing on our heels. Ruthy Alon, an Israeli Feldenkrais practitioner who created the Bones for Life program, suggests self-generated vibration to improve bone health. The basic building block of the program is bouncing on the heels.
Try it. Stand. Make sure your knees are soft—you can slightly bend them. Holding onto a chair if you’re concerned about balance, raise your heels from the floor, and bounce them against the floor in groups of two bounces each. Make a sound while you do it. “Bump-bump. Bump-bump.” Feel the echo of this throughout your body.
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Backwards up the stairs – relief for a tired back April 2011
Try going up the stairs backwards ie with your back facing upwards. Even try going downstairs backwards.
Reversing the way the front of the body is facing can be very relaxing for a tired back. When you go up the stairs backwards you are not activating the same set of muscles and the same set programme which is causing your back discomfort. You are using yourself differently.
Moral of the story – it isn’t your back that hurts, but the way in which you use it – it isn’t the computer but rather the software programming
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Diagonal on the stairs – March 2011
Try going upstairs by turning your front from the stair-line by 45degrees.
Your vertebrae in the diagonal direction can enjoy a gradual and varied twisting game instead of a sharp emphasis always on the same spot.
Your knees and feet will of course also be turned 45 degrees from the front.
Vary the turn so that sometimes you go up stairs turned to the left and sometimes to the right.
Hold on to the railing as necessary.
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Beginning to crouch – February 2011
Bend your knees so that you can rest your hands on your thighs or knees. Rest into your arms and shoulders in this position. (Look forward at something if you can, not down at the floor)
Keeping your left hand on your knee reach down to the floor with the right hand and return it to your knee. Do the same thing with the left hand.
Do this several times resting in the original crouching position. Keep your shoulders relaxed.
When the above feels comfortable and easy gradually work toward putting one hand on the floor and then the other.
Return to crouching position each time