HOW: Lie on your side with the shoulder you want to stretch closest to the ground. You can put a pillow under your head for neck support if you want but it is not necessary. Bring your elbow to your side up to shoulder height. Using your bodyweight to pin your bottom shoulder down, slowly lift your elbow straight up with your opposite hand.

 

FEEL: You should feel a deep stretching sensation in back of your shoulder on the ground. You do not want to feel any pinching sensations or pain in the front of your shoulder.

 

COMPENSATION: If you are not feeling the stretch in the right area, try putting your elbow slightly higher than your shoulder. You can also try rotating your body backwards just a bit.

HOW: Begin in the quadruped position. Your hands on the ground underneath your shoulders and your knees on the ground under your hips. Starting with a flat back, create a hump in your back as much as you can by pretending you have a tail and you’re tucking that tail in between your legs. Continue that hump in your mid and upper back while looking down with your neck. From here, reverse it and pretend like you are sticking your tail out as you arch your low, mid, and upper back while you attempt to look up. 

 

FEEL: You should feel the muscles in your lower, middle, upper back working/stretching as you push away from the ground creating the hump in your back and arching it. 

 

COMPENSATION: Keep your elbows straight, don’t bend them as you arch your back. Don’t rock back and forth with your hips.

Start position: Begin on your hands an knees in a tabletop position. Simply being in this position adds a posterior glide of the head of the femur.

 

The movement: place one foot over the other leg which will put your hip into slight external rotation.  and at this point rock back until you feel a good mobilization of this hip. you essentially want to shift your weight/hip over the hip you want to mobilize. This exercise will require much less external rotation than a pigeon pose, a pigeon pose will target the piriformis; however, with less external rotation this will target the posterior hip capsule.

 

Note: You should only feel a deep stretching sensation in the back of your hip, if you feel it in the front of your hip, you either need to change your foot position (most likely putting your hip in external rotation and moving foot closer/on top of your other foot) or you need to perform a banded Hip Banded Distraction

HOW: Lay on your stomach with your legs straight and your arms up over your head on the ground. While keeping your lower body relaxed, bring one arm up and extend it back, rotating your upper back and mid back causing your body to roll over on your back.  The lower body should follow the upper body rolling over. 

 

FEEL: You should feel your mid and low back muscles working as you roll over. 

 

COMPENSATION: Don’t use your lower body to assist you rolling over.  Keep your arms above your head.

HOW: Begin in a standing position with your feet about hip-width apart. Place a dowel behind your back with one end making contact with your head and on your tailbone with the other end, the middle of the dowel should also be in contact with your mid-back. Make sure you keep contact with these three points for the entirety of the movement. Next focus on hinging primarily at the hips. This is achieved by bringing your torso forward and pushing your butt back. Lower yourself as far as you feel comfortable while maintaining all three points of contact, then pull yourself upright by using the muscles in the back of the legs. Squeeze your butt once you are upright to ensure that you stand fully erect.

 

FEEL: You will feel the muscles in the back of the legs work with this exercise. As you hinge over you will feel a pull in the hamstrings, the back upper thigh muscles.

 

COMPENSATION: Avoid rounding the back as you lean your torso forward. Movement should primarily be at the hips. Don’t allow the knees to go forward past your toes with this exercise. Maintain the 3 points of contact during this exercise, (tail bone, mid-back, and back of the head).

HOW: Start by lying on your back and bending both knees up so they are straight up from your hips. With one hand, place it on the top of the opposite knee. Slightly push into that hand with your knee with no motion as you let the other leg lower down tapping your heel on the ground and bringing it back up. 

 

FEEL: You should feel your core and oblique muscles working. 

 

COMPENSATION: Keep the one knee up and bent pusing into that hand, don’t let it come down like the other knee.

HOW: Begin on your side with your shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles stacked over each other. Place the resistance band just slightly above your knees. In this side lying position open your top knee up towards the ceiling as high as you can. Your feet can stay in the same position, make sure this motion is driven from the knee.

 

FEEL: You should feel the outer hip, particularly the glute muscles with this exercise.

 

COMPENSATION: Avoid rotating your entire trunk with this exercise. Make sure the shoulder that is facing the ceiling stay in front of the shoulder that is against the floor.

HOW: Lay on your stomach and rest your forehead on the ground. You can use a towel roll for comfort between the floor and your head. Get your arms resting in a ‘I’ position with your hands on the ground. While maintaining this arm position, squeeze your shoulder blades together and lift your hands and arms off the ground. Think about bringing your hands towards your back pockets while keeping the elbow straight. Hold for a moment, then return to starting position and repeat.

 

FEEL: You should feel your shoulder blade muscles working hard with this exercise, especially the muscles between your shoulder blades.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not arch your low back, do not move your head or neck, do not lose ‘I’ position.

HOW: Start in the modified tall plank position on your knees with your hands on the ground. Drive your hands into the ground and also imaging driving your elbows into the ground. This is your stable base position. Keeping the core and shoulders engaged and strong, slowly let your shoulder blades come together. Then drive your hands into the ground again and separate your shoulder blades.

 

FEEL: You should feel all the muscles in your shoulder working, especially in the front part of your shoulder and under your shoulder bladers. You will also feel your core working.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not lose your serratus engagement. Keep strong through the shoulder the entire time. Also do not let the elbows bend. This is a modified push up plus, not a modified push up.

HOW: Position yourself standing in a corner with your back to it, or with a wall, chair, or sturdy object near you. Pick up one foot and balance on the leg that is in contact with the ground on a firm surface. Focus on standing upright and not letting yourself lean side-to-side or forward or backward.. It is ok to let your hip and knee bend a little bit.

 

FEEL:  You should feel like your balance is being challenged. If you’re having difficulty maintaining your balance, use fingertips on the surface near you as needed or try to focus on an object in the distance or near you with your eyes.

 

COMPENSATION: Try not leaning too much side to side or forward/backward. Put your foot down or grab the wall or sturdy object to avoid a fall if you lose your balance.