Hello everyone. Tutu Mora here with the Y bringing you tools to feel well in your
body, mind and spirit. So, today we're continuing our back
series - focusing on the mid-back here. And before we lay down on our mat (you're
not going to need any props today except for your mat),
I'm going to go over a couple of the movements standing up so you can see.
And, perhaps, practice that movement standing so that when we lay down
you're better able and better it's easier
for you to incorporate it as we move into the sequence.
So, with that, I'm going to step back, guide you through just this arm sequence
that we're going to take over to the mat. So, as you're standing here, we're going
to start, here, on the left side. Your palm is going to be facing towards
the ceiling. So, above us this plane is the ceiling, as we're lying
on the mat. You're going to just be bringing that
arm out wide, as if you're opening up a wing.
All the way overhead. And then, even though you can't see my
arm, it's just coming back up - fingertips towards the ceiling - to
rest right back down at my torso. And we'll take that again.
Palm facing up. Letting that arm float
all the way out and up. Fingertips, now, towards the ceiling as it comes down
towards the torso to the starting point. And so, we'll take that to the other side
just so your muscles have that little memory there.
Again, floating that arm out. And it may already feel like a little
stretch so, get ready for when we put it all together laying down.
Fingertips towards the ceiling as it then comes down.
One more time, here, just to get it into our muscles. Floating out.
Fingertips, now, towards the ceiling. Palm is facing inside towards your body.
Back down to the starting point. Okay. So, last thing I want to point out to you
here before we take it down to the mat is where we want to breathe. So, I'm going
to be cueing you to breathe into the back of your rib cage.
It's going to be right beneath your shoulder blades pretty much.
And so, if you can feel with your hands where that spot is,
with just a gentle pressure, perhaps, taking a moment to try to breathe
into that space. So, breathing into your thumbs, as if you could
puff out your breath through your body into your thumbs.
Inhaling and exhaling. Perhaps, taking that two more times.
So often we breathe into the front of our body and it can be very beneficial
to also breathe into the back of our body.
So, feeling into that, that's another aspect that we're going to carry
with us over to the mat. So, let's go ahead and hop over to the mat.
So, as you lay down,
you're going to start with your knees bent,
hip distance apart.
And if you can, find that
awareness of breathing into the back of your body -
especially the back of that ribcage - that space that we just tuned into.
So, sometimes when the mid-back is tight, it can indicate
that the lower half of our torso and the upper half of our torso
are kind of - they don't have the freedom and range of movement
that they need to in order to keep things flowing
and keep our movements smooth. So, we're just going to work on
separating those two spaces within our trunk, or our torso.
So, to start, let's go ahead and glue those
ankles and knees together. I'll slide up a little bit
so you can see. So, gluing those together, as if you've got one big leg here.
Taking a little micro pelvic tilt, so curling that tailbone just a smidge.
And we're going to let those knees sway, sinking your weight
into that right side of the pelvis. So, your lower abdominals are helping you
with this sway. And as you're able, we're just going to
carry that little spine twist into it. So, let those
knees come over, as much as they're able, as you keep your shoulders heavy on the
mat. So, let's take a moment here. Breathe into
the back of the ribcage, breathe into those points that we found earlier.
And then, perhaps, sinking your weight into that opposite side of the pelvis.
Keeping that little micro pelvic curl as we take that sway over to the other side.
Keeping those shoulders heavy on the mat as you sway.
And now, breathing into those back of the ribcage points that we found earlier.
Let's take that one more time. Pausing at the center though because
this next set - as we sway over to the right, the left
arm is going to come up overhead. So, fingertips are starting
towards the ceiling. So, as we sway, that arm comes overhead.
We're going to gently rotate the head, as if you're going to smell your armpit.
Pausing here. Lengthen that side of the torso. So, reach that sit bone away
from the back of the armpit. Reach that back of the armpit away from
the sit bone. And let's lengthen, lengthen that side of the
torso as you breathe into the back of the rib cage.
And then, again, sinking your weight into that opposite side of the pelvis,
as your arm comes back down. And we'll switch
to the other side.
So, sit bone reaches away from the back of the armpit.
Back of the armpit reaching away from the sit bone. Finding that length.
Breathing into the back of the rib cage.
And let's take that one more time to each side. So, taking it at your own pace.
And finding the range that feels good for your body today
in this moment.
And so, let's come back to center here. Widening your stance. So, if we are
sit bones distance apart. Let's take a little pelvic tilt
once again. Perhaps, bring that tilt up a little bit higher than you did before.
And we'll rest it back down. We'll take that one more time, just as a
little reset, to check and see how our spine is able
to move. And now, from here we're going to bring
our arms up. Fingertips towards the ceiling. And
then, we're going to bend at the elbows. So, we've got almost these
"I Dream of Genie" arms. So, opposite hand is on the opposite elbow.
And we're going to take what's called: an alternating puppet arm. I'm going to
shuffle back down so you can better see my arms, here.
And so we're going to start on the right side. Scooping a shoulder blade
out and up so that right elbow tip comes up towards the ceiling.
Resting it back down. Same thing with the other side.
Scoop that left shoulder blade out and up
so that elbow tip comes up towards the ceiling.
Resting it back down. Again to the other side.
Perhaps now, letting that sternum sink towards the mat
as you scoop that shoulder blade out and up.
Resting it back down. Same thing on the other side.
Sinking that sternum.
Resting it back down. And now, we're going to take that same thing. So, starting on
the right, scooping that shoulder blade out and up.
This time we're going to add in a little rotation
at the sternum. So, letting that puppet arm, as you raise that elbow tip
towards the ceiling, find a little rotation of the shoulder
girdle. Let the head come with you, but let the
pelvis stay stable on each side. Breathe into the
back of the ribcage. Press that back down and we'll take that
over to the other side. First, scooping that shoulder blade out
and up. Sternum sinks. And then finding that rotation at the
sternum. Pelvis stays where it is, equally
weighted on both sides, breathing into the back of the ribcage.
Back to center. Let's take it one more time to each side.
Resting back down and you can let your arms
rest to the side. So now, we're going to incorporate that
movement that we showed earlier, before we laid down.
So, we're going to start that movement here with the right arm.
The left hand is going to come to rest on your sternum -
just as a reminder to keep that space heavy -
a reminder to breathe into the back of your rib cage.
So, palm facing up. Shoulder down and away from the ears.
You're going to spread your fingertips wide.
And I'm going to have you reach through, especially through the thumb
and through the index finger, as if you're reaching those
fingers away. So, let's find that sensation here.
Holding on to that reach as you start to open that arm out to the side.
Holding on to that reach as you float it overhead. And then bring it straight up.
Fingertips towards the ceiling. Back down to the mat. And we'll take that
again. Finding that spread of the fingers, reaching through the thumb and the index
finger as you open that arm out.
Breathing into the back of the ribcage.
And floating that back up.
One more time. Find that reach.
Resting back down. And we'll switch the
hand. So now, your right hand is placed on your sternum
because your left hand is going to float overhead. So, find that spread of the
fingers. Find that reach through the thumb and
the index finger. Shoulder down as you start to reach that
arm out, overhead,
and straight up and back to the starting point.
We'll take that two more times. Perhaps, deepening that reach.
Breathing through the back of your body. Sinking that sternum.
Last time.
And then we're going to take it together. So, both arms out to the side.
Reaching through the thumbs and the index fingers
as you reach both arms out and up. Sternum heavy. Breathing through the back
of the rib cage.
Two more times.
Last one.
Letting those arms rest at your sides. Perhaps, feeling into those shoulders.
Let's take another pelvic curl, here, just to feel
into the difference. You might notice that you have a lot more articulation -
you're able to move that spine - you're
able to move that lower half of your body without the upper
half of your body trying to be tangled
in with the movement. So, shoulders and ribcage are able to stay softer
as you take that pelvic curl.
Nice. Okay. So, let's go ahead and sit up. Perhaps, feeling into - maybe taking a
couple steps around the room. How does that spine feel? How does that
mid-back feel after those stretches? So, I hope that you found this supportive
to you. If you liked this video, please go ahead and
like it below. And I'll see you back here, next time, on the Y's YouTube channel
Take care.