- Are you over 50 and looking for ways
to help alleviate back pain, headache, neck pains,
or even shoulder discomfort?
- Well look no farther,
because we actually have three stretches now.
They're yoga stretches,
but we have put a little twist on 'em
into a therapist's world,
and we're gonna show you that they will work
and they're stretches everyone can do.
("Bob and Brad" theme music)
- So when it comes to yoga poses,
especially for people over the age of 50,
it is important to choose wisely which poses you do,
because some will be very beneficial,
and some may be problematic for you
- Right, and I think this is very true,
particularly if you have no experience
with yoga in the past.
That's why we're gonna sift through these
and give you the best yoga exercises,
and do 'em the way we feel is the best
so you're safe and you get the benefits of being pain free.
- So we're gonna go through
three different gentle stretches you can do.
We're gonna do the main version of 'em,
and we're also gonna do a modified version
in case you can't get down on your hands and knees
as easily as us.
- That's right.
Now, I think they're getting pretty anxious to see 'em.
We've already cleared ourself from the yoga group
that are experts,
and we're just gonna show 'em
the way we think they're gonna work well.
- The first pose is the child's pose.
So you're gonna start in a all fours position like this.
Now, if you have sensitive feet,
or your shins are kinda sensitive,
Brad's gonna give me a pillow here,
and you could certainly put a pillow under there
if you need it.
You do not have to use one if you do not want to.
Now for the knee positions,
if you go wider, it's a little easier for me
and my feet in,
just go what position feels comfortable for your legs.
And now I'm gonna push down through my palms,
and as I'm pushing down,
I'm gonna sit my buttock towards my heels.
Go down as far as you can comfortably.
Once you're down, you're gonna hold this position
for five breaths or so,
and then you can come back up.
Brad, do you wanna describe what this is doing?
- Yes, so let's go through this again.
As he's coming back,
we're actually stretching the lat muscles here,
the side muscles here,
and the shoulder blades are actually rotating forward,
which is very healthy for the shoulder blades.
Unlocks the shoulders, gets a good stretch in here.
Now, his head position is important.
Look up once, Mike.
You do not wanna to do that.
We wanna keep your head in a neutral position,
so as we draw a line across here, it looks just like so.
Okay, we'll also get a nice stretch in the back
as well as in the hips.
Make sure you're breathing and relaxing while you do this.
It's absolutely critical for a healthy stretch.
- Now, say if you have one side
that is tighter than the other,
so for camera purposes,
we'll say my left side is,
when you're going down,
you can reach over to the other hand and then bend down,
and I'm gonna get more of a stretch on this side.
Again, you can hold it for so many breaths, or 30 seconds,
whatever feels good for you.
- Now actually, when I do this one, I will...
I don't know if one side's tighter or the other,
but it feels so good to do one side, then the other.
I just stretch both of 'em
just for extra stretching and relaxation purposes.
That's your choice.
Okay, we are gonna show you a second option
for this stretch.
If you're uncomfortable on your hands and knees
like Mike just demonstrated,
in a chair with a table in front of you
is an excellent way to do it more comfortably.
- So we have a towel here,
'cause it'll slide a little easier on a tabletop
than my hands will.
So what you're gonna do is push forward with your hands
as I'm bringing my butt back in the chair,
so I'm still getting that good stretch in my upper body.
Obviously, your hips and knees
aren't gonna get as much of a stretch with this one.
- Your head's too low, Mike.
- My head's too low- - Right there.
Perfect. - Okay, I'll bring it up
a little bit.
So I'm pushing through my palms to get a nice lat stretch.
Again, if you want to bring one side over to the other,
you can hold this for five breaths or so,
and then come back up and relax,
and do this stretch periodically throughout the day.
- Right. Very good.
This is a nice option.
- The next pose is called the cat camel or cat cow,
whatever one you like to pick, it's fine by me.
Just don't call me a cow.
Okay, so you're gonna get an all fours again,
and what you're gonna do
is it's gonna move your spine a bit.
So as I pushed my back up, my head goes down like this.
This is called the cat pose.
I'm gonna hold this for about three seconds,
and then I'm gonna reverse,
bring my back down, my tummy towards the mat,
and lift my head up.
This is called the cow or camel pose.
So Brad, do you wanna show what it's doing to my spine?
- Right, so as he arches up into that cat, or the hump,
look, this is what's happening to the spine.
Everything is flexing, opening up the facet joints,
which is very helpful.
And relax as you do this.
The head goes down,
so we do get the cervical, or the neck part of the spine.
Now do the other direction.
And this is to be done slowly, not quickly,
and you don't have to push up
as hard as you can in either direction.
Whoa. I almost broke the spine.
There we go.
And when they get the arch, or we call this extension.
So relax, breathe.
Again, don't push up really hard.
Just go to what feels comfortable to the end,
and then go the opposite direction.
Breathing. Breathing.
Are you breathing, Mike?
- I am breathing, believe it or not.
I'm a nose breather, though.
So it is recommended
to do seven to eight repetitions each direction.
Hold each for three seconds.
And this is brought to you by Dr. Stuart McGill,
who is a spinal expert.
- That's right.
Okay, a modified version
for people who aren't comfortable
going on their hands and knees,
go up to a countertop, a higher bed may work,
and you're gonna put your hands here,
bring your feet back, about two feet back,
a shoulder width apart so you have a good stable base,
so you can relax with this.
And then you round the back up, the head goes down,
hold, breathe.
Did I mention to breathe before?
- [Mike] I think so.
- And then go back like this.
Any input, Mike, do you have for this?
- [Mike] This is gonna not hit your legs as much
or your buttock region, but it's a good variation.
You're still getting
that spinal flexion/extension range of motion,
which is the emphasis of this exercise.
And just take it slow and gentle.
If it hurts, don't do it.
- That's right.
And I do wanna, I talked about breathing,
but how you breathe.
So when I go this way, I breathe out.
I breathe, I exhale.
When I go in this way, I breathe in, inhale.
So you actually get a pattern of breathing
that goes with the motion of your body,
and that takes a little practice.
Work with it.
You'll know exactly what I mean.
- The last pose is the downward dog, it is known as.
Now this is pretty challenging for people as they age.
We'll show you what it is originally,
but we're gonna show you a version you could do standing
while using a chair.
So in order to perform this
you have to push through your hands
and you're gonna kinda lift your buttock towards the sky.
So it's gonna stretch my hamstrings a lot,
my calf muscles.
And the more you push with your shoulders,
you're gonna get a good stretch there as well.
- What about your back?
Are you rounded or you arch it?
- You wanna kind of keep it flat.
You don't wanna be too rounded.
I don't know if I can round like this,
or too extended, just kind of a nice flat back.
And your hamstrings will let you know
when it's tight enough.
But we're gonna show you a variation
that's gonna be a little safer and a little easier.
So the variation, you'd probably wanna use a countertop.
If you have a very sturdy chair, unlike this one,
you can use a chair.
Just make sure it doesn't tip back on you.
So what you're gonna do is push down through your palms
as you walk your feet backwards.
Now you're gonna get to a point if you can tolerate
where I'm gonna have a nice flat back here.
And I really feel this in my hamstrings.
Do you wanna tell 'em what I'm stretching out here, Brad?
- Right.
So the hamstrings, it's from the ischial tuberosities,
you know, the butt here, and they actually cross the knees.
So if you keep your knees straight,
you're gonna get a more aggressive hamstring stretch.
If your heels are flat on the floor like Mike's are,
that is going to accelerate
or make the calf muscles stretch more.
So if it's too tight, you can bend your knees
and bring your heels off a little bit.
Now, Mike's exaggerated there.
But actually that may not be with tighter people.
So again, the goal is stay to the straight and down,
but you may not to start out with, and that's okay.
How long are you gonna hold the stretch for, Mike?
- I'm gonna breathe here for eight different breaths,
and then come back up.
You can walk your feet forward.
Now this is also getting a nice pec stretch
as I'm going down, too,
and it's rotating my shoulder blades up
in the correct position,
so it's a good shoulder stretch as well.
Just make sure you feel safe with this.
You don't wanna feel unsteady,
and you don't have to go back as far as I do.
Just do what you feel comfortable with-
- Start out at a beginner, you may just go that far.
Shoes or something that grips to the floor is important.
You don't wanna have socks on
on a shiny floor so your feet potentially slip.
Solid base is important.
- Just make sure you have a flat back.
Some people may only be able to get to this position
- Then that's okay.
Then actually I would expect some of these older people,
that's where they're gonna start,
and that's a great place.
All right, so we showed three stretches.
Try all three of 'em.
You may not wanna do all three
if they don't feel comfortable.
Only do 'em if they feel like good stretches.
Don't be too aggressive, and enjoy it.
I'm sure you're gonna find at least one
that's gonna make your life better.
- And if you found the cat camel...
I lost what I was saying.
Start over.
Sorry, I screwed it all up.
Jesus.
- [Bob] Redo.
- Just my part or his part?
- [Bob] Let's just do it.
- Okay.
- Okay, so that's the three stretches we showed.
Go through all of 'em.
Pick the ones that you like best.
They're only maybe be one.
Be, be, be, be, be (laughs).
- Now, yeah, here.
We'll get it right one of these times.
- [Bob] There you go.
- All right, so those are the three stretches.
Try all three.
Pick out the ones, or maybe only the one that you like.
They should feel good while you do 'em and afterwards.
- And we talked about Stuart McGill a little bit.
If you wanna check out more information about him,
Bob did a podcast with him quite a while ago.
We'll link it down in the first comment below
if you wanna check that out.
And Bob, what else do you have to say to them?
- Cut!
("Bob and Brad" theme music)