Relax - no effort required!

In the last 3 articles I’ve looked at how Yoga can improve your concentration, increase flexibility, lift your energy levels and release stress. Today I am also looking at how you can lengthen and look after your spine - just by lying down!

Did you know that you are taller first thing in the morning? As the day progresses gravity takes its toll and some ‘shrinking’ occurs. The spaces between the vertebrae in the spine reduce.

Practice the Semi-supine Yoga posture (shown below) for 5 – 10 minutes later in the afternoon and reverse this process. Help the discs ‘plump up’. Grow your spine longer. Look after your back the natural way.

• Lie on your back on a cushioned or carpeted surface
• Bend your knees and place your feet at hips width in contact with the floor
• Keep your knees at hip width
• Bring your feet close enough to your body so that your lower back begins to relax into the floor
• Support the back of your head (not your neck) with a cushion or a paperback book or two
• Draw your chin into towards your chest to lengthen the back of your neck
• Place your hands on your lower ribs, elbows away from your sides
• Relax your shoulders
• Check there’s equal weight in both feet and the right and left sides of your back
• Breathe into the area beneath your hands
• Every outer breath, feel more and more of the back of your body relaxing into the floor
• Imagine your spine growing longer

Stay in this position for 5 – 10 minutes and relax fully. Come out the posture VERY SLOWLY. You will feel refreshed and taller. For maximum effect, repeat daily.