Exercise

Thoracic Extension

Physiotherapist Charissa Fermelis shares a stretch for your arms, shoulders and back.

Written by Charissa Fermelis

How to

  1. Stand with your feet hip width apart and firmly ground your heels into the floor. Lean forward and place your hands on the wall at chest height, shoulder width apart. Inhale to prepare.
  2. As you exhale, sink your chest towards your toes with your head between your arms, as though you’ve been folded in half at the hip.
  3. Breathe deeply and continue to sink into the pose, feeling your upper back release and a deep pull down the back of your legs. Taking the elbows to the wall and interlacing your fingers behind your head will focus the stretch to the back of the arms.

Tips

The work of many professionals and students means long hours sitting. Achieving and sustaining the perfect posture for the entire work day is next to impossible, because our bodies are not designed to be sedentary for so long and our postural muscles eventually fatigue. The best approach is to constantly change a prolonged sitting posture to avoid muscle fatigue and the back and neck strain that this brings.

Stretch out your whole body with the be. Stretching Guide.

Written by Charissa Fermelis

Charissa Fermelis is a physiotherapist, Pilates practitioner and Director of Grounded Movement in Melbourne.

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