American Health & Fitness Magazine American Health Vitamins, Nutrition, Products, Information and Supplements

How To Stretch For Back Pain 2: Cat Cow Stretch

Expand the description and view the text of the steps for this how-to video. Check out Howcast for other do-it-yourself videos from chriscomfort and more videos in the Back Pain category. You can contribute too! Create your own DIY guide at www.howcast.com or produce your own Howcast spots with the Howcast Filmmakers Program at www.howcast.com Picture a cow in a pasture or a sleeping cat—could their lives be any more relaxed? Since stress aggravates back pain, take a cue from these animals and practice this relaxing yoga-inspired stretch. To complete this How-To you will need: Comfortable clothes A floor Step 1: Get on hands & knees Get down on your hands and knees. Your hands should be pointing forward and aligned underneath your shoulders, and your knees should be aligned underneath your hips. Step 2: Inhale & arch back Inhale, and slowly arch your back over a count of 5, dropping your belly towards the floor and raising your head, chest, and tailbone up. Tip: Don't overuse your lower back muscles; let gravity do most of the work. Step 3: Hold stretch Hold the stretch for 3 seconds. Step 4: Exhale & round back Exhale, and slowly round your back over a count of 5, dropping your head and tailbone down and pulling your belly inwards Step 5: Hold stretch Hold the stretch for 3 seconds. Tip: To vary the stretch, rotate your midsection in a clockwise circle as you arch up and then down. Repeat 5-8 times and then rotate counter-clockwise for the same number of times. Step 6 ...