Certified yoga instructor, Lindsay Danielson, will walk you through the six movements of the spine.
Your spine has six movements that it will move through whether you’re doing yoga, dancing or just moving through life.
The first movement of the spine is extension of the spine, which is folding forward. This movement lengthens the spine, expands the chest and strengthens the lungs.
The second movement of the spine is flexion of your spine, which is a bending backwards. In this movement, you want to think about bringing the top of your head towards the bottom of your spine. This movement helps expands the body, allows for the lungs to gain more air capacity and tones the core.
The third movement of the spine is lateral movement to the right. The is reaching over your body to the right side of the room. This movement helps lengthen our bodies, which helps to allow more space for air in the lungs.
The fourth movement of the spine is lateral movement to the left. This is reaching over your body to the left side of the room. This movement helps to lengthen the muscles between the ribs and the pelvis.
The fifth movement of the spine is rotation movement to the right. This means to twist towards the back right side of the room. This movement helps to warm up the vertebrae.
The sixth movement of the spine is rotation movement to the left. This means to twist towards the back left side of the room. This movement helps to massage the organs with the abdomen.
For a healthy spine, a spine that is going to move with you and grow with you, you want to be sure you have time to warm up all six of these movements.