#001 Teaching moment: Spine stretch sitting lady like with swimmer's dive

3-week challenge

1. Measure your ability to touch your toes (note down where you can reach to)

2. Do the Spine stretch sitting lady-like with swimmer's dive for 3 weeks

3. Re-check your to toe touch in 3 week’s time!

Spine stretch forward sitting lady-like and swimmer's dive adds a more intense stretch experience to the spine stretch forward with swimmer's dive. It won't feel intense however, because you are using pandiculation (explained below).

There are a total of three physiotherapy concepts that have been added to this standard Pilates exercise:

(1) Eccentric contraction:

Load a muscle, lengthen a muscle under load, and return without load). This adds length to any tight bands within the muscle's contractile tissue.

(2) Somatics pandiculation stretch.

Pandiculation is what you do when you yawn and sit up in bed or a chair and press your arms to the ceiling. It's also what cats do.

Pandiculation is a three-part movement that

1. starts with a muscle short and tense, the muscle then

2. resists lengthening until the point where you have sailed past your usual stretch barrier into new territory,

3. the muscle then relaxes while hands and/or opposing muscles pull into a sustained and very pleasurable stretch.

A deep inhalation and exhalation (a yawn!) is added alongside. (Nice!)

Pandiculation is a special therapeutic movement. (Find out more:- https://somaticmovementcenter.com/pan... )

(3) Self massage

The third physiotherapy concept (not covered in this video) is self-massage - with a tennis ball or similar - before or immediately after you have stretched and mobilised!

best of health!

Bruce Thomson