Do you struggle with back pain or bad posture?
Sore lower back? Stiff middle back between your shoulder blades? Tight neck?
Often that pain, tightness, and discomfort can get in the way of the things we want to do.
This can even affect our sleep (and we know how important sleep is now, right?) and cause frustration and lack of motivation, which can all have a negative impact on mental health.
If you spend a lot of time sitting this can also easily (but slowly over time so you don't notice it) contribute to bad posture.
Poor posture can cause lower back pain, soreness through your mid back, tightness up the back of your neck, and stiffness through your shoulders.
Anxiety and depression can also cause us to feel like receding into ourselves often in the form of lowering our heads and rounding our shoulders forwards.
How do you help this?
The good news is simple exercises done each day can increase your flexibility and mobility to help improve your posture, ease soreness, and even lessen depression and anxiety.
Try these 6 simple exercises each day (or as often as you want) to improve your posture and increase your mobility so you can get on with life with less discomfort.
Try each exercise for 30-60 seconds. Move slowly through each one and hold each stretch for a few seconds before repeating the movement.
These are an excellent active break during your day as well!
Want to see a video walkthrough of each exercise? Watch on our YouTube page here.
See the descriptions for each exercise or watch the videos on our YouTube page by clicking the YouTube link below!
How can you help your posture during the day?
Do your best to make sure you stay upright preventing your shoulders or head from coming forward too much. You can do this by gently pulling back with your shoulder blades, standing tall, and looking forwards.
Slight changes such as your head slightly down or your back rounded forwards cause the muscles to continuously work which can cause discomfort and tightness.
Sit a lot? Make sure your back is properly supported and if you use a computer make sure it is raised to eye level and your arms are supported without forcing your shoulders to raise. Making sure your feet are flat on the ground can help as well.