Step-by-Step Instructions for Performing Morning Stretches on Your Inversion Table
Why not start each day by being kind to your body? Rather than leaping out of bed and rushing through your usual morning routine, give yourself a bit of care as well as comfort. After all, you’ll have lots of time throughout your day to create stress! First thing: You should switch off your alarm clock and take a moment to be thankful for another day. Once you have done so, gently shift your focus onto your breath and take some deep inhalations and exhalations.
Try not to think about what you need to do in your day and stay focused on breathing (don’t fall back to sleep!). After a minute or two, begin to wake up the body with just a few minutes of inversion therapy stretches. You can perform these gentle morning stretches on a low-cost inversion table or on a top-of-the-line model - it’s up to you. Just make sure you’re comfortable. This sequence will take only five minutes, and you can surely spare this small amount of time to give yourself and your back a healthy start.
Standard Inverted Mountain with Breath
The first part of your morning stretch is simple but requires your full attention. It’s important not to let distractions interfere with your focus.
1. Lying on your inversion table, squeeze shoulder blades together gently and draw them downward towards your butt, keeping your arms at your sides. Scoop your tailbone forward and try to rest the low back completely flat on the table. Keep legs together, with feet flexed or pointed.
2. Breathe and observe. Notice if there is any soreness or tension in the back. Sometimes we sleep “wrong” and because of that, we wind up straining our muscles unintentionally, so use your breath to awaken and let go of any tenseness.
Extended Inverted Mountain
You’ve probably done this stretch hundreds of times while lying flat on your back. But this time you’ll be doing it on an inversion table. This means you’ll be much more aware of what you’re doing and of what’s happening within your body, particularly your back area.
1. From the standard Inverted Mountain stretch, extend your arms overhead, keeping shoulders down.
2. Extend outward through hands and feet, reaching in opposite directions and breathing deeply. Think about the legs moving out of the hip sockets and the arms moving out of the shoulder sockets. Every time you take another breath, attempt to reach a little further.
3. Add an extra stretch by alternating between the right and left sides and completely releasing in between.
4. Try to hold for five breaths during each movement.
Alternate Arm and Leg Raises
This flowing movement will begin to gently wake up the arms and legs and help to increase circulation.
1. From Extended Inverted Mountain stretch, exhale and slowly raise your right arm and left leg straight up to the ceiling. Feel yourself reaching upward through the toes and fingers and hold for three breaths.
2. Inhale and slowly lower, then raise your left arm and right leg, hold for three breaths, and lower.
3. Continue raising and lowering alternate arms and legs. Move as quickly or as slowly as it feels comfortable for you, always moving with the breath. Try to complete five to ten repetitions on each side and rest back into Extended Inverted Mountain.
Gentle Inverted Bridge with Extended Arms
This version of inverted bridge stretch will awaken the spine and open up the belly. It also gently works the larger muscles of the lower body such as the thighs, glutes and hips.
1. From Extended Inverted Mountain, bend your knees and place your feet flat on the table at hips’ width apart.
2. Scoop your tailbone forward and rest your low back as close to the surface of the inversion table as is comfortable. Pull your navel in, keeping your core center strong.
3. On an inhalation, press into the soles of your feet and lift your hips upward. Use your gluteal muscles to help lift.
4. Try to keep your hips and knees in line, not pushing the hips too far upward. Hold for two or three breaths, then draw the navel in and slowly lower, tucking the pelvis as you roll through each vertebra.
5. As soon as your tailbone touches the lower portion of the inversion table, press back into the feet and lift the hips again. Repeat this sequence three times. It should feel like a wonderful massage on the spine!