Into a Writer's Head

The ballet stretch

Ever since I did this stretch at the end of a yoga section, I've been calling it The Ballet Stretch because I feel like I'm doing a ballet move...only lying down.
This is a great stretch for at the end of a long day, especially if you've been hunched over the computer, as it stretches the muscles at the front of your chest.  This is especially important because as you hunch forward and those muscles tighten, they will continue to pull your shoulders forward even after you've stepped away from the computer unless you stretch them regularly.
This stretch is to be done 10 times on each side.  Start out lying on your left side, with your arms out at a 90 degree angle from the rest of your body, one on top of the other.  The sweep the top arm upward trying to keep your hand connected with the ground as you come around in a circle.
I love how effective this stretch is.  As writers we spend so much time sitting in front of our computers, or reading a book, we don't even think about what it does to our bodies.  Hopefully this will help with that a little bit.

Labels: healthy writer, stretches

posted by Erin @ 8:15 AM