Gentle moves for a happy back (10 min)

Hi, I'm Eve Overland, celebrity personal trainer, and I'm going to show you some gentle moves for a happy back.

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So let's set it up. We're going to start seated, a Seated Spinal Twist. So just cross your leg over, one over the other.

I want you to reach up with the opposite arm. Place it on the outside of your knee. Sit up nice and tall, and all I want you to do

is a Spinal Twist over to one side. Inhale for length, and exhale. it can be just a gentle movement.

This is great to do at your desk at work, just if you need a little extra love for your back.

Inhale, exhale. You want to do this about 30 seconds each side.

So think about spiraling up and out. Beautiful. Get some length, and exhale.

Let's switch sides. I like to set it up, cross arm, big reach, so you have a good, tall spine.

Inhale, and exhale. Twist only as far as you can go. It's not a very tight twist.

Just till you feel a little sensation, a beautiful stretch. Chin off your chest. Inhale, exhale.

Beautiful. 3, inhale, 2, and time.

Excellent. Our next exercise is Hip Flexor Stretch, so we're going to start kneeling. You're going to be at 90/90, so a 90-degree bend.

The first thing I want you to do is have tall posture. You're going to lean forward, feel it in your hip flexor,

reach up with the opposite arm, and then you're going to lean to the side. So not only will you feel a stretch in that hip flexors,

but also, you get a nice side body stretch. Inhale for length. Reach over to the side, big reach.

Beautiful. Hold that nice and strong. Everything is square. And if you need to reset and regroup,

you can certainly do that as well. Reach, reach, reach, reach, reach. Beautiful. Inhale, and exhale.

Switch sides. So again, set it up. You have a 90-degree bend. The hips are square. The first thing you're going to do

is shift your weight forward. And then, big reach, and off to the side. Inhale, and exhale.

Beautiful. This is great to open up your hips.

And having happy hips means having a happy back. Inhale, exhale. I'm going to regroup, like I did on the opposite side,

and reach. 5 more seconds. Yes. 4, 3, 2, and 1.

Excellent work. Now we're going to grab a stability ball. You could also do this on the floor.

We're going to do little Cobras. I like to call them Ys and Ts. You're going to set it up, a nice solid foundation

with your feet. You're going to reach your arms up at a Y, bring them down.

Then out strong to a T, and down. And then we're going to reach back, and down.

So we're going to hold each for 5 seconds or so. Here we go, set it up. Big reach, upper back.

Beautiful, breathe. 3, 2, 1, smooth down. And then out to a T. Beautiful.

Squeeze your shoulder blades together, and down. And then a little Cobra stretch.

Nice. Inhale, exhale. I can feel that in my back. Let's do one more.

Big reach at a Y, and down.

Out to a T. A couple of breaths, each position, and down.

And then reach long back behind you. Shoulders out of your ears. 3, 2, and 1.

Excellent work. Moving on to a Cat Pose, so we're

going to set up on all fours. Shoulders over elbows over wrists. You can have your feet tucked or not.

I am going to have them flat. Inhale for a long spine, and then you're going to draw your navel in.

Push away from the mat. Arch your back. And then come to a neutral spine.

Let's do a few more of these. Inhale, belly button to the spine. Push away.

Round your back. Let it feel good. Neutral spine. Let's do one more.

Inhale for Cat. Round your back.

And exhale. Keep that quadruped position. We're moving to Bird Dog.

Opposite arm, opposite leg. This is great for core work. I'm going to start. Bring one leg out, and extend the other arm.

Beautiful. Reach opposition. And then bring it back to center.

And then reach the other side. Beautiful. A lot of core work going on here.

Core is important to work because that is part of your lower back. Let's do two more.

Reach. Excellent. Hips are square to the floor. Long line, nice and strong.

And one more Bird Dog. I love this one. Excellent. Breathe, 3, 2, and 1.

Let's flip over to do some Glute Bridges. So I'm going to lay flat, put my shoulders down.

All you're going to do-- I have my hands about 45-- I'm going to inhale and then drive through my heels

and lift my glutes off the floor. Chin off your chest. We're going to squeeze.

Inhale, and exhale. And I'm going to roll down slow. So we're going to hold each for about 10 seconds.

Inhale up, hold for 10. Now, I want you to keep that neutral spine. I don't want it up too much.

Just right neutral, just so you feel a little bit in your hamstrings. A little stretch in your back.

3, 2, 1. It's important to keep our glute muscles strong as well to keep your back healthy.

Inhale up, last Bridge. Hold it strong. Keep holding. Breathe.

Inhale, and exhale. And 3, 2, and 1.

Lower down slow, each vertebra, so you can get an articulation of your spine. Awesome.

We're still on the floor, but bring your knees up to Tabletop position. All I want you to do is tap down one leg at a time.

It doesn't have to be fast. Just tap, tap, tap. Now, this is great. We are working our abdominal muscle.

Everything is connected, right? Your core is connected. We want to have strong abs, strong back, strong core.

Beautiful. Tap, tap, tap. Nice and slow. We're almost there. This is excellent for your abs.

Keep going strong. 5 more seconds. Tap, tap, tap. 4, feel it in your abs. 3, 2, and 1.

Reach out long with your legs along with your arms. Full body stretch. Here's the grand finale.

Inhale, hug your knee in, and let it feel good. Inhale, exhale.

Drive your knee right up the midline. You could also have your knee up like so, but I like feeling a full body stretch.

You can hold this 15 seconds each side. We'll do both. 3, 2, 1.

Go ahead and switch sides. Inhale, drive your knee right up to your chest. Inhale, and just let everything release.

Let it feel good. This opens up your hips as well. Inhale, exhale.

We'll do one more time each side. Excellent. Go ahead and switch.

Inhale. Knee in the midline. And breathe.

And go ahead and switch, last side. Knee hug. Bring it in. Let it feel good.

Big inhale up, and exhale out.

Bring your legs long. One more big full body stretch. And let everything just melt into the floor.

Excellent work. These are great exercises to keep your back happy and healthy.

You could also think about adding these to your routine at the end of your workout or the end of your evening. I'm Eve Overland.