7 great ways to keep flexible

Wall roll down

1. Lean against the wall with knees softly bend but not so much that you can’t see your toes.
2. Scoop and hollow out your lower abdominal (stomach) muscles to pull your tummy button toward your spine. This should be felt as a stretch in your low back as your back flattens against the wall.
3. Maintain the scooped out tummy, slowly peel yourself forward off the wall, keeping the low back in contact with the wall.

Cat stretch

1. Start on your hands and knees with a flat back (tabletop position).
2. Tuck your bottom/tailbone under by contracting your abdominal muscles until you feel the muscles in your low back stretch.
3. Relax back to the start position.

Child Pose

1. Starting from a tabletop position (on your hands and knees).
2. Sit back onto your heels and rest your head on the floor in front of you with your hands by your sides.
3. For a deeper lower back stretch you can come into child pose from the cat stretch (as described above)

Pelvic Tilt

1. Laying on your back with knees bent. 
2. Place your hands on your pelvis creating a triangle with your hands. Your thumbs on the sticking out bones of your pelvis and fingers pointing to the centre. 
3. Using your lower abdominal muscles where your fingers are pointing towards, gently pull your tummy button towards your spine. Flattening your spine to the mat.

Roll like a ball/Gluteal stretch

1. Laying on your back.  Pull both knees toward your chest. Curling into a ball. 
2. Gently rock back and forward, feeling your spine and buttock muscles stretch.

Dumb waiter

1. Standing straight. Bend your elbows to 90 degrees. Palms facing upward as if holding a tray!
2. Keeping your upper arms close to your sides. Slowly rotate your arms at the shoulder so your forarms are moving away from mid line.
3. Slowly out and slowly back in. This can be done stretching a Dynaband for more resistance.

Quad Setting

1. To strengthen your knees it is essential to have strong thigh muscles (quadriceps muscles). 
2. Lying with legs outstretched, bring your toes toward you by flexing at your ankle. 
3. Feel the muscles in your calves and back of your thigh stretch at the same time slowly contract the muscles in your thigh.

With thanks to Emma for being my beautiful model in these photographs.  I can highly recommend Emma as a Pilates teacher in Epsom.

You can find her on Facebook.

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