Egoscue Static Back
The Egoscue Static back is my favorite go-to passive exercise to stack the body right and reduce back discomfort,. While being passive (you just get into position and lie there), the force of gravity against the relatively hard ground allows your body to work a lot, reducing rotation at both the pelvis and shoulder.
This E-cise is for you if:
- You have a sore back or disk injury
- You have a forward slumped posture
- You have a pelvis or shoulder disparity (different from the other side)
- You want to relax and improve your posture at the end of the day
- Lie on your back with your legs up over your inflatable large block or up over a chair/couch.
- Your arms are at 45 degrees and your palms up.Try to relax your upper back and notice if your low back is flat evenly from left to right.HOLD – and work on diaphragmatic breathing
Diaphragmatic Breathing (especially while in an aligned state) will help to create better thoracic stability AND lessen your stress levels. It’s not always easy to just “be less stressed”. This is an activity you can do to help with that. LOIS Breathing.
- Your arms are at 45 degrees and your palms up.Try to relax your upper back and notice if your low back is flat evenly from left to right.HOLD – and work on diaphragmatic breathing
Here is how to do ideal diaphragmatic breathing.
- Place one hand on your belly and one on your clavicle. Your lower belly hand should be the one moving, but you should also be breathing out to the sides of your ribs and into the back. You will not just rise up into your collar bone or neck.
- Breathe in and out, silently, through your nose
- Make your exhale longer than your inhale. *important as this is how to be in that less stressed state. You can also HUM on the exhale.
- Tongue on roof of mouth, teeth apart, lips together, eyes level, neck and shoulder at rest.
Additional Egoscue E-cises for Back Discomfort…
- Lie on your back with one leg up over your inflatable large block or chair
- Your other leg is straight out on the floor with it propped up from the side
- Your arms should be at 45degree with palms up. RELAX your upper body and notice that your low back should begin to get flatter to the floor the longer you are in this position.
- HOLD and relax, then repeat on the other leg
Air Bench - Stand with your back against a wall with feet and knees hip width apart and feet pointed straight.
- Walk your feet away from the wall while sliding your body down. Get in a “seated” invisible chair, with your hips higher than knees, knee not further than ankles, and your low back pressed into the wall.
- Hold for one minute or as comfortable.
For more information on Egoscue postural alignment (done online right at home) please contact me at rachel@theartofbeingwell.com
In the last blog post- I wrote about an e-cise routine that used my favorite postural exercise- the Static Back- to help reduce tight rounded shoulders with winged scapulas. While passive exercises can be very effective (why not use gravity to your favor?) ACTIVE e-cises are also excellent.
My favorite all-in-one active exercise in this case is Active Cobra.
Active Cobra Creates extension in the upper back, active work externally rotating the the shoulders. On your belly, press yourself up into a cobra position with your elbows on the ground. Hands should be in golfers position, with thumbs up. Keep head neutral, sink between shoulder blades, actively pressing out with hands (but not going anywhere- like you are pressing against a wall. You will feel the work happening in the shoulder, while the head remains neutral. The final part is to frog the legs, bending the knees and pressing the feet together. This E-cise, (minus the neutral neck) is a full body extension E-cise! (Given that gravity is a constant pull into flexion, getting our muscles into extension is great for them AND our posture!)
Ways of adding this in to a routine, would be static back, then the active cobra, finishing with standing arm circles...
For KIDS- flexed over their computer devices, have them switched from
Be in the cobra position to read a book or play a video game. This dramatically reduces the negative posture. I like to read books on the beach this way.
For more information or to schedule an appointment: contact Rachel Dixon at rachel@theartofbeingwell.com
Many people complain of knots and tension between their shoulder blades…
Why is it so common?
While every person is individual, many people have similar posture and movement habits. (Thanks computer devices!)
*Most* people with the tension and knots in their shoulders have a rounded upper back and shoulders more forward. We do a lot of movement from this forward, rounding area!
The joint by joint purpose of the rib cage is supposed to be SLIGHTLY mobile and the scapula (your "wing bones") stable. In movement dominant shoulders when our scapulas wing out-and become unstable, the rib cage tends to get rounded and TIGHT!
If this area is really tight and rounded, go slowly so you don't get muscle spasm's. PASSIVE E-cises that use gravity to reduce the tension and makes a big difference here are:
Egoscue Static Back The entire back relaxes in the static back e-cise, but gravity reduces the thoracic rounding. It’s passive- we lie there and gravity does the work.
Directions: Lie down and place your lower legs on a chair. Your hips and knees should be at right angles. Your arms can rest by your side. Your head should be level- if your chin is pointing to the ceiling, place a small pillow behind your head to level it off. (And breathe!)
Egoscue Static Back Reverse Presses: After we reduce the thoracic rounding (a few minutes in static back) we add active reverse presses (pressing into the ground). This produces active work between the shoulder blades, further reducing the thoracic rounding.
Directions: In the static back position, put your arms straight out to the side, elbows on the ground and hands up the the ceiling like goal posts. Press your elbows down into the ground. (Note: you won’t go anywhere, but you will feel work happening between the shoulder blades.)
Do this daily or as needed to reduce rotation and passively align the upper thoracic area and scapula for a stress-free upper back!
Standing Arm Circles: This creates a more stable scapula so you can avoid the rounded thoracic area.
Stand with your arms out to your side- active gophers grip. With arms level, and thumbs pointing forward, make small, fast circles in one direction. Stop, point thumbs towards the back and repeat the arm circles in the other direction. If you feel your shoulders creep up to your ears- STOP.
Other things you can do to help:
Foam roller: Reduce tension using a foam roller on the upper back. First lie vertical on it- from head to tail bone. Allow your hands to go out to the side, stretching your pecs. Breathe. Then change positions to lie horizontal on it, rolling the upper back to release tight upper back tissue. Stretch back (only the upper back- not the lower.)
For more information, or to schedule an appointment, contact Rachel Dixon at
