PTII: Improving Your Health and Fitness

Health & Wellness The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body

Improving Your Health With 4 Easy Stretches

your back straight. Push your hips back until you feel a definite, but not painful, stretch at the back of the forward knee. For a greater stretch put your heel on a step. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat 3 times on both legs. 2. Iliopsoas Stretch Assume a wide, long lunge position with hands on hips. Tuck the buttocks under while you shift your weight to the forward leg. Keep your good posture. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat 3 times on both legs. 3. Shoulder Flexion Stretch Stand in a corner of the room with one foot in front of the other. Put your hands on the wall. Make sure to keep your back flat! Reach arms up overhead. Move chest towards the wall to feel a stretch in the chest. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat 3 times. 4. Piriformis Stretch Lie on your back with knees bent, feet flat on floor. Cross one leg overtop. Lock hands around knee. Pull knee to chest. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat 3 times on both legs.

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In addition, as we age our connective and muscle tissues naturally become stiffer. Therefore, the older you get, the more important a daily stretching routine becomes. The key to good health is to keep your body flexible. This helps your circulatory, respiratory, lymphatic, and musculoskeletal systems. When your tissues are flexible, normal blood and lymphatic fluids circulate the body easier, oxygenating your tissues properly. This helps you feel energized, relieves pain, and allows you to perform daily tasks without feeling tired. 1. Hamstring Stretch Stand facing a wall (or a counter) , use it to steady yourself if needed. Take a large step forward with one leg. Straighten the knee of the forward leg, while shifting your body weight onto the bent, back leg. Hands on the forward knee. Hinge forward from the hips, keeping

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