Stretch of the Week #25 - Rotating Stomach Stretch and Rising Stomach Stretch

Stretch of the Week #25 - Rotating Stomach Stretch and Rising Stomach Stretch
Hi All and WELCOME to the next installment of 'Stretch of the Week'. There are so many muscles in our bodies that we're bound to forget a few. The spcific muscle group i found most people forget to stretch are the stomach muscles. Well that's got to change. Strecthing your stomach muscle will make them relax and eventually give you a nice tight stomach, which is not only good for the beach but for general core strength. So this week we'll be discussing the Rotating Stomach Stretch and the Rising Stomach Stretch These stretch focus on the rectus abdominis, your obliques and your psoas major and minor. Pulling your stomach muscules taught evenly across your mid section is important because we don't realise that when when we walk or run we are rotating our hips but we dont rotate our shoulders and hence we flex our stomach muscles. But they never get stretched. These stretches are fairly easy to do and they will increase you flexibility which is a requirement just to do simple exercise. Whilst doing the rotating stomach stretch you should feel the pull from you pelvic region, or your iliacus, up to the top of the external oblique with an even pressure on the side your facing away from. During the rising stomach stretch you should feel the same sort of pull just along both side of your stomach. Don't ever under estimate the importance of stretching and the benefits it holds. Whilst doing both of these stretches, if at anytime your back starts to hurt STOP! The rotation stomach stretch is excellent for targeting just one side but remember to keep your body in balance and do the same intensity and time for both sides. It's also important to remember to keep you hips flat on the gorund and rotate with your shoulder by using your hands. The rising stomach stretch you need to keep your arms at shoulder width and remember to treat your spine nicely by not throwing back your head, instead keep it inline with the flow of your back. The Rotation Stomach stretch is useful for abdominal strain, hip flexor strain and Iliopsoas tendonitis. The Rising Stomach stretch is used for the same issues. Always remember that while stretching may be recommended to aid recovery out of injury, you should always be very careful when stretching through rehabilitation. Your soft tissues are likely to be more vulnerable to re-injury if you stretch too much or too hard during this time. Always check with your Health Care Professional who is guiding you through your recovery to make sure it is appropriate to start stretching, and please - ALWAYS FOLLOW THE RULES FOR SAFE STRETCHING (The first posting on this stretching blog). Image taken from "Lower Body Stretches" wall chart by B. Walker. Original article and pictures take http://www.handsfromheaven.com.au/stretch-of-the-week/stretch-of-the-week2 site