Relax and Become a Pretzel.

A few years ago, I signed up to take a class called Stretching and Relaxation at the local community college. Twice a week we went in, laid on a mat on the floor and twisted ourselves into unusual positions. It was great. It was very relaxing because we never really got up off the floor, and let's face it....stretching feels wonderful.

In a quest to duplicate that feeling in my own home, especially since I live 500 miles away from the college now and taking it again isn't an option, I bought 3 stretching DVDs off of Amazon.com. The first one is disturbing because it's a guy who is wearing not nearly enough clothes to cover up his hairy self, and most of the video is another guy flapping his gums about back pain. I'm pretty sure I am going to return that one.

Viniyoga Therapy for the Upper Back, Neck & Shoulders with Gary Kraftsow

The next one is okay, but the lady doing the exercises is very ambitious and it is anything but relaxing. Maybe I have to work my way up to it, so I'll probably hang on to it to use at a later date.

Full Body Stretch

The last one is exactly what I was looking for! I have had back spasms for a really long time and considering everything I do involves me being able to hunch over and slouch (sit at a computer at work, look down to paint and draw at home....) I need something that is going to make it feel better. This video is perfect. Within the first 5 minutes of it my back already feels good, and by the end of the hour I am standing up straight and walking tall. The video has 4 different sections...one for the back, one for the hips and legs, one for neck and shoulders, and one for more difficult poses. So not only does it help my back, it helps the rest of my body too!

Today, I locked the dogs out of the spare bedroom, lit a scented candle and put on a dim light while I did the video. According to My Fitness Pal, I burned 265 calories while I was doing it, too. Not too shabby!


Deep Stretch/ Yin Yoga with Mimi Solaire