Exercise to rehabilitate trunk stability and breathing

1. Initial body position

Lay on a yoga mat, with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.

Elongate your spine: long neck, broad shoulders, bring tailbone towards the feet.

Hand position: Place your hands above the hip bone, with index and middle fingers pushing into the lower abdomen, and thumbs pushing against the lumbar muscles in the back.

Main mistakes in setting up initial position: Arched low-back, arched cervical spine.

2. Exercise/action

Keeping knees bent, gently lift your feet up, as in the picture above, and imagine your middle toe is being pulled towards the ceiling.

Result: You should feel your intra-abdominal pressure increase and your cylinder-shaped core muscles engage.

Main mistakes: Arching the low-back or cervical spine while lifting the feet up.

3. Going further

Once you have managed to raise your feet while maintaining good intra-abdominal pressure and proper stabilization of the trunk, you can start adding upper body movement, like touching the knees with your hands.

Main mistakes: Losing intra-abdominal pressure while lifting the feet or while adding upper body movement.

Tips: When you feel your body start to shake, take a break! It means your muscles and nervous system are getting tired and you’ve achieved the benefit of the exercise. Any longer and your body will start to compensate.