in the july edition of "i've got your back" we're going to practice a very simple, but very powerful, chest opener. this is an incredible antidote to slouching and can help us keep our hearts open! all you need is a doorway.
chest stretch ::
start by standing right in the center of an open door. bring your arm up to your side in a goalpost, elbow level with your shoulder. place your forearm on the doorframe and keeping your elbox, forearm, and wrist in contact with the door, begin to walk your body and torso forward until you feel a nice gentle stretch through your pectoral muscles.
you can then adjust the stretch by adjusting your elbow, bringing it higher up or lower down, to get to different fibers and spots that need a little bit more care!
don't push on this too hard - it's better to stay with a gentle stretch for a longer period of time. let the rest of your body relax as much as possible.
repeat on the other side and allow for it to be different - you might need and want different things on the opposite shoulder!
this is a great stretch to stay open through our center. so often we're at a desk or carrying a lot with our arms or just habitually hunched over, and while it's important to strenthen the postural muscles on our backs, it's also important to open up and lengthen the muscles on the front!
if you have any questions, about these practices or others, don't hesitate to reach out! my email is drstephvos@gmail.com and i love to chat about bodies :)
stay tuned the last wednesday of the month for "i've got your back" at 8:20(ish) on wtip.org's north shore morning show!
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