The One Move I Do Every Day For My Hips
If I had to do only one thing every day to move my body it would be a roll down.
You’ll come across this move in many modalities — pilates, yoga, good old-fashioned aerobics— which speaks to the universality of its benefits.
Illuminate me.
Rolldowns lengthen the back line of the body, decompress the spine, move the hips joints, stretch the hamstrings and calves, engage the core, get the blood flowing and I’m sure a few more things I’m leaving out.
Try it…
Here’s my favorite way to do it.
Stand with your back to a wall and feet about six inches away from the wall. Take a breath and feel the back of your body against the wall.
Drop your chin towards your chest
Feel the roundness of the back of your neck. Continue that feeling of roundness as you slowly peel your spine away from the wall. Think of each vertebra moving separately.
Keep breathing as you roll down. Use your core (think about pulling your low abs in and up) to support the rounding of the spine, like you’re rounding over a yoga ball or bar - not just collapsing down.
See if you can visualize your pelvis lifting up off your thigh bones.
Go as far as you can before you feel like you have to bend your knees.
Take a big breath into the back of the ribcage and on the exhale start the roll up.
Think your core is lifting your spine away from the ground and supporting it while it uncurls.
Each vertebra lifts up and away from the one below it to maintain the decompression in your spine.
Your head is the last thing to come up.
Do this 2-3 times. Or just once if that’s all the time you have. Something is better than nothing. Enjoy!
Try it and let us know what you think. Contact us here. We’d love to hear from you!