Whenever I get a massage, the therapist never fails to cluck his/her tongue and say something to the effect of, “Aiyo, your neck and shoulders are so stiff!” If you’re like me and face the computer anywhere between 8 to 18 hours a day, you probably also have the same problem. According to Kimberly Cheong, a Pilates instructor at Focus Pilates, almost 90 percent of the world’s population have experienced back pains at least once in their lives. She shares some simple solutions you can do at home to alleviate this problem.
You want to … relieve stiff muscles in your neck and shoulders
1. Lie on your back and place a tennis ball along your shoulder blades, near your neck.
2. Slowly lean from side to side, allowing the ball to roll over your tight muscles and massage your pressure points.
3. For some variation, you can slowly lift your hips up to increase the pressure on the ball.
You want to … relieve lower back pain
1. Lying on your back, prop your feet up against a wall at a 90-degree angle.
2. Slowly, vertebra by vertebra, raise your hips up. Then, slowly lower yourself back to the ground, vertebra by vertebra.
3. For optimal results, it’s recommended to do between five and eight reps daily.
You want to … improve your posture
The key to a good posture, says Cheong, is body awareness. Body awareness is understanding how your body moves, and thinking about how each movement affects your body. To improve your posture, you’ll need to tap into this awareness by constantly checking your spine is straight, shoulders are relaxed and whether your knees are splayed in an unusual manner. “It’ll take time, but eventually this positive habit will become a natural part of your life,” says Cheong, “Pilates is great for increasing body awareness because each movement is designed for you to combine the physical with the mental.”
To find out more about the classes offered by Focus Pilates, visit http://www.focuspilates.com.sg.
This blog post was not paid for by Focus Pilates. All opinions expressed are the author’s own.
About The Author: Vanessa Tai is a founder of Material World who has previously worked on magazines Simply Her and Cosmopolitan Singapore. Now a freelance writer and a full-time contributor to this website, the 26-year-old dreams of attending every single major music festival before she turns 30. Follow her on Twitter @VannTaiTweets.
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