BEFORE YOU BEGIN – The exercises are based on keeping each position for 15-30 seconds, breathing deeply and increasing the stretch every time: to measure the time we can use the number of our breaths, for example from five to fifteen depending on our possibilities. Remember that all exercises must be performed slowly, without abrupt movements and without forcing. We must NEVER feel pain, only the sensation of the muscle stretching, pulling a little, but not too much. If the discomfort becomes intense, stop, decrease the intensity and, when we reach our limit, keep the position by breathing deeply, then relax the part and remarry for a moment.
HEATING – Before starting let’s do a short warm-up: let’s stand up and stretch upwards; we stretch our arms towards the ceiling and stretch as if to try to touch it, keeping the arms away from the ears, the shoulders low and without burrowing the head. Let’s rise on tiptoe and put our heels back four or five times, breathing deeply: then bend forward until touching the floor, even with the knees slightly flexed if we feel “pulling” behind the knees; let’s rise slowly, pitting the vertebrae one at a time.
HEAD, NECK AND SHOULDERS – They are the most contracted parts when working for a long time in front of a screen, on which it is necessary to work gently, without ever forcing. We bend the head forward, with the chin on the sternum and the shoulders low, extending the neck, then we make some circles of the head, alternating the direction of rotation. We rest the right hand on the head and, without pulling but using only the weight of the arm, we stretch the neck to the left, trying to bring the ear to the shoulder. We repeat on the other side.
FOR SHOULDERS AND ARMS -We interlock the fingers of the hands with the palms up and stretch the arms upwards and then in front of us. To loosen the shoulders, rotate them in a circular motion, first forward, then in the opposite direction, always keeping the shoulders low. We can also raise one arm up and lean to the right and left, to stretch the lateral muscle bands. If we use the mouse a lot, we also stretch the wrists, grasping the fingers of one hand and flexing them gently backwards, keeping the arm stretched.
BACK – Kneeling on the ground, we rest the buttocks on the heels and bend the back forward, until it touches the knees with the chest; we stretch our arms keeping our hands on the floor, but without resting our forearms. Let’s lie down as much as possible. This exercise can also be done while sitting on a chair and leaning forward until it touches the floor. For the back and the obliques: seated on the ground, with one elongated leg and one flexed with the heel resting on the thigh, as close as possible to the pubis, we flex the torso forward towards the foot and then to the side, always on the side of the leg tense. We then reverse the leg and the side.
LEGS AND GLUTES – Standing, we bend one leg back, bringing the heel closer to the buttock; we grab the ankle with the hand and try to stretch the quadriceps muscle. We then go to the other side and repeat three times for legs. However, if we feel knee pain, we avoid this exercise and move on to the next. Sitting on the ground, we stretch our legs and, keeping our knees stretched and our feet hammered, we try to grasp the tip of the feet: if the exercise is easy, we let the torso move forward until it touches the knees with the chest. To stretch the buttock, let’s lie on our backs with our feet flat on the ground and our knees bent. We bring the right ankle to the left knee, then lift the left foot and, passing our hands under the left thigh, bring it closer to us. Then repeat on the other side. Other positions and exercises are contained in our photogalley.
