Brush Your Spine

Just like eating junky foods accelerates the deterioration of your teeth and overall health in general, a lack of exercise will do the same for the joints of your spine and body, and overall health in general. An ideal baseline for physical activity is 30 minutes of aerobic walking (long stride brisk walk), or a similar type of exercise like swimming, on a daily basis… you are still advised to brush your spine.

There are 2 simple stretches that we encourage everyone to perform each day, twice a day, when you brush your teeth. Both of these stretches should be performed comfortably and consistently and are very important especially if you spend a large part of the day sitting:

1.  Stretching your hip flexors - to be performed while brushing your teech (half the time brushing strech one leg and the other time on the opposite leg - about 45 seconds each)

• Stand with one leg in front of the other, bending the leading knee and keeping the trailing knee straight while keeping the heels on the ground. Attempt to tuck your belly and backside inwards (keeping your back straight) as you begin to lunge forward. You should feel the stretch in the groin region of the trailing leg.
• In the sitting position these muscles are half their length and if they don’t regain full length when standing/walking/running, they will stress the lower back causing a tightening in the hamstrings and gluteus muscles.

2.  Stretching your pec. muscles and upper back – to be performed immediately after brushing your teeth.

• With your back straight (belly and backside tucked in), bend your elbows to 90° with palms facing up and rotate arms outward keeping your elbows by your side. Concentrate on keeping your shoulder blades down and fixed to the back of your chest. Gently lean into a corner resting the inside of your hands on the walls to increase the stretch while allowing your head to drift backward so you can look at the roof. You should feel the stretch through your pecs and the front of your neck/shoulders.