Tight sides or lower back? Try this:
Seated Side Body Stretch
This seated side bend lengthens the sides of the torso and instantly makes you feel less crunched up. It's a great desk stretch to do whenever you notice you've been hunched over for too long. It can also make your breathing feel less restricted.
Key Body Areas:
Upper Back
Abdominals
Lower Back
How to Do Seated Side Body Stretch:
- Sit tall in your chair with your feet flat.
- Inhale, raising both arms overhead.
- If comfortable, interlace your fingers and turn palms upward.
- Exhale and lean your torso to the right, keeping hips anchored and your chest open (rather than collapsing forward).
- Hold for 15 seconds, breathing into the left ribs.
- Inhale to return to center. Exhale and repeat to the left.
Modifications for Seated Side Body Stretch:
- alternativeIf palms-up bothers you wrists, hold the opposite wrist (reach right, hold left wrist) and gently lengthen up and over.
- alternativeIf your shoulders are sensitive, grasp opposite elbows overhead before leaning.
Type: passive StretchDifficulty: beginnerPosition: seatedMuscles Stretched:Latissimus Dorsi • Obliques • Intercostals • Quadratus Lumborum
