Monday Movements

I do typically write these posts on Monday, but I am obviously not always posting them on Monday. Just recently I found that I could write and save emails and blogs even when not online. This option has been super helpful especially when I am trying to spend as little time and bandwidth as possible when I do get to go online. I wanted to post about another exercise that has been helpful in my teaching here in PNG. This exercise was created by Mr. Pilates and I learned it from AlignmentYoga.  Towel Stretch is an active stretch that can be beneficial for strengthening the area between the shoulder blades and stretching the areas in the shoulder and upper back that are prone to getting trigger points.
To perform Towel Stretch, you will need a strap or towel. Standing with feet shoulder width apart and elbows straight, grip the towel with both hands also at about the distance of your shoulders. The arc of movement will be from your  thighs up to the sky. Throughout the entire arc continue to pull on the strap. Starting on the inhale, raise your arms from your thighs up to your shoulder height  On the exhale while continuing to pull on the rope, raise your arms to the sky. As you inhale, lower the arms back down to your shoulder height. Then on the exhale, lower the arms back to the thighs. Remember to keep your elbows straight and a firm pull on the rope or towel for the entire arc of motion.  Repeat this cycle 5 to 10 times.
I know a picture speaks better than words so I am going to try to get some pictures loaded. But I am sure you can google Pilates Towel Stretch. Above is a picture of me teaching a class to what ended up being a large crowd at the health station in Emeti.