Alternating arch keeps spine curvy

Practicing this move as part of your regular routine will help you maintain a healthy back and preserve the natural curves of your spine. With the following exercise, you’ll use your breath and arch your back in two directions. If you settle in the center of both arches, you’ll become familiar with what is known as “neutral spine.”

-- Karen Voight

*

1 Kneel on a padded surface or a mat. Place your knees directly below your hips and your hands below your shoulders with your middle fingers pointing straight ahead. On an inhale, lift your sitting bones upward and look forward (not up). Draw your shoulder blades down your back and continue to lift the tailbone up. Feel your back muscles contract as your abdominal muscles stretch.

2 Now, on an exhale, reverse the action and contract your abdominals, pointing your tailbone down. Relax your head as you stretch and elongate your upper, middle and lower back muscles. Alternate between arching your back like a dog and rounding your spine like a cat until you have done 3 to 6 reps in each direction.