With the next three videos, we’re going to take a popular stretch we do, called the Fascia Cat, and break it down into three different and very specific exercises.

Today’s focus is on spinal articulation and learning to feel exactly how your spine moves in response to your pelvis.

When the backs of your legs are tight, this tightness can affect your spine and that’s part of what I want you to discover with this exercise. You’ll know you might have a problem with tight legs if you find this movement difficult or even impossible to do at first.

So, I want you to keep your knees bent the entire exercise to free your pelvis from leg tightness and see how much more movement you find in your spine as a result.

Don’t worry, you’ll still get a great stretch in your legs, even with bent knees.

There are two other form points to keep in mind with this exercise:

1. Move with your breath. Inhaling naturally lengthens your spine. Feel for that length when you breathe in and wait for your exhale to move your pelvis. You’ll get a better stretch if you do, I promise!
2. Make sure you don’t squeeze your glutes together when you move your pelvis. Squeezing your glutes wreaks havoc on your SI (sacroiliac) joint and can be a difficult habit to break. There’re a lot of folks out there who are squeezing their glutes without even realizing it. I know because I used to be one of them! So pay close attention and notice if this is a tendency as you try this exercise.

This is another one of my favorite exercises and I practice this stretch every day. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments below.

See you in the studio,

Sydney

P.S. – If you want to know more about why squeezing the glutes is bad your body, you can read more here:

Three Ways Tucking Your Pelvis Can Hurt You