My soul sings when I garden. I soooooo love seeing all the beautiful flowers blooming, veggies popping up, getting my hands dirty in the soil, smelling the flowers, seeing the worms popping in and out of the ground, and the birds that come to dine on them… All of this brings me such joy!
In honor of Earth Day (Friday, 4/22), enjoy this photo of the beautiful rose bush that my daughter planted for me last spring. 😊
Gardening can bring us great joy and contentment, but gardening is hard on our backs – and shoulders – and knees…
So, if you love to take care for your garden as much as I do, remember to take care of your body, too. I have enclosed a video of my best “Back Relaxer” for when you come in from gardening. This pose relaxes the entire length of your spine, so there is no tension anywhere along your spine. Even when you’re lying in your bed to sleep at night you don’t relax all these muscles unless you lie in this position.
Several of my clients actually sleep in this position as it’s the only way that they can get some good sleep and wake up rested without pain. You can use pillows or blankets stacked up under your legs in your bed to help position yourself.
One client, who drives a truck all day, every day, was beside himself with pain and exhausted from not sleeping well. When he heard about the work I do to help my clients relieve their back pain he was skeptical. He pretty much said he’d already tried everything – physical therapy, pain meds from his doc, and he truly didn’t believe I could help him. BUT he came to his first appointment, tried this relaxation pose that night, and called me the next day to say that he’d slept all night in this position and had the best sleep he’d had in months!
This position helps shoulder and neck pain as well since the entire spine is totally relaxed here, including your neck spine. Make sure that if your neck is arched, you place a small pillow or folded towel under your head to straighten the neck spine. People tend to want to put the pillow under the neck, thinking that it supports the neck there, however, what that does is support that arch, which you don’t want, and which will continue to support bad posture, which will then make breathing a bit difficult, and keep you feeling that back pain. To get the correct, straight neck spine, put the support under your head as I do in the video, NOT under your neck.
April is also Canine Fitness Month, so here’s a cool story about a new drug that can help our pets live longer and healthier! For those of us who have dogs that are part of our family it’s good news!
Enjoy your gardening, the story, and the video, and don’t forget to click the thumbs up button on the video and subscribe for more great video exercises!
Best of Health,
Kathi
