You won’t even have to get out of bed for this one

It’s no wonder that many of us find that our first inclination upon waking is to stretch; as adults, most of us are feeling stiffness in some part of the body in the morning, and all of us have our techniques for dealing with it. It probably won’t surprise you to know that the majority of us choose to do nothing about it. And as we busy ourselves with the activities of the day, the stiffness seems to fade into the background. But rest assured, it is has not disappeared; most likely, it is getting worse, but your body and brain are good at masking the stiffness and distracting you from thinking about it. So before this insidious situation sets in, choose to do something about it by having a 3 minutes stretching session before you get out of bed. 

Stretch for your stiff back

• One knee-to-chest at a time: begin with both knees bent and then draw one up toward your chest, clasping it with your hands for 30 seconds. Repeat with the other leg.
• Both knees to chest: know draw both knees to your chest at the same time and hold for 30 seconds. 
• Hamstring stretch: with both knees bent again, draw one up toward your chest but this time extend your foot upward toward the ceiling. Stretch for 30 seconds then repeat with the other leg.
• Extend yourself: simply extend your arms over your head and point your toes and feel the full extension of your body. Rest and breathe deeply in this pose for 30 seconds. 

These stretches will go a long way toward banishing morning time stiffness because they focus on releasing tension from the lower back and hamstrings. This problematic tension creates a pull that influences spinal alignment and nerve compression, leaving you stiff and sore.