Back Stretches

Piriformis Stretch: (Stretches Muscles that lie beneath gluteal muscles )

  • Sit on chair
  • Place your left ankle over your right leg, just above the knee and lean forward.
  • Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat on other side.


Basic Twist: lower back stretching exercise.

  • Lie on back, arms stretched out to the sides.
  • Bend knees and bring knees up close to your chest
  • Take a deep breath
  • Exhale as you slowly lower knees (keep knees together) to floor to the right or as close to the floor as is comfortable.
  • Pause.
  • Inhale as you slowly return your knees to chest.
  • Exhale as you slowly lower knees to left side
  • Inhale as you return your knees to chest.
  • Repeat about 5 times.


The Cat: back stretching exercise

  • Begin on all fours, hands directly under your shoulders and knees directly under your hips.
  • Inhale as you drop tummy towards the floor and look up over your head.
  • Exhale as you bring your tummy back up, rounding your back as you tuck your chin in and tuck your tailbone in.
  • Move slowly back and forth between these two positions pausing on each pose.
  • Repeat about 5 times.


The Cobra: back and chest stretching exercise

  • Lay flat on stomach, forehead to ground, with arms bent and palms down on the ground under the shoulders.
  • Push downward with arms as you raise your upper torso and arch your back.
  • Hold for 3 full breaths before slowly bringing the upper torso back down to the ground.

Stretch Guide

Stretch name Muscles Stretched
Piriformis Stretches Muscles that lie beneath gluteal muscles
Basic Twist lower back stretching exercise
The Cat back stretching exercise
The Cobra Tback and chest stretching exercise
Sump Pumps

Core Articles

Core News

Physically fit students do better academically too: study (Reuters)

Reuters - Getting students to exercise more might not just address obesity issues but also improve their grades with a U.S. study finding physically fit students tend to score higher in tests than their less fit peers.