• Home
  • Health
  • General
  • Natural Remedies
  • Diet & Weight Loss
  • Fitness
  • Beauty
  • Recipes

The Health Science Journal

Your Personal Health Library




  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise With Us
  • Write For Us

Seal – Exercises to Improve Flexibility and Movement of Your Back and Spine, Part 2

May 31, 2016 by Melissa Bell Leave a Comment

Improve Flexibility and Movement of Your Back and Spine

Welcome back to our exercise program to improve flexibility and movement precision of your back and spine. Hopefully you enjoyed Rolling Over as we now continue with the next exercise in the program, the Seal.

The series so far:

  • Exercise #1: Rolling Over
  • Exercise #2: Seal (you are here)
  • Exercise #3: Crab
  • Exercise #4: Rocking Chair 
  • Exercise #5: Extended Legs Back Roll
  • Exercise #6: Boomerang
  • Exercise #7: Controlled Balance
  • Exercise #8: Jackknife

Exercise #2: Seal

seal

Initial position. Sit on an exercise mat and, pulling your knees to your chest and spreading them wider than shoulder width. Place your heels together. Bend the spine over the entire length, so that it takes the form of the letter “C”. Put your hands between your legs and grasp the outside of the foot. Lift the feet on the mat, so that the entire body weight is placed on the buttocks:

  • Breathing-in, roll back backwards;
  • Breathing-out, roll forward to the starting position and clap twice with your feet. Repeat the exercise 10 times a seal.

Make Sure You:

  • In the 1st phase of the Seal, use the abdominal muscles to tilt the pelvis back and bend your spine evenly in the form of the letter “C” along the entire length – from the head to the tailbone. At the same time pull-in your belly, pulling the front the abdomen towards the spine. Use the leg extensor muscles in the hip to lift your feet from the mat and bring the thigh close to the chest. Use your arms to help keep the legs close to the body;
  • At the beginning of the 2nd phase, give a stronger pull to your stomach and tilting your pelvis back – roll back on the mat;
  • To facilitate the transition of the return movement in the 3rd phase of the exercise, use the leg extensor muscles in the hip and thighs to take them a little further from the chest (with the arms restricting the movement). Arm extensors in the shoulder joint pull your feet in a downward direction. At the same time, by pulling on the abdominal muscles even more, bend in the lumbar spine and torso forward;
  • Try to maintain your posture during the rolling;
  • Return to the initial position and restore the balance by double clapping the feet. The movement should be performed quickly and dynamically;
  • In order to achieve a soft rolling, imagine that your back is the surface of a ball, wheel or hoop which rolls along the ground without changing its shape.

Additional Notes

This exercise is very similar to Rolling Over and just as good at stretching the spine extensor muscles. It develops coordination work of the abdominal muscles and develops the skills to use movement inertia and maintaining balance. An additional difficulty arises when, after returning to the original position, you need to double clap the feet. Such a move could upset the balance and the bent position of the spine. Overall, a great challenge and skill to improve flexibility and movement of your spine and back.

Optional

To increase the complexity of the exercise, clap your feet three times after rolling back and then again after returning to the starting position. To do this, you need to pause before proceeding to the return movement.

Once mastered, go for the next exercise in the program.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Melissa Bell
Follow me:
Melissa Bell
Melissa Bell has a strong background in nutrition education, fitness and yoga, and experience working on specialized stretching, bodybuilding and weight loss programs. She is actively studying Japanese, doing research and travelling for conferences while taking care of two children.
Melissa Bell
Follow me:
Latest posts by Melissa Bell (see all)
  • Home Care and Management Tips for Mentally Retarded Children - July 1, 2022
  • 10 Natural Ways to Increase Your Bone Density - July 1, 2022
  • Research for Recovery: Delivering Virtual Healthcare Support - June 22, 2022

Share this post:

Share on FacebookShare on PinterestShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Email

Filed Under: Fitness, Health Tagged With: exercises, flexibility, low back pain

——-

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *




Follow Us on Social Media

Featured Post

  • Ezoic User Review – AdSense vs Ezoic, Analysis After 2 Years with Ezoic
  • Pinterest Account Suspended & Domain Blocked! And How Ezoic Helped Us Get It Back

Latest Review

GenF20 Plus Review: Potentially Dangerous? A Scientific…

—

Fitness

Extended Legs Back Roll – Back and Spine Exercises, Part 5

Learning More About Alzheimer’s and Care Facilities in Los Angeles

Nurses Use Social Media

5 Ways Nurses Can Use Social Media to Grow Their Personal Brand

Grapefruit – Great Medicine for Cholesterol, But You Should Avoid Grapefruit Juice!

Teeth Aligners

5 Issues With Mail Order Teeth Aligners: Go See A Real Orthodontist Instead

—

Health

breastfeeding

Home Care and Management Tips for Mentally Retarded Children

people-fun-lunch-skeleton

10 Natural Ways to Increase Your Bone Density

Research for Recovery: Delivering Virtual Healthcare Support

Breast cancer foundation

How to Reduce Your Risk of Breast Cancer?

eyes healthy vs diabetic

5 Effective Techniques to Prevent Diabetic Retinopathy in a Post COVID World

Tags

abs addiction back pain bodybuilding cancer children cholesterol depression Diabetes drugs exercises eyes flexibility food foot heart high blood pressure hips home injuries knee lose weight low back pain muscle office pain pain relief plank push-ups relief sciatic senior skin sleep spine squats stress stretch sugar tea teeth tips water workout yoga



Follow Us On Social Media

Copyright © 2020 · The Health Science Journal ·