hello hello Reader,

We have officially reached the end of March, and the crocuses in my yard are starting to bloom!

I've been itching to go out in my garden, and I did just that yesterday while the sun was shining and it wasn't too cold and did a little early weed pulling.

You know what wasn't itching to go gardening? My back.

Thankfully I wasn't outside that long so I didn't trigger any terrible pain, just some stiffness. But as someone who has chronic back pain, I get a little worried if it gets too high up on my pain scale.

Up to 84% of all adults will deal with back pain at least once in their lifetime.

And if you've had back pain before... then you know how much it sucks. It is the number one reason in the world for missed work.

I've been reading some fun (well... for me it's fun) research papers on non-specific and chronic low back pain, which we can talk about more in coming weeks.

But for now, I have three stretches for your low back for our March Move Your Body Monday, so you can find some relief (or preventative movement).

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Supine Knee Twists

• On your back, have your feet gounded and knees to the sky
• Extend your arms in line with your shoulders
• Let your knees gently fall to one side, hold for 15-20 seconds, while pushing your top knee into the bottom knee
• Lift your knees back up and let them fall to the other side
• Do it once and hold each side a bit longer, or repeat 3-4x

Quick note: This is one of my favourites to do in bed before I go to sleep, and before I get out of bed!

Supine Leg Dangle

• Come onto a bench, or the side of your couch or bed, with your butt right at the edge and have your knees bent and both feet planted
• Grab onto the leg that is on the inside of the bench/couch/bed either your shin, or behind your thigh
• Let the opposite leg gently lower down off whatever you're laying on
• On the deep exhales, try to pull your leg in a little bit more to your chest each time
• Hold and find the stretch in the front of the dangling leg for 15-30 seconds, then slowly come out of it to switch sides

Grab a strap: Like at the end of this GIF, if you don't feel comfortable reaching to your leg for any reason, look a strap (towel, or belt) around your shin and hold onto that.

Seated Spinal Twist

• Come into a seated position with your legs straight out infront of you
• Cross one leg over the other, planting your foot down
• Bring your opposite hand to your knee or shin, and your other hand behind you for support
• Lead with your collarbone into a twist, let your neck follow last
• Take four to five nice deep breaths before gently untwisting and switching sides

Grab a block: If you look closely my foot is actually on a block due to my thick thighs not wanting to easily cross. You can also use a block if you have a similar issue, or have your foot planted beside your knee on the same side.

The low back is always a tricky area, but it is often* tied to tight hips. So while you're working on your twists and stretches for your back, don't neglect giving some love to your hips as well.

If you want even more movements, check out the Low Back Pathway in The Garden that takes you through just a couple stretches each day to help your back feeling good.

Check out The Garden

*Not always, of course!