Settle your body
In his book Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain, Pete Egoscue features this body position (resting on your back, feet elevated) as an E-cise for almost every ailment. It is meant to bring your neck, head, hips, lower back, knees and ankles into a neutral position and help restore balance throughout the body. It also gives you a chance to calm your entire system and turn your attention inward. This week try to get into this position once a day and see how it makes you feel.
HOW TO: Lie on your back with your knees bent at 90 degrees and resting on a chair or couch. Extend your arms out to the sides with palms facing up. Breathe deeply, make sure that your belly expands with every inhalation. With every exhalation imagine your body settling down into the ground. Breathe like that for 10-15 minutes. You can also place a towel or eye pillow over your eyes to facilitate deeper relaxation.
Hi Olga, thank you for sharing your knowledge with us! Your posts are always put together with wonderful graphics that really explain the topic ! I am an egoscue PAS. I have worked in a chiropractic office in the rehab room. And these simple effective exercises are a gentle way to allow the body to return to balance! The e-crises are self -care for those with chronic pain! Here is a wonderful link to an article Pete contributes to! This one is about Static back! My fave! I have come back to this simple exercise so many times…! I am… Read more »
I have not had a chance to read the book yet, but I will do that soon.
This is the only so called restorative position I can do safely. The gravity works too hard otherwise for my body, in e.g. supported twists with bolster and so on. My lower back settles with this one…as soon as I remember to do it every day.