In week two of March we are doing a twist called thread the needle. Maybe you have heard of this stretch before? If not, it’s a nice gentle yet effective one you should definitely try! This stretch has the same benefits as last week’s stretch, but we get a little bit more into feeling this in the lateral body, or the sides of the body.

You may need a folded blanket for this one.

 How to Thread the Needle:

1. Find a space on the floor and come to all fours. If you’d like, you can place the folded blanket underneath your knees if you need some added support there.

2. Keep the hips and knees stacked. When you look between your knees you should not see your feet, keep the feet in line with the knees.

3. Keeping the knees, feet, and hips exactly where they are, you can begin to walk the hands out further in front of you.

4. Once you’ve reached a comfortable stretch through the sides, take the right arm under the left arm, and rotate the torso to the left. Place the right shoulder on the floor along with the right temple. Your gaze should come up pass the left armpit towards the ceiling as shown in the top photo. Keep the left arm straight and extending overhead, palm facing the floor. 

Tip #1: If you can’t reach the temple to the floor place another folded blanket or small pillow underneath it. 

5. Keep the hips from shifting forward or backward here as shown in the bottom two photos. The stretch should be about the upper back twisting and not about the pelvis. Also keep the feet from coming together, keep them inline with the knees.

Tip #2: The first time you do this stretch have someone with you so they can tell you if you are shifted at all. Or you can do it in front of a mirror to make sure you keep the alignment right. 

6. Stay here for 30 seconds at least and longer if you like! Don’t forget to do the other side!

Check out all our weekly stretches here and email me if you have any questions! Rlackowski@athletico.com