Spine Space Exercise: Sit in a chair.

1. Imagine that each vertebra in your spine is a light wooden spool (the kind that thread winds around).

2. Imagine Each spool neatly stacked on its counterpart below.

3. insert a small, strong water filled balloon between each wooden spool.

4. To keep it all in place run a strip of flexible “bio-tape” down the length of your spool stack in front.

5. make tiny, almost imperceptible undulating movements with your spine. Get a little bouncy with the movement.

Can you feel the springiness of your water filled balloons? If yes, great! If no, imagine springiness.

If you have time, juice up any of the balloons that feel like they could use more water.

Squat Prep Exercise: Stand and slightly bend your knees.

1. Check in with your rib cage. During this exercise we want the rib cage to remain neutral and fixed in space.

2. put your fingers on the spines of the lumbar vertebrae.

3. Tilt your pelvis forward. Notice that instead of moving from top to bottom as it does in forward flexion, you can now extend your lumbar spine from bottom to top as your pelvis tilts.

As you play with this movement, try to refine it- trying to extend one vertebra at a time. Please notice that just like when forward bending, your pelvis is rotating (tilting) forward on your femurs. But now, your rib cage is not moving in space and your lumbar spine is extending from bottom to top instead of flexing from top to bottom. This is the first movement to make in a healthy squat.