10 Joint and Spine Warm-Ups to Do Each Day For A Healthy and Happy Body
Written by: Michele Lyman, RYT 500
“A Muscle is like a car. If you want it to run well early in the morning, you have to warm it up.” ~ Florence Griffith Joyner
If you’ve practiced yoga with me recently, you’ve probably noticed I’ve been spending a lot of time at the beginning of each class warming up the joints and the spine before practicing any bigger movements.
Why?
Well, for a lot of reasons! Today I’m going to share why it’s important to warm up the joints and spine before any exercise or yoga practice and the 10 movements you can do daily to keep your body healthy and happy.
Why Warming Up Is Important
I don’t know about you, but I have friends that still think it’s perfectly fine to start exercising or playing a sport without warming up. YIKES!
Sure, when I was younger I used to think warming up was a “waste of time” and could muscle through a workout without too much pain afterwards. But as my body has aged, and as I’ve taught yoga poses without warming up beforehand, I have realized I am more susceptible to injury during my exercise practice and I experience longer recovery times when it’s over.
To help keep it simple, here are a few key reasons why warming up the joints and the spine are so important before any physical activity.
Lubricate the joints. Ever rotated a joint and heard a “snap-crackle-pop”? That’s an air pocket trapped in your joints. Air pockets happen when the joints are dry from too much over use. When you rotate the joints and move your spine, you bring in synovial fluid to the area that acts like the “oil” you need to lubricate the squeaky door hinges. It brings the joint back into balance.
Move out excess fluid. Just the opposite can be true when your joints feel swollen and difficult to move. In that case, too much fluid has moved into the area and rotating the joints will help clear out the excess.
Heat the muscles. Movement in the joints and spine increases the blood flow and circulation of the body, which heats the muscles. This can prevent injury during practice because heated muscles can move, stretch and strain easier than colder muscles.
Prevent injury. Since the bigger muscles of your body are attached to the joints and spine, it’s important to loosen up the connection points of the bigger muscles so that they stretch and strengthen with a bit more ease. This will make your muscles less likely to rip, tear or twist in a harmful way during your practice.
Long-term healthy body. Moving through the full range of motion through your joints and spine increases circulation and lubrication in your joints, making it an important practice for long-term overall health.
Joint & Spine Warm-Ups
The following 10 warm-up can be done before any physical exercise, yoga practice or simply on a daily basis to help keep the body (and mind!) strong and healthy. If you like to count, try doing 8 rotations in each direction for the rotations of the joints. Or, you can simply do as many as feel comfortable to you in each direction, depending on how you feel.
1. Shoulder Rolls
Gently bring your shoulders forward, up, back and down at a steady pace for 8-10 rotations. Slow down and reverse direction.
Wrist Circle
2. Wrist Circles
Interlace your fingers, bring your palms and forearms together and lower your elbows. Being to make figure eights with your wrists for 8-10 rotations. Slow down and reverse direction
3. Head and Neck Circles
Gently circle your head as if you were tracing the face of a clock with the tip of your nose. Do not strain or force. Go in one direction for 8-10 rotations and then slow down and reverse.
4. Ankle Circles
These can be done in a chair or standing. Extend your right leg out and circle your ankle in one direction 8-10 times. Slow down and reserve. Switch sides.
Knee Circles
5. Knee Circles
From a standing position, bring your thighs and feet together. Soft bend your knees and take your hands to the tops of your thighs. Being to circle the knees in one direction 8-10 times. Slow down and reverse.
6. Side Bends
Stand with your feet hips distance apart. Inhale your right arm overhead, left hand on the left hip. Exhale and lift up and over to the left to stretch the right side. Hold and breathe for 3-5
breaths. Release and repeat on the left side.
Hip Circles
7. Hip Circles
Stand with your feet a little wider than hips distance apart and turn your feet out slightly. Begin to rotate in one direction in your hips, letting your knees bend as well as you move. Do that direction 8-10 times and then slow down and reserve.
Cat/Cow Flexion and Extension
8. Cat/Cow Flexion and Extension
From a standing position, bring your thighs and feet together. Soft bend your knees and take your hands to the tops of your thighs. On an exhale, bring your shoulders forward and round your back and you bend forward. On an inhale, lift your tailbone and arch your upper back, broadening across your collarbones. Repeat for 5-8 times.
10. Three Sun Breaths
With your feet hips distance apart, inhale and reach your arms out and up overhead. Exhale and extend them out and down to return back to your sides. Repeat 3-5 times.