Hands Up... Get Your Hands Up!

"So, what the heck are these ladies doing?" you might be asking yourself. Well, it's our very own Liz Kettle having her students do the spine dance, of course! "And what the heck is a spine dance?" you may wonder... 

If you've ever taken any type of class where you created... well... anything... you know it's easy to get all hunched over, totally engrossed in your project, and by time you go to stand up.... ouch! My back! So Liz likes to take some time during her classes and have everyone get up and stretch their spine. And oh, it feels so good!

She learned this technique from her Pilates coach — although it's actually derived from the Franklin Method which is very similar. Here's a little step-by-step so that you can try this at home. It may seem a little complicated... so make sure you read all the way to the end where there's a special tip!

First, stand straight and relaxed. 

Tip your pelvis in (forward), open your arms wide and then bend forward towards your pelvis. Kind of like doing a crunch, but standing up.

Pretend you are holding a big ball between your pelvis and your arms.

Then tip your pelvis back (stick your butt out).

Arch your back gently and open your arms wide and bring them back as if they were wings and you are a big bird.

Do that 3-5 times gently.

Second part is side bends...
Put one leg out to the side slightly and bend gently toward that side with your opposite arm overhead. Switch sides. Do that 3-5 times each side.

Last part..
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your hands in front of you shoulder width apart… elbows bent and close to your ribs.

Rotate your upper body only keeping your hands directly in front of your shoulders. You can’t rotate very far. Then walk your lower body in the same direction to bring your feet right under your shoulders. Repeat until you have gone 360° then reverse and go the other direction.

Got it? Good! Now get up from your computer and do the spine dance! And if it sounds a little complicated, here's a special tip...

Just get up and stretch. Any way you do it, it's great for your creative longevity! Hands up, folks...