26 Oct 2012 BY Katrina Tarrant POSTED IN Exercise, Pilates Tweet Exercise of the Month: The slump slider Get your sciatic nerve moving As you may be aware, nerves and associated neural tissues need to be mobile, just as muscles and joints do. We know that nerves that slide and glide well in the body are also well nourished nerves with great blood supply. This means happier, less sensitive nerves. And this often means reduced hyper-activity of the electrical impulses that fire along the nerves to your brain, contributing to the pain response decided by your brain centres. So, let's get sliding! The Starting Position: The focus: Sit on your mat or floor with your legs out straight in front of you. If you have tight hamstrings, let your knees bend a little so that you are comfortable. Place your arms around your thighs as if to give your legs a little hug. This will bend and roll your spine forward into flexion. You may feel a stretch here in either the legs or spine-don't worry, this is very normal. Keep your breathing deep, relaxed and consistent. Picture your nerves sliding up and the down the back of your leg and back with these movements in each direction. Really focus on the movement occurring only at your ankles and neck as you keep the rest of your body nice and still and in that flexed forward posture. Don't forget to relax your shoulders too. The Movement: To slide the sciatic nerve up and down in the leg, start by putting your chin slowly down onto your chest. Do you feel a stretch here, perhaps in your neck, mid back or legs? This is the little pull on your nerve structures. Now keeping your legs as straight as you can and spine rolled forward in that hug position, slowly lift your chin off your chest and pull your feet back as far as you can from the ankles. This should bring on a stretch down the backs of your legs. Do you feel this? This is the sciatic nerve stretching. Repeat this sequence up to 10 times slowly. Imagine you are 'kicking your head off.' Tip: Try adding this to your leg stretches – those buttocks, hips and hamstrings. It's a perfect way to end your stretch session and keep your nerves smiling. Tweet
Get your sciatic nerve moving As you may be aware, nerves and associated neural tissues need to be mobile, just as muscles and joints do. We know that nerves that slide and glide well in the body are also well nourished nerves with great blood supply. This means happier, less sensitive nerves. And this often means reduced hyper-activity of the electrical impulses that fire along the nerves to your brain, contributing to the pain response decided by your brain centres. So, let's get sliding! The Starting Position: The focus: Sit on your mat or floor with your legs out straight in front of you. If you have tight hamstrings, let your knees bend a little so that you are comfortable. Place your arms around your thighs as if to give your legs a little hug. This will bend and roll your spine forward into flexion. You may feel a stretch here in either the legs or spine-don't worry, this is very normal. Keep your breathing deep, relaxed and consistent. Picture your nerves sliding up and the down the back of your leg and back with these movements in each direction. Really focus on the movement occurring only at your ankles and neck as you keep the rest of your body nice and still and in that flexed forward posture. Don't forget to relax your shoulders too. The Movement: To slide the sciatic nerve up and down in the leg, start by putting your chin slowly down onto your chest. Do you feel a stretch here, perhaps in your neck, mid back or legs? This is the little pull on your nerve structures. Now keeping your legs as straight as you can and spine rolled forward in that hug position, slowly lift your chin off your chest and pull your feet back as far as you can from the ankles. This should bring on a stretch down the backs of your legs. Do you feel this? This is the sciatic nerve stretching. Repeat this sequence up to 10 times slowly. Imagine you are 'kicking your head off.' Tip: Try adding this to your leg stretches – those buttocks, hips and hamstrings. It's a perfect way to end your stretch session and keep your nerves smiling.
