wellness
YOUR NECK
‘No matter how athletic, everybody
is coming in with forward shoulders,
forward head, and a slumped
posture,’ says Kim Fielding,
a movement therapist who started
a Pilates class especially to address
the problem of ‘text necks’.
‘Looking down at a screen
overstretches some neck muscles
and shortens others,’ says Kim.
Rest your neck, pillow-like, on a
foam roller or a rolled-up towel.
Slowly nod up and down 10 to 20
times, then do a full circle, switching
directions after 10 reps. Carefully
turn your head to each side and
repeat the nods.YOUR CHEST AND RIBS
Josephine McErlean, co-owner
of Kore Pilates, suggests lying with
your back on a foam roller or towel,
aligning your spine with it, palms
facing up and out in a T shape.
Breathe into the ribs, opening
the collarbone.YOUR HANDS
Yoga instructor Stephanie Creaturo
often begins her classes by offering
up a tub of tennis balls. Roll oneunder your wrist and fingers in a
clockwise and counterclockwise
pattern, counting to 20 for each
movement and rolling up and down
your forearm, too.OH, AND...
Remember to breathe. Stephanie
says that digital overload affects
the nervous system by keeping
us in a constant state of low-level
stimulation and anxiety, cramping
our breathing. She prescribes
‘rectangle breathing’: breathe
in for two counts and out for four.
Your body will thank you. mcJAN/FEB 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 107