When I work with clients through their pain relief journey, one of the first things that I do look at is their posture. Is there too much or too little of a curve in the spine (it should be S shaped)? Is there any extraneous twisting happening in the spine?
One of the posture assessments that often gets overlooked is where the shoulders are located in relation to the hips. Ideally, we want to have the shoulders sit right over the hips; if not, the shoulders are “shifted” towards one side. Before we start any new exercise or stretching program, we need to correct the shift.
This is a very simple technique, which we also cover during the first stage of the Sciatica Protocol.
Take a look at yourself in the mirror. Are your shoulders stacked over the hips? If so, you can move onto your next stretch. If they are shifted to one side, it is time to correct that shift… with something called a “shift correction”.
If your shoulders are shifted right, then moving left is the key. If your shoulders are shifted left, then moving right is the key.
How many repetitions are needed? I like to start off with 10 repetitions, but more or less can be done. Once the shift is corrected, it did its job. The path to a new stretch or exercise is now opened.
This is a very simple exercise that can be done anywhere with no equipment.
So if you’ve been stretching with little to no effect, try assessing your shift. This may be the missing piece to the puzzle.
