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64 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k m a y / j u n e 2 0 1 7 Here are a few additional exercises to increase your flexibility and ability to isolate your movements, thereby preventing shoulder and back pain: Exercise One Get down on your hands and knees with your arms turned out and around so your fingertips point toward your knees (Image 1A). This position is difficult for most of us. Bend and straighten your elbows, while lowering your chest as close to the floor as you can, and then back up. Do this 10 times. Then, modify the exercise any way you can: close your hands into fists, cross the arms; instead of turning the hands out and around to point toward your knees, try turning them in and around to point toward your knees (Image 1B)—whatever way you can do it. Always ask yourself, "How flexible are my hands?" The more flexible they are, the better off you'll be. Exercise Two Be careful not to overextend your wrist with this next exercise. Place the fingertips of your left hand on the left outside section of your chest, near your armpit (Image 2A), so you can flatten your palm onto your chest and the heel of your hand is in the middle of your chest. Tap on your forearm as you stretch all your fingers (Image 2B). Do the same thing with the right hand (Image 2C). This is a fantastic exercise to loosen you up. Exercise Three Hold the fingers of one hand and move only the thumb in a rotating motion in both directions. Gently pull the thumb down toward the wrist, and then tap all over the radius—from the lateral side of the elbow to the thumb side of the wrist—to loosen up the origin of the thumb muscle. You may find that quite a few of these targeted muscles are tight and rigid. You may even ache; but afterward, you'll find that your thumb moves with greater ease. 1A 1B 2A