If your low back feels tired at the end of the day, this might become your new favorite habit. Constructive rest is a simple position used by movement teachers and dancers for decades. You don’t stretch or strain. You just let the floor hold you while your body lets go.

Try this five-minute rest:

1. Lie on your back on a rug, mat or firm bed. Put a small pillow or folded towel under your head if you like.
2. Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor, about hip-width apart. Let your knees lean gently toward each other so your legs can relax.
3. Rest your arms wherever they’re comfortable: by your sides, or hands on your belly.
4. Let the floor hold you. Notice where your body touches the floor: head, shoulder blades, back of the pelvis, feet. With each exhale, let a little more weight sink down.
5. Stay 5 minutes, then roll to your side and come up slowly.

Many people notice their back flattens a bit, their breath deepens and their shoulders widen, all without trying. That’s your body finding support.

Move gently, and skip anything that hurts. Low back keeps talking to you? I’m Paige Dayvis, Certified Rolfer™ at Center of Integration in Lutz, serving Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel, Odessa and north Tampa. 

PAIGE DAYVIS IS NOT A MEDICAL DOCTOR. SHE HOLDS A DOCTORAL LEVEL OF EDUCATION IN MANUAL OSTEOPATHIC WORK AND NAPRAPATHY. PAIGE DAYVIS DOES NOT OFFER MEDICAL ADVICE OR TREATMENT.