Body Intelligence – Finding ease for the lower back, 3: moving your rib cage
by josefine | Jun 6, 2025
Sometimes sore and tense muscles cause back pain, sometimes back pain cause sore and tense muscles. Whatever the case, by learning to move your rib cage separately from your pelvis you will have a tool that help you release those tight muscles along the sides of the spine. When you round your back you will extend those muscles in one direction, when you move your rib cage to the side, you will extent them in a different direction. Moving the muscles in all possible directions is always good! Especially since the long muscles along the spine are not actually two big muscles but lots os smaller muscles with fibres running in different directions. In this Micro Pause we learn to move the rib cage separately from the hips and at the same time give an inner massage to the muscles along the sides of the spine.
Interlace fingers into waist
Micro Pause to open up your shoulders. This one is especially for the area around the collar bones, or the front of the shoulders.
Easy seated twist
This Micro Pause will get you to know your back better. Increased self awareness starting from the spine. We make a twist and focus on the sensations along the spine, while trying to negotiate more space in the back.
Standing all 4 arm circle
Micro Pause to bring aliveness into the upper back. We use the chair to support our hands as we make a big circle with the arm, letting the movements ripple through the entire body. We end with negotiating more space in the body using a gentle rotation.
