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.
A yoga eagle for your back
A Micro Pause to release tension and create space in the shoulder and upper back area. Using the yoga asana Garudasana, and with a somatic focus and small negotiations with the body.
Half yoga gombukhasana
A Micro Pause with a strong shoulder exercise. Using the yoga asana Gombukhasana to build strength and mobility in the shoulder joints.
Easy twist with cactus arms
A Micro Pause to create a sense of spaciousness through the upper body. Rotating the spine using only the muscles of the upper to activate without using too much force.
