Eek! That kinda' burns. - Abdominal Health

A lot of biking and too much sitting in the car has left ye old SI joints (the low, low back) very testy.

To restore order and still get some hard work in, I’ve spent the week exploring variations in 4-minute wall sits.

The jeans are a trick my beloved teacher taught me for preventing over-stretching when you need stability more than flexibility.

wallsit single bound (small) — My face says that quad is starting to burn! (Note: These are the pics from before I did the full 4-minute set. During the ‘real’ set, I didn’t use a strap to bind my foot. Whether you use hands or strap, try to keep your chest square through your shoulders when you bind.)

wallsit shoulder leg (small) — Haha! My face says that quad is really burning now! There was a lot of sweat when I did all of this with the full timing.

wallsit steeple hands (small) — Ah! Blessed rest.

You don’t have to do 4 minutes to get a lot out of wall sits. Start with 30 seconds and work your way up!

Keep breathing into your belly and low back, especially when it starts to feel hard. If you know your pranayamas (bhastrika, kapalabhati, breath of fire, etc.) this is a great time to practice them.

p.s. Regular wall sits are also magic for knee pain.

p.p.s. Don’t have a wall? Just use powerful pose, also called lightening bolt pose.

Author Profile

Isabel Spradlin: Isabel Spradlin is a Registered Nurse (RN), Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT), and abdominal adhesion specialist in Portland, OR. She specializes in educating people about manual treatment (massage) for abdominal pain and dysfunction, especially when it is adhesion related. Please see the "Programs" page to see her offerings.