The Cat-Cow stretch originated in yoga, although it’s often incorporated into Pilates and general exercise classes as a great way to warm up and stretch the spine or relieve stress and pain. It’s beneficial for everyone and can be done on the floor or in a chair. It’s especially great for people with Parkinson’s, who tend to get very tight through the neck and back.

Many of our fighters have a stooped posture or rounded upper back, so I am demonstrating a way to target the lower back when the upper back tends to take over as the only part that wants to flex. This slight modification feels so good to those of us who need that little extra lumbar stretch!

With rotation, sequencing, and balance all being common issues for people with Parkinson’s, I often include the half-kneeling chop to our boxing boot camp classes. This exercise can be somewhat challenging to learn in the beginning, but now many of my fighters can do an even more advanced version using a medicine ball or dumbbell.

Many of my fighters complain about shoulder and lower back pain, but I can clearly see their lats (latissimus dorsi) are tight and are either causing or contributing to the problem.

The latissimus dorsi muscle is a large, triangle-shaped back muscle that helps you do things like pull-ups, pull-downs, swimming, and even breathing. It functions to stabilize your back while extending your shoulders.

What happens when lats are tight?

Stepping out of bed onto stiff ankles and toes first thing in the morning can be disastrous. I know several people who have fallen because their ankles weren’t ready for walking.

Stretching and moving first thing in the morning makes it easier to get around the rest of the day. If you have PD, take the time to stretch before your first dose of medication takes effect.

This week, I am showing you how to loosen up your ankle and toe joints and release muscles all around that area. If you missed parts one through five of my bed stretches series, the video links are at the bottom of this article!

I hope you liked part one of my bed stretches series. If you missed it, the link is at the bottom of this article.

It’s so important to “lube” up the soft tissue and brain before asking your body to bear weight, walk, and perform daily activities after lying in bed for hours.

We get really stiffened up throughout the night, and many people with Parkinson’s have a bit of time before their first dose of medication takes effect. Of course, it’s easier to move during your medication’s “on” period, but you can use this waiting time to do some easy stretches.

Getting your body warmed up and primed for movement makes it easier to get around the rest of the day. Even more importantly, it could prevent an accidental fall when you stand up or start to walk.

Let’s work on this together. I’m only giving you a couple of exercises at a time. After you get used to doing them slowly, you’ll be more likely to remember how to do them. Let’s chunk it out!

We left off with the head and eyes. I like to include the eyes because many people have trouble visually tracking. Now we are going to work on the arms and upper back.