If you spend long hours sitting, and especially around age 50, these Pilates stretches can help you regain spinal mobility and overcome those back and kidney pains you bring home after a grueling workday. Three exercises that are simple and highly effective.
Without proper support, it’s easy to hunch forward, the back and shoulders while you’re at work in front of the computer. Over time, this posture strains the spine, causing stiffness and, potentially, pain and discomfort. In the long run, it absolutely impacts your quality of life.
Other factors also influence such as muscular stiffness, postural imbalances, weaknesses, joint mobility, movement dysfunctions (like nerve pinches or injuries), as well as general lifestyle habits. Addressing these factors comprehensively through movement, strengthening and specific mobility exercises is essential to maintain a healthy, pain-free lower back. And here you have a series of three Pilates exercises to start taking care of your back after work.
From Swan to Child’s Pose
This is a fluid Pilates stretch that warms up and gently mobilizes the spine, while also working the abs, glutes, shoulders and chest. This exercise promotes flexibility, opens the chest and shoulders, and fosters mindful breathing, making it an ideal transition between strengthening and recovery workouts. You will perform between 1 and 3 sets, with 3 to 5 repetitions per side.
Lie face down with your hands under the shoulders. Inhale, lift the chest into the Swan pose (similar to the cobra in yoga), lengthening the spine and opening the chest. Exhale, push the hips toward the heels, gently arching the spine during the transition.
From this position, move into Child’s Pose, extending the arms forward, letting the chest sink, lengthening the spine, the shoulders and chest, and breathing naturally. Continue with the two positions, coordinating them with your breath in a harmonious and smooth rhythm.
Half Roll with Arch
This is a dynamic bodyweight exercise that strengthens and tones the back, the abs and the obliques, while improving spinal mobility. You will do between 1 and 3 sets, with between 5 and 8 repetitions. And you will start seated with bent knees and feet flat on the floor.
Mujer practicando un ejercicio de Pilates.
Lengthen the spine. Imagine a rope pulling you upward from the crown of your head. Keep your shoulders down, round the spine, drawing the belly toward the back, and lean back halfway toward the ground. Twist the torso to one side, bending the elbow backward as if you were drawing a bow and arrow. Keep the lower body stable throughout the exercise. Return gently to center and repeat on the other side.
Mermaid Stretch
This pose stretches the sides of the body and opens the hips. These areas tend to be tight and can contribute to back discomfort. You will perform between 1 and 3 sets, with 3 to 5 repetitions per side. Start seated with one leg bent forward and the other behind at a 90‑degree angle and extend the arms to the sides, at shoulder height, forming a T.
Now place a hand on the floor next to the front leg. Inhale, raise the opposite arm overhead, extending you to the side. Maintain the stretch, lengthening the spine while keeping the hips grounded on the mat. Return to center and repeat.
Complete the repetitions on one side, then switch the leg position and do one more repetition. In this way, you will have completed a wonderful trio of first-rate Pilates exercises to relieve the kidneys and back at 50 after returning home from a long, exhausting day.
