Written by Sue Morris

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I thoroughly recommend the Power Posture programme. A few years ago, I suffered a back injury in a fall from a horse and although PP is not suitable for use during  injury recovery, I have found it invaluable for keeping my back flexible and pain free. Without it, I doubt I would still be riding! I know at first glance the PowerPosture Video/DVD seems expensive, but it does produce results well worth the cost.  It is most certainly not another gimmicky 'Get fit with Celebrity X' video. It  is a simple 10-15 minute daily stretching & strengthening programme designed by Biophysicist & Exercise  Physiologist Dr. John Christman, PhD.   Please Read The Info Below - Before Beginning Any  Stretching! THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS SERVICE IS NOT INTENDED  NOR IMPLIED TO BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN OR OTHER QUALIFIED HEALTH PROVIDER PRIOR TO STARTING ANY NEW TREATMENT OR WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE REGARDING A MEDICAL CONDITION. NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE  SERVICE IS INTENDED TO BE FOR MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT Important Considerations For Safe Stretching You can do a disservice to yourself when you stretch past  the point of pain. We always say you should never hold a painful  stretch. You should back off just to where it's not painful, and  that's what you want to hold during the duration of the stretch. The goal of  routine stretching exercises is to improve flexibility. Flexibility,  aerobic conditioning and strength training are the three broad  objectives to focus on as you maintain your body for the rigors and enjoyment of sports. Proper stretching actually lengthens the muscle tissue, making it less "tight" and therefore less prone to trauma and tears. A stretching routine also feels good and can be a relaxing period of your day. Don't Stretch These  Rules Everybody's different We aren't all gymnasts. Focus on maintaining adequate flexibility for your sports and activity level. Start slowly Example: A ballet dancer begins slowly, with one hand on the bar,  before beginning high kicks out on the  floor. Hold your stretch It takes time to lengthen tissue safely. Hold your stretches for 10 to 15 seconds, relax and repeat until no  further stretch can be made. Stretch 'heated' muscles Stretching a cold muscle can strain and irritate the tissue. Warm up first. Walk before you jog, jog before you run, etc. It's most beneficial to stretch after you exercise, when the muscle is heated by blood flow and is more accommodating of a stretch. Do not bounce! Bouncing can cause micro trauma in the muscle, which must  heal itself with scar tissue. The scar tissue tightens the muscle, making you less flexible and more prone to pain. Think equality Strive for balance in flexibility on each side of your body. For example, if one hamstring is tighter than the  other, you may be more prone to injury. Don't be afraid to ask. A sports medicine specialist, athletic trainer, physical therapist, or  health-club advisor may help improve your stretching technique. Please read my review of the PowerPosture  programme after the Stretch illustrations. I have found it extremely  effective and recommend it thoroughly to all  equestrians. Whilst the illustrations shown here are a guide  to general warm-up stretching, they don’t aim to achieve any  permanent posture changes in the way working with the PowerPosture  programme does! After only two weeks into the programme, I noticed that my chest was much ’ freer’ when sat at my  PC. The following diagrams illustrate some good  stretches for the muscle groups often injured in sports.  “Cat” Stretches Get down on your hands and knees. Slowly let your back sag toward the floor in order to get movement throughout your back and  pelvis. Then slowly arch your back away from the floor. Calf Stretch Stand at arm's length from a wall with your palms flat against the wall. Slowly bend your elbows and lean toward the wall.  Keep the involved leg back with the knee straight and the heel flat on the floor. Hold for 30 seconds. Hamstring Stretch Keep your back straight as you lie in a doorway. Raise one leg against the wall until you feel a gentle stretch behind your knee. Keep the leg on the floor straight, well-aligned with your back. Hold for 30 seconds. Switch legs. Quadriceps Stretch Stand facing the wall. Place your  free hand against the wall for support. Grasp the top of your  right foot with your right hand and gently pull the heel toward your buttocks until you feel mild tension in your quadriceps muscle. Tighten your stomach muscles to keep your back from sagging inward. Do not lock the knee of your  supporting leg and keep the leg you are stretching directly under you. Relax as you hold the stretch for 30 seconds.  Repeat with the other leg. Hip Adductor Stretch (i) Lie on your back on a firm surface with your hips and knees bent and feet flat. Gently let your  knees fall apart, keeping the soles of your feet together until you feel an inner thigh stretch. Hip Adductor Stretch (ii) Sit on a firm surface and place  the soles of your feet together forming a circle figure with your legs. Gently lean forward to feel an inner thigh stretch. For a stronger stretch, use your arms to gently push your knees toward the floor. Hip Flexor Stretch Lie on your back on a table or bed with your leg and hip as near the edge as possible. Pull your other thigh and knee firmly toward your chest until your lower  back flattens against the table. Let your other leg hang in a  relaxed position over the edge of the table or bed. Hold for 30 seconds. Switch legs and repeat. Low Back Stretches Remember that back stretches are important but they are not  your only method of protecting the back. Also focus on two other  training objectives: 1. Strengthening of abdominal and back muscles. 2. Working on flexibility in your leg muscles as well as your back muscles. Tight hamstrings and hip flexors can distort the  curve of your back, making you more prone to injury. Pull your left knee toward your  shoulder with both hands. Hold for 30 seconds. Return to  starting position. Pull your right knee toward your shoulder  with both hands. Hold for 30 seconds. Return to starting position. Lie on your back on a firm surface with your hips and knees  bent and feet flat on the surface. Lifting one leg at a time, pull  both knees toward your shoulders. Stop when you feel a stretch  in your lower back. Hold for 30 seconds. Return legs, one at a time, to starting position. How helpful have you found these stretches? Read on  to discover a new Stretch Programme - that really works!. I know from my Web Stats that the Rider Stretches is one of  the most often visited /requested pages on my web site. For those of us who are serious about improving our posture, I believe I have discovered something Very Useful and Important! And it is something  that can genuinely help improve our posture off-horse too. All riders – and non-riders too – will find the following very beneficial. I certainly have! I sent for the PowerPosture tape after some  email conversations with its founder, Dr John Christman. Now, anyone who knows me, will know I am by nature quite a cynical person, so Dr Christman’s promise of improved posture and flexibility didn’t excite that much. I’ve suffered from debilitating back pain, after a  nasty fall from a youngster, and have been down several different routes to try and alleviate this. Dr Christman asked if I did any other sports or specifically trained for riding. My answer was -other than the stretches,  illustrated on my web site and barn chores; which I said  included weight lifting, walking and stretching – NO. Dr Christman asked me to conduct a survey amongst riders to  see what the general picture showed. Of the 25 riders polled, half  said fatigue was a limiting factor in their riding and some cited ‘‘mental”’ fatigue after a lesson. Asked if they participated in other sports, the most popular answer was to do some form of Martial Art. The surprise came  when asked what riders did to specifically train for riding. Many,  like me, cited – and presume - barn chores to be enough ‘extra’ physical activity. Other things included walking, lifting weights, AT/yoga. Doctor Christman asked me to conduct this survey to  help him with an article he is writing for his website. He initially  contacted me because he'd seen the Stretches that I have on my site,  but he informed me that “they are generally good, especially as warm-ups for actual riding, but are not sufficient to enable people to develop automatic good posture." And as for Barn  Chores being my listed 'other sport/ training' - he was particularly  concerned with that. He wonders why we, as athletes, don't  specifically train our body for the task we want it to perform in connection with riding. After several more Email conversations with Dr Christman, I requested a copy of his video tape. I – as a professional horsewoman - was totally unprepared to discover how 'tight' I am. Some of my range of motion is appalling.  On horse, there doesn't appear to be any glaring problems as  regards suppleness and flexibility, but I know that I do hunch (bad  person) when sat at my PC for a long time -despite trying to be conscious of not doing so! This programme isn't another "Get fit with Celebrity X" type of regime,  that ends up being watched a couple of times and  then going to a car boot sale. This is a pure, simple tape  about stretching to gain correct posture. There are no ''''extras' that you need to buy to be able to complete the programme.<g>. There are a set of 12 simple stretches that aim to improve the forward head posture/ round shouldered-ness, that  according to Dr Christman 95% of adults suffer to some degree. This,  of course, correlates to not having a 'stretched/ open' front line  when riding. I was shocked to find that I couldn’t do a  couple of the stretches to the degree that I would have   thought I should be able to.  This isn't a fly-by-night gimmicky fad, but - I think - an honest opportunity to target an exercise programme that will  genuinely help riders learn about correct posture in general and one  that is equally transferable to on horse. It takes very little time  out of a busy person's day (always my prime excuse for not doing other sports) and once you know the exercises and your own areas of  improvement, you can hone it down to 5 mins a day. I am already  feeling the benefit, sat here at my PC without my habitual slump. Dr Christman has written an article detailing why and how the Power PostureProgram will help equestrians and it can be read here.  If  you’d like to check out his other findings and read more about the  PowerPosture program, please go to:                                                 www.PowerPosture.com When you go to buy  the Video/DVD  be sure to quote “Classical Dressage Notebook” in the 'Comments' box. This will give you a $10  discount!     Copyright  © Sue Morris 1998-2005