The Monkey Stretch

Video Transcript

Hey everyone, Dr. Alibhai here from Stuart Chiropractic.

I’m going to show you what we call the monkey stretch. A lot of us have stiff and painful shoulders, and it’s hard for us to stretch out these chest muscles. You can grab a dowel like this, or you can grab a broomstick at home or a mop handle, whatever you have at home.

I’m going to bring my hands like this. I’m going to clasp the dowel just like that. Bring it out in front of me. When I first started this exercise, I could barely bring my hands up over my head, but you’re going to be pulling the dowel apart. I’m going to take a deep breath in. Breathe out and take it a little bit further and stretch here in the front of the chest.

Okay. I’m not going to lean back. I’m going to still have a nice strong posture. Breathe out. And over time, you’ll be able to get it so that you’re opening up your chest and you can bring your arms back. I could barely get this over my head over the first few weeks, but over a few weeks, you’ll be able to stretch it.

So you’re getting to this point here and you’ll be able to take it a little bit further. So just practice this every day. It feels amazing. In the beginning, you might just be here, but again, use your breath. As you breathe out, you’re taking the stretch further. Let me know how the monkey stretch goes for you.

Take care.