5 Easy Exercises to Counteract the Strain of Long Flights

Airline travel is thrilling. Every take off is the start of a new adventure, whether for business or pleasure. However, lugging bags (why do you think it's called "lug"gage?) and sitting for hours can create stiffness and zap your energy. There is an easy solution that not only makes travel more comfortable, but also improves the health of your spine on and off the plane.

Stillness creates stiffness, because movement is necessary to nourish your joints and muscles. But how can you move within the confines of an airline seat? Simply sway back and forth a few inches and you will lubricate the tissues around your spine and the discs between your vertebrae. As a matter of fact, small, slow movements activate your core muscles and build strength where many of us need it most.

You don't have to disturb your neighbors or do yoga in the flight attendant area to stay limber. Here are five easy exercises you can do right in your airplane seat.

Neck Unwinding

Lightly touch the base of your neck with your fingers and feel the bony bump, which is the back of your vertebra. Rock and swivel your head so you can feel the bone move under your finger. About half an inch up your neck is another vertebra. Feel for it and get it to wiggle. Keep moving up to give each vertebra (there are seven in all) and the muscles surrounding a chance to loosen. When you get to the base of your skull, see if you can get it to wobble on top of your neck. You don't have to push hard with your fingers or whip your head around. Small movements will ease tension.

Breath Massage

Take even breaths that cause your ribs to expand. On exhale, press your back into the seat slightly and let your chin drop toward your chest slightly. On inhale, arch your mid-back away from the seat about an inch and let your head tip back slightly as you feel your ribs expand into your arms. Repeat for 10 breaths.

Kneading Paws

Sit away from the seat back, so your spine is straight. Press both feet into the floor until your pelvis tilts. Release. Now press one foot at a time and feel your weight shift to the opposite side. Continue the movement by bending your spine just an inchto the side. Press one foot and then the other, like a cat kneading its paws, and let the movement flow up and down your body. (You can also do this while standing at baggage claim.)

Forward Lean

Press your feet into the floor as you reach toward the ceiling with the crown of your head. Keep all this length in your spine and lean forward as though you were going to put your forehead on the seat in front of you, but only move forward 6 inches. Without bending your spine, return to sitting upright. Repeat 4 times.

Ride the Turbulence

Emphasize the effects of small turbulence with gentle sways and internal bounces to let go of unnecessary tension in your back and shoulders. Pretend you are a bobble head doll and let the muscle tightness work itself free.

Easy movements are very effective in relieving tension. Just five minutes an hour will restore vitality to your back. And, these exercises, which were adapted from Relieve Stiffness and Feel Young Again with Undulation , aren't just for travel. Use them whenever you have to sit for a long periods of time to nourish the joints and discs in your spine. For more undulation exercises, including videos and audio downloads, visit http://www.undulationexercise.com.

Anita Boser, a Certified Hellerwork Practitioner and Professional Structural Integration Practitioner, helps her client regain fluidity, alignment, and vitality with a combination of bodywork, awareness dialogue, and movement education. Learn more at http://www.undulationexercise.com and http://www.anitahellerworker.com