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Upper back, neck, shoulders, lower back and hips

Thoracic Extension: Over Chair

Uses a chair backrest as a gentle fulcrum to mobilise your upper back into extension, reducing the stiffness that contributes to rounded posture.

Spinal Mobility45 to 90 seconds
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How to do it

  1. 1

    Pad the backrest of a stable chair

    Lay a folded blanket or towel over the top of the backrest so the support is broad and soft rather than a hard edge.

  2. 2

    Sit so the backrest meets your upper back

    The padded top should sit behind your upper back, not down at your waist. If it lands too low, raise your seat with a cushion or slide your feet further forward.

  3. 3

    Cross your arms and ease back over the support

    Fold the arms across your chest, or keep the elbows narrow, then lean the upper back gently back over the padding. Keep the range small.

  4. 4

    Support your head and keep the neck long

    Let the head travel with the upper back rather than dropping backwards, with your gaze staying roughly forward.

  5. 5

    Stay 45 to 90 seconds, or move in and out

    Keep your waist where it started and your lower ribs quiet so the movement stays in the upper back. Come out if any sensation starts to spread.

What to watch for

The head dropping back and the waist arching to reach further, which takes the movement out of the upper back entirely. Keep the neck long, the lower ribs down, and the range small.

Ways to adjust it

  • Padded broad support, no focal pressure
  • Small range, stop if referred symptoms
  • Head supported, cervical neutral, small range
  • No hold, stop if symptoms spread
  • Arms crossed, or elbows narrow
  • Lumbar neutral
  • Lower-rib control
  • Higher seat, or feet forward

If this one is too much today

Try the gentler version instead. It asks less of you and does much the same work.

Before you try it

Move within a range that stays comfortable. Stop if this brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and speak to a clinician before repeating it.

One movement is a start. A session is the thing.

A few questions about your body and how it is today, and Vinys builds a session around it, including which movements to leave out.

Start your first session

From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.