Undo the hunch, then move the joints.

Joints

Neck circles

4 circles each way

1. Sit or stand tall. Chin slightly in, as if you were about to nod.
2. Draw a small circle with the nose. Four one way, four the other.
3. The range stays inside comfort. Do not tip the head all the way back to “stretch the hunch.”

If it pinches or the pain runs into the arm, stop the circles.

Joints

Shoulder circles

8 each way

1. Stand. Arms long, not bent.
2. Circle them forward eight times, then backward eight times. Slow enough to feel the shoulder move.
3. Ribs stay down. If the low back arches, the circles are too big.

Joints

Shoulder-blade loops

5 slow loops, then reverse

1. Arms relaxed. Shrug the shoulders up toward the ears.
2. Roll them back.
3. Drop them down, away from the ears.
4. Bring them forward, then shrug again. That is one loop. Five, then reverse the order.

Joints

Cat-cow

8

1. Hands under shoulders, knees under hips.
2. Cat: round the whole spine, from tail to neck. Push the floor away. Let the head drop.
3. Cow: let the chest sink toward the floor and lift. Look forward, not at the ceiling.
4. Move between them eight times. Slow. The neck follows the spine. It does not lead by cranking.

Joints

Hip circles

5 each side

1. Stand side-on to a wall. The hand closest to the wall rests on it.
2. Lift the outside knee. Draw the biggest circle you can make without pain: forward, out, back, in.
3. Slow. The standing hip does not swing around to cheat the circle. Five, then the other leg.

Joints

Ankles, then a short lunge

8 circles each way, then 8 rocks

1. One foot off the floor, or the toes resting lightly. Circle the ankle eight times each way. Other foot.
2. Short lunge, back knee soft. Rock the front knee slowly forward over the toes, then back. The heel can stay down.
3. Eight rocks each side. Pain-free range only.

Hunch · opens the front

Wall chest stretch

45–60 seconds each side

The tight front of the chest is what pulls the shoulders forward. This is the stretch for that. The neck stays out of it.

1. Forearm on the wall, elbow at about shoulder height. The whole forearm touches, not just the hand.
2. Step the same-side foot forward. If the right arm is on the wall, the right foot steps through.
3. Turn the chest away from the wall until you feel the front of that shoulder and chest. Stay there.
4. Neck long, as in the second posture drawing. Ribs down. Do not arch the low back to get a bigger stretch.
5. Breathe. Switch sides.

You are after an opening across the chest and the front of the shoulder.

Stop if the shoulder pinches. Soreness in the pecs afterwards is expected at first.

Hunch · mid-back extends

Prone press-up

8, pause 2 breaths at the top

This teaches the upper back to bend backward while the hips stay down. Looking up is not the exercise.

1. Lie on your stomach. Hands under the shoulders. A folded towel under the mid-back is optional.
2. Press the floor and straighten the arms. The chest lifts. The hips and legs stay on the floor.
3. Look at the floor a little ahead of you. Do not crank the neck back.
4. Pause for two breaths at the top. Lower. That is one. Eight.
5. If the low back complains, do not lock the elbows. A smaller press still counts.

Low-back pinch means the range is too big. Mid-back effort is the point.

Hunch · chest turns

Open book

6 each side

The chest learns to turn. The low back does not have to do it, because the knees stay together.

1. Lie on your side. Knees stacked and bent, about a right angle. Bottom arm on the floor in front of you.
2. The top arm starts stacked on the bottom arm.
3. Open the top arm toward the floor behind you. Let the eyes follow the hand.
4. Knees stay stacked. If they flop open, you have gone too far. Come back until they rest.
5. Return. Six each side. Slow.

Hunch · the position, under control

Wall slide

8–10

This is not a passive stretch. It is you holding the un-hunched shape while the arms move. If you can only slide a few centimetres before the ribs leave the wall, that stuck range is the hunch.

1. Back to the wall. Feet a step forward. Knees soft.
2. Head, ribs, and tailbone toward the wall. Low back does not arch off.
3. Arms in a goalpost: elbows bent about a right angle, backs of the arms toward the wall.
4. Slide the arms up, then down. Only go as high as the ribs stay down.
5. Eight to ten. Smaller and honest beats a big arch.

Hunch · un-turtle

Chin tuck

8 × 5 seconds

This is the un-turtle, not a neck stretch. You are not trying to stretch the back of the neck by looking up. That makes the hunch worse.

1. Lie on your back, knees bent. Head on the floor.
2. Make a small double chin, as if nodding “yes.” The chin moves back and slightly down. The head stays on the floor.
3. Hold about 5 seconds. Relax. Eight of those.
4. Against a wall is the same nod, if you are not lying down. Heels, hips, and the back of the head can touch the wall. Do not tip the chin up first.

Do not crank the neck to undo the hunch. Chin tucks plus mid-back extension. The neck is not the problem to yank on.

Hips

Half-kneeling hip flexor

45 seconds each side

1. Back knee on the floor. Front foot flat, knee roughly over the ankle.
2. Squeeze the glute of the down-knee side.
3. Shift the hips a little forward. You should feel the front of the hip on the kneeling side.
4. Stay tall. Do not sag into a backbend and call it a stretch. Ribs down.
5. 45 seconds. Switch the knee that is down.

Hips

90/90 sit

4 slow breaths each side

1. Sit. One shin across in front of you, the other shin out to the side. Both knees bent about 90 degrees.
2. Sit tall on the hips. Four slow breaths.
3. If you tip, put your hands on the floor. Do not round and collapse to survive it.
4. Switch which shin is in front. Four breaths on that side.

Hips

Deep squat hold

45–60 seconds

1. Feet about shoulder width. Sink as far as the heels stay down.
2. Elbows inside the knees, gently pressing them out. Chest up.
3. If you fall backward, hold a doorframe or the wall. Still count the hold.
4. If a squat is not there yet, do chair sit-to-stand and pause for a breath just above the chair. That counts.

Switch it on

Prone Y

8–10

The stretches opened the chest. This is one of the moves that holds the new position: lower shoulder blades squeeze, chest lifts a little, face stays down.

1. On your stomach. Arms in a Y, thumbs up.
2. Lift the arms and the chest an inch or two. Squeeze the lower shoulder blades, down and together, not up to the ears.
3. Face stays toward the floor. Lower with control. Eight to ten.

Switch it on

Bird dog

6 each side

1. All fours. Hands under shoulders, knees under hips.
2. Reach the opposite arm and leg long, until they are about level with the back. Thumb up is fine.
3. Hips quiet. They do not twist open to lift the leg higher. Pause one breath.
4. Lower. Six each side. Then you are done.