Paul Bragg's Top 5 Back Exercises for Energy & Focus

Paul Bragg believes that a healthy back is crucial for allowing an individual to retain their energy, a clear mind and a good memory. He has developed a series of exercises that can help you to take care of your spine. If you perform them correctly and on a regular basis, you'll see the desired results in several days, even if you're doing only the minimum required.

Bright Side thought these exercises were so great that we just had to share them with you.

To avoid harm from excessive physical strain on your back, you should stick to the following rules:

• During the first week, perform the exercises slowly, without straining your body too much.
• Start by repeating each exercise 2-3 times, and then increase the number of times you do them gradually until you can do ten.
• Begin slowly, gradually increasing your rate of exercise to the maximum.
• If you feel pain or fatigue, take a break.
• You should also take a break before starting each new exercise.

Remember: you should do these exercises as a set one after the other rather than as stand-alone ones.

Stretching #1

This exercise can have a beneficial influence on that part of the nervous system which is responsible for the movement of your head, your eye muscles and your nerves more generally. It's also good for your cervical spine. 

1. Lie on the floor face down, with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lift your hips and arch your back like a cat. Only your toes and palms should touch the floor. Try to straighten your knees and elbows as much as possible.

2. Then lower your hips and lift your head. When you have lowered your hips as much as possible, slowly raise them as high as you can while arching your back at the same time. Repeat.

If you did it correctly, you should feel the benefits immediately, because your spine should have relaxed.

Twisting

This exercise will help strengthen the muscles of the thoracic spine and can have a beneficial effect on the nerves connected to the liver. It also improves the functioning of your kidneys.

1. Lie on the floor face down, lift your hips and arch your back. Try to touch the floor only with your toes and palms.
2. Turn your hips to the right as much as possible, trying to lower your right side as much as you can. Repeat for the left side.

Try to do the exercise as slowly as possible.

Bridge

This exercise helps to train the muscles of the lumbar spine. It relaxes the spinal column and stimulates the recovery process of the intervertebral discs.

1. Sit on the floor with your palms touching the ground, and bend your knees.
2. Lift your hips, then lift the rest of your body in order to bring your spine into a horizontal position, and then lower your whole body.

You should do the exercise rhythmically.

Stretching #2

This exercise will help to train the muscles of the lumbar spine, restore your sense of balance, and stretch the spine.

1. Lie back. Bend your knees and wrap your hands around them. Push yourself off and swing in this position for some time.
2. At the same time, raising your head, try to touch your knees with your chin. Try to stay in this position for about 5 seconds.

Walking on all fours

This is a crucially important exercise for stretching, strengthening and training the ligaments of your gluteal muscles.

1. You should lie on the floor face down. Lift your hips as high as possible, and arch your back at the same time.
2. Your feet and palms should touch the floor. Keep them straight, with your head down. Walk for about 5-7 minutes on all fours, remaining in this position.

Paul Bragg recommends doing this workout daily at first. Then, once you begin to feel stronger, you can do these exercises two times a week.