Foetal Position

Turn on either side, eyes closed, so that you assume a "foetal" position, with your head resting comfortably on your underarm. You can place your other arm in front of you or on your hip. Take a deep breath and exhale slowly through your mouth.
Remember, keep your eyes closed. Slide the top leg towards your shoulder, letting it fall off the leg beneath it. Now slide the leg out in a straight line as indicated in the illustration, and then slide it back to the starting foetal position. Do this movement twice more.

Roll over onto the other side and assume the foetal position with your eyes closed. Take a deep breath and exhale slowly through your mouth. Do this exercise three times, exactly as you did while lying on the opposite side.

The purpose of this exercise is to relax the muscles in your lower back so as to reduce tension. The important point to bear in mind when you perform this exercise is that the upper leg is always "dead weight" as it slides up towards and then away from the shoulder. The upper leg always slides on the under leg. If you lift the leg or raise it even the slightest bit during this exercise, you will produce tension in the low back muscles and defeat the purpose of the exercise.