I am looking outside my window, and I see leaves beginning to collect on the ground. My first thought is that I need to get out to my yard and start collecting my own leaves, but my second thought is that my clients will begin coming in with raking injuries any day now. This happens every fall — it is as reliable as snow shoveling injuries in the winter and gardening injuries in the spring.

The pulled muscles and sprains that occur with all of these activities may not generally be serious, but they are uncomfortable, and they can be lessened with certain precautions. When I take my clients through a workout at my studio, I naturally give them a warm-up first. It only makes sense that raking — which can be a reasonably full-body and athletic activity — would benefit from a short warm-up as well.

The following stretches will help to get your body ready for an afternoon of vigorous leaf collection. Hold each stretch for about 20 seconds — the whole routine will take about three minutes and will leave you energized and ready to go!

1. Side bend: Put the rake to your side with one hand on top and bend towards it.

2. Side bend with a reach: Starting from your regular side bend, just turn your shoulders and reach your top hand out so that it rests on top of your other hand on top of the rake. Make sure the rake stays to one side of you so you aren't bending straight forward.

3. Upper back stretch: Stand with the rake to your side with one hand on top of it. Then reach your arm in front of you until you feel a stretch between your shoulder blades.

4. Chest stretch: From the upper back stretch just take your arm behind you until you feel a stretch in your chest.

----Repeat steps 1-4 with the rake on the other side----

5. Twist: Put the rake behind your shoulders and twist as far as you can to one side and then the other.

6. Chest stretch No. 2 (only if you have healthy shoulders): hold the rake and reach it overhead. Then move it backwards until you feel a stretch across your chest.

Finally, remember to change hands often as you rake so you aren’t always twisting in the same direction. This helps to balance out the work for your muscles and keeps you from getting really sore on one side.

Heather Glidden owns Willow Wellness Studio in downtown Ann Arbor where she teaches Gyrotonic and Pilates and practices massage. She is passionate about helping people to learn more about their bodies. Got a body question? Email her at info(at)WillowWellnessStudio.com and she will do her best to answer it or find someone who can!