I find fall a great time of year for self-reflection. Last week I had the opportunity to study the therapeutic applications of Restorative yoga with Judith Lasater in San Francisco. Judith doesn’t waste words – she has a gift for invoking words for a purpose and in ways that don’t offend and often inspire. I …
In my recent blog posts on tight muscles not needing to be stretched and lengthened and strength-training not shortening your muscles, I mentioned that increases in flexibility or passive range of motion resulting from yoga or passive stretching practices don’t stem from increases in resting muscle length but from the nervous system being able to …
We’ve established that a “tight” muscle is not a short or contracted muscle and that “tight” is a subjective sensation of the nervous system. If you missed that blog you can catch up here. So let’s continue and do away with another popular myth that states, “Strength training will contract your muscles and make their …
Strength Training Won’t Make Your Muscles Tighter Read More »
I’m on a mission to bring newer lessons from scientific research into how we practice yoga and movement or fitness. I want these lessons to be understandable and applicable to everyday people, yoga practitioners, and other movers. First up is a series of perpetuated myths about “tight” muscles. There is an idea out there that …
Your Tight Muscles Are Not Actually Tight or Short Read More »
This blog was edited May 18, 2018 to update some of the language used. My opinion on the psoas is evoloving and I no longer agree with everything I state in the video or in this blog…..however, I have not substantially altered this post. Hip strengthening over stretching is still bang on, the psoas is …
I recently taught a class called “Foot Gymnastics for Dynamic Aging”. The class was designed to introduce people to the importance of their feet (the foundation of support for the rest of you, major role in balance and agility, etc.), and explain how paying more attention to our feet and giving them some movement inputs …
Although I’ve been teaching Restorative yoga for many years, in recent years, through studying with Judith Lasater, I’ve gained a much deeper appreciation for the Art & Science behind creating a Restorative yoga practice. Judith has been teaching for nearly 50 years, has written several books on yoga and is credited with popularizing Restorative yoga, …
Restorative Yoga: The Art & Science of Relaxation Read More »
If you’ve been to one of my workshops or classes you probably know that I pay a lot of attention to feet. They are the foundation that supports our entire body, our entire posture and if something is not functioning well in the feet it can have a ripple effect on e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. In the body, …
I’m not a fan of the “Kegel” as an all-purpose exercise to help strengthen the pelvic floor. Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for the work of Dr. Kegel, an American gynaecologist who in the 1940s and 50s took an interest in women’s health and demonstrated how pelvic floor exercises could be used to …
Why the Advice “Just do Your Kegels” is Misguided & What To Do Instead Read More »
In the last blog post I explained why pulling your shoulders back and lifting your chest is not good advice if you want to correct your hunched forward posture. In short, I explained how these postural cues hide the issue but don’t actually address it and can even make it worse. Instead I have three …
