The Flexibility Wisdom of Dogs and Cats Have you ever seen a dog or cat (or any other animal) stretch a particular muscle like we humans do? Occasionally they might stretch one limb, but generally they do full-body stretches. What can we learn from this? We’ve been told stretching is the way to increase flexibility,… Read more about How to Increase Your Flexibility Without Stretching
“Parts” Thinking is Entrenched in Our Culture People frequently ask me questions like, “When is your next ‘neck’ class?” or “Do you ever teach a class for knee pain?” We’re accustomed to thinking of ourselves like a car, made up of various parts. We commonly say things like, “My ‘back’ went out” or “My ‘knee’… Read more about Are You Greater than the Sum of Your Parts?
I Like My Shoes to Be Comfortable and Stylish I have a pair of everyday shoes that need to be replaced. Like many contemporary shoes (even athletic ones) the heel of my old pair is a almost an inch higher than the front. Despite this I’ve found these shoes to be quite comfortable, that is,… Read more about Never Hate Your Beautiful New Shoes Again
(Part 2 of Are Your Ideas of What’s Right Leading You Astray?) The Desire to Fix Ourselves Runs Deep How many years have you spent intentionally trying to correct something about your posture or how you move? In the last post, I talked about our ideas about how our posture (or strength, flexibility, gait, etc.)… Read more about The Best Way to Change a Habit
Do You Think You Have Bad Posture? We all have ideas about how our posture should be (back straight, shoulders down, stomach in) and what constitutes “correct” movement (engage core muscles or never twist). We acquired a lot of these growing up. As an adult we continue to gain more from physical therapists, chiropractors, yoga… Read more about Are Your Ideas of What’s Right Leading You Astray?
Are You Bracing Against Pain? When we have pain, we tend to hold and protect the area that hurts. Initially this may be helpful, but over time, holding parts of yourself still creates more problems. When parts of ourselves are “on vacation” instead of participating in our actions, other places have to do more work.… Read more about A Little Can Help A Lot with Back Pain
Too Busy? Not Enough Time? My intention for the past year and a half is to have more ease in my life. This was going well. For quite awhile I had a steady meditation practice, got regular exercise, was eating well and maintained downtime between work and commitments. But then my schedule got busier and… Read more about A Simple Way to Shift from Stressed to Refreshed
My Change of Attitude About Walking I’ve always appreciated walks in nature, but it’s only since having a dog that I’ve really embraced walking. Before, other than occasional hikes in nature, I rarely walked. It just didn’t seem like an interesting activity in itself. And if I needed to go to the library or store,… Read more about One of the Best Things You Can Do for Your Health: Walking
The Foot Bone’s Connected to the Shoulder Bone Many people come to me for help with neck and shoulder tension and pain after spending long hours at a computer. That’s not surprising. What is surprising is that recently, several of these folks had one thing in common—they don’t put their feet on the floor when… Read more about 1 Thing You Can Do to Relieve Neck and Shoulder Tension at the Computer
(originally written Nov 2016) How Much Do You Push Yourself? Recently, one of my Feldenkrais® students shared how she’s been applying principles from my class to other areas of her life. Specifically, she’s taken the idea of staying within a comfortable, easy range instead of pushing to the limit beyond movement. In her daily life,… Read more about Which is More Valuable: Being or Doing?