Blog - The Curious Mover
Hips Don’t Lie #3
For the final installment of hip mobility and strength, we work primarily in the transverse plane. This first video took you mostly through the sagittal plane. The second video took you into the frontal plane. This video is the rotational plane in which we need movement as well. More on that later.
Hips Don’t Lie #2
This version we are working the hip in parallel and external rotation in the frontal plane. It will also challenge balance, whole body connection, and foot flexibility and stability. I also think we need to move our pelvis around our hips more, thus the sexy, yet important second exercise. There is an over emphasis on pelvic stabilization exercises these days, and not enough mobility. I say “Free the Pelvis!”
Hips Don’t Lie
Gluts. The booty. Everyone wants to do exercises for them. But in my over 2 decade career and practice in this field, I am finding essentially the gluts need to train in “load” phase. What is load?
I’ll Sleep when I’m…READY
You’ve heard the saying “I will sleep when I am dead” but I love the state of sleep. When I am about to morph into a pumpkin, I welcome sleep in all its glory. I tend to get sleepy between 10-11PM. That’s because the darkness of night signals the body to produce melatonin, a natural hormone that helps bring sleep on. This hormone secretes at different times in all of us, depending on the circadian rhythms of our bodies. My husband's melatonin production starts around midnight or later. He is the night owl to my early bird. I have 5 recommendations for better sleep!
February Flow in 2,1
You get a new challenge, both physically and mentally, which we want from our exercise “unroutines”. Routines are important, but to “unroutine” is to give your body something it is not expecting, which is why I find exploring different movement patterns crucial as well. This series explores rolling with some twists and turns.
Abs for Every Body
One of my teachers, Pilates Elder Jay Grimes, mentioned how Pilates is based on one mat exercise. Can you guess which one?
Thirst Trap - Are you Hydrating?
Purifying or reverse osmosis systems can clean out the good and the bad. The best source of water is from a clean mountain spring that might trickle through our backyards. Except the fact that we all live in a city and don’t have that, there are many ways to find mineralized water that can truly hydrate you. And yes, not all water is equal.
Listening - Ear to Body
Going inward to listen is an art form in itself.
Push to your edges but respect the boundaries.
The Boss of You-Taking Ownership
Right now, without moving, what are you doing while you are reading this? Are you sitting? How are you sitting? Are you sitting on one hip more than the other? Is your pelvis square to the front or twisted? Are your feet fully touching the ground comfortably? These questions help raise awareness of habitual patterns we may have that might contribute to pain. These questions are helpful to remember in order to start taking ownership. Ownership of your body.
Just Throw your Hands in the Air - Part 2
In this edition, I promised to show you some exercises that can prep for overhead pushing arm strength. So when you get back to traveling, you can pop that suitcase above you NP! These exercises emphasize pushing overhead strength, not pulling strength, but you can come over and use my pull up bar for that, it will be outside!
Throw your Hands in the Air - Part 1
Throw your hands in the air for the end of 2020? For surviving an unusual year? For all small victories that get you through your day, and thus, year? YES! But I am also talking about arms overhead. Mechanics!
Let’s Vaporize
Does your face feel like it is about to fall off? Along with your lips? It’s so dry in the winter, and with no rain, how do you make up for lost moisture? One thing that I swear by is having a humidifier on while you are sleeping. We have one on every night, and if we forget to put it on, we feel the difference in the morning. Parched mouth, dry skin, and stuffy nose. This post expounds on the benefits of having a humidifier, besides adding humidity to dry air, the differences between hot and cold, and how to clean them.
Not Every Exercise is for You
It’s true. Our bodies are all built differently. Yes we have two eyes, ears, arms, legs, and a nose. And a butt, BUT! Not only are men’s bodies very different from women’s, we are also individually put together differently. For example, we all have a hip socket, hip joint, and neck of the femur, but mine is different from yours in size, shape, and location. And we have two, and even they can be different from each other. So having a one size fits all exercise is a tall order.
The Tension of Stillness
In the last two Mover’s, we talked about the Brace and the Torque, which are important concepts while in movement. But what do we do with our bodies in stillness? Sitting, standing, and lying down? Do we torque or brace 20% and hold in our abdominals? The answer is quite simple, but the pathway to get there is surprisingly challenging. It’s a strange dichotomy for stillness to be difficult, but it is a truth we can attempt to answer in many different realms of body and spirit. But one definition for stillness: we do nothing! We TRY to relax, and settle into the stacking of our bones for good posture and alignment without intentionally holding or activating at all. The hard part? We need to have the awareness of where we are holding tension and gripping. It just might be a reason for having pain!
The Brace and The Torque - Epilogue
Sounds like a soap opera, a dramatic novel, or an alternative music group. But nope, it is another layer I am adding into my teaching to create stability. This two part series (because I had way more to say than I thought) will explore these two principles as it relates to Pilates and strength training. As you all know, I love learning, and I am in the middle of reading Becoming a Supple Leopard by Kelly Starrett. It is catered to the cross fit community as well as olympic weightlifters, yes, SO not what I teach. But it has made a huge impact in my sessions to cue the brace and the torque in Pilates, walking, and strength training.
The Brace and the Torque - Prologue
Sounds like a soap opera, a dramatic novel, or an alternative music group. But nope, it is another layer I am adding into my teaching to create stability. This two part series (because I had way more to say than I thought) will explore these two principles as it relates to Pilates and strength training. As you all know, I love learning, and I am in the middle of reading Becoming a Supple Leopard by Kelly Starrett. It is catered to the cross fit community as well as olympic weightlifters, yes, SO not what I teach. But it has made a huge impact in my sessions to cue the brace and the torque in Pilates, walking, and strength training.
The Seven Laws of Fitness Part 2
It is useful to think about the 7 laws of fitness when thinking about moving and challenging a body for strength and flexibility. It’s time to get acquainted! It will help you make firm decisions about your fitness, and listen to your body. We will explore them in this two part series. It will help in your own workouts to think about these laws as global fitness truths, whether you are walking, doing yoga, Pilates, weight lifting, etc. You will see how closely they interlink with each other.
The Seven Laws of Fitness Part 1
It is useful to think about the 7 laws of fitness when thinking about moving and challenging a body for strength and flexibility. It’s time to get acquainted! It will help you make firm decisions about your fitness, and listen to your body. We will explore them in this two part series. It will help in your own workouts to think about these laws as global fitness truths, whether you are walking, doing yoga, Pilates, weight lifting, etc. You will see how closely they interlink with each other.
Building Stress Resilience
When I say cool water, what is your first reaction? Usually it presents itself as discomfort. But what if getting used to discomfort helps us cope with other discomfort in our lives. We learn how to handle that discomfort, or stress so we can increase our threshold to stress in general. The human body needs “good” stress from the environment to invigorate our nervous system and strengthen the body.
The Emotional Body Part 3
This is the third in a series about how pain can manifest from the emotional body.