Stretching for Muscle Balance

Flexibility is crucial for injury prevention.  Flexibility that is balanced between the right and left sides of the body and the front and back of the body is especially important.  Every human body has asymmetries.  The trick is keeping those asymmetries as small as possible so that the body isn't constantly compensating for a restriction on one side which would possibly lead to pain or injury.  The exercises we do to stretch and strengthen need to be specific to these asymmetries if we want to correct and balance them.  So stretching may need to be done to one side of the body more than the other.  You can get more information about these types of specific corrective exercises from me of course!  www.bodyworksptonline.com  And you may also want to check out www.totalmotionrelease.com for more info on this topic.

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Doing Nothing is Doing Something

Why do we feel like we have to be doing something all the time, to the point of feeling guilty if we don't?  I am trying to embrace the art of doing nothing.  If you saw the movie "Eat Pray Love" recently, you might remember the scene in the barber shop where Luca Spaghetti is talking about Americans not knowing how to relax.  Many of the people I see have difficulty doing nothing to the point of having chronic muscle tension in their body.  And by doing nothing I mean slowing down, clearing the mind,  taking a breath, meditating, relaxing and generally listening to the rhythms of our body.  Instead they feel anxious, guilty or bored when they are doing nothing.  The most common responses I hear when I begin to talk to people about this are, "I am just a tense person", "I have always been this way", " I don't know how to relax", "meditation is boring", "I don't have time to slow down". 
My taekwondo master has a saying, "discipline the mind, the body will follow".  We must first clear and focus our minds enough to be able to let go, do nothing, and let the body be our guide.  This is a skill that will help you heal yourself.  It is worth the practice, the effort and the struggle.  In fact it can be the door that opens inward to discover peace, happiness and improved health.  Doing nothing is doing something! 

Dehydration

I am embarassed to say that I suffered a mild case of dehydration this week.  Symptoms were flu-like.  Achy all over, very tired and queasy.  I had run in a 10 mile race on Sunday, finished and had been drinking during the race, but it was obviously not enough.  Over the next 24 hours I started to feel like I had the flu, without all the other normal flu symptoms.  And sorry to be graphic, but my urine was dark in color, one of the tell tale signs.  Looking back I think it caught up with me without me being aware.  I was drinking during the race, so I thought I was okay.  But I did not replenish during the rest of the day or the next day even.  And because being dehydrated can make you feel the opposite of thirsty, this can be tricky. 
So my thought for today is "drink more water" especially when exercising, and even afterward when you are finished.  I will be paying more attention from here on out!

More about fascia

One way to understand how the fascial system works and how it gets restricted is to think of a spider web.
Think about one of those big beautiful newly made webs with the rings.  Now here comes the fly, straight into
the top right corner of the web.  It gets caught and messes up the web into a little tangled ball in that top right corner.  The rest of the web that was once perfectly balanced now has a pull or a tug in all of its other corners thanks to the fly. 
Now think about a body with its head to toe fascial system.  This body has a history of a bad fall 10 years ago, onto his back, badly bruised and inflammed.  It got better on its own and was never treated, or the doctor gave the patient some antinflammitories and sent them on their way.  Now fast forward to present day.  The same patient is showing up at the clinic with increasing head aches.  He can't figure out why.  The therapist treats the neck muscles and head with modalities and massage and teaches the patient stretching exercises and the headaches get better, but only for a day or so.  What the therapist is missing is the "fly".  Old trauma or injury can result in a restriction in the system that can over time develop into symptoms that end up at the other end of the body (the web connections).  When the patient gets a treatment that incorporates the whole system (a release for the old back injury area) the headaches disappear "magically". 
We need to look at the whole system for deeper healing.

What is fascia and why is it important?

I use a technique called myofascial release to address restrictions in the fascial (pronounced fashial) system.  The fascia is a head to toe system of connective tissue that supports every cell in our body, every muscle, every organ, every bone, etc.....  This system of connective tissue can be restricted from trauma, inflammation, poor posture or injury.  A skilled therpist can release these restrictions and allow a permanent elongation of the tissues.  This technique is different from traditional massage or stretching and is usually more effective because it addresses the collagenous component of the fascial tissue, not just the elastic component.
When you look at the whole body for healing, you must include this wonderful fluid system.  It can be the key to significant pain relief for some people.

Speedy Recovery

I was in taekwondo class this morning and it was a tough welcome back workout.
I was tired toward the end and then we had to spar.  I got kicked in the lower leg and could feel that it might be a bad one.
So how am I walking around like nothing happened a few hours later?  Mostly because I pay immediate attention to an injury.  I ice, elevate and use some of the antinflammitory cream.  I gently stretch and keep moving gently in the hours after that.
You can prevent a small thing from becoming a big thing by giving your small thing some immediate TLC!

Just remember

to breathe and smile!

You can heal

I would like to get a conversation going about healing.  Specifically how we can learn to help ourselves heal.
There are so many resources available to us.  What are your thoughts or questions about healing?