If you have ever come to see me as a patient, you have heard me talk about the importance of breathing. Not just for lung health, but for the health of your whole body.
That’s why I’m so glad that Ron Hruska, founder of the Postural Restoration Institute, was kind enough to put together two exercises that will preserve your lung health, andthat almost anyone can do!
He created a video explaining the importance of compliance in our bodies especially in relation to our lungs, which I will summarize in this post. You can view the full video here.
So what the heck is compliance?
In terms of our bodies, it is essentially how mobile or flexible an area of your body is or isn’t. If an area is more stiff, it has less compliance, and if an area is more stretchy, it has more compliance.
In our bodies, there are areas that are anatomically stiffer and others that are stretchier. That’s just the way we’re made.
For example, your back has lots of layers of thick muscle and fascia, which makes that area more stiff. Conversely, the front of our body, including our abdomen, has much thinner, fewer layers of tissue, so this area is more stretchy (and also why you should not belly breathe! It makes the stretchy parts stretchier, and the stiff parts stiffer! More on that here).
Similarly, our left lung and surrounding tissues tend to be stiffer because the heart takes up a lot of space on the left side. The right side tends to be stretchier (unless we end up compensating, but I won’t get into all that here).
So, in general, the LEFT BACK area around the lungs tends to be more stiff, and the abdominal region a little too stretchy. This stiffness works its way down the chain to the left back pelvis because your pelvis motion is intimately correlated with your ribcage motion.
Why should we care about stiffness and stretchiness?
In the video, Ron shares an article about how a transplanted liver can last hours longer in transit if it is placed on a balloon-like structure instead of a block.
In this scenario, the balloon is your diaphragm.
The liver, just like all your other organs, needs to be massaged and moved around to be healthy. Your diaphragm, when working correctly, is constantly massaging your organs via your breath.
Furthermore, your lungs have many different nooks and crannys that need to be cleaned out by the right to left, front to back, and top to bottom pumping action we get through breathing and moving.
So the best thing you can do to stay healthy is to breathe well and stay moving! Climb stairs, get up and down from your chair, go for walks, etc.
But we need to give our lungs special attention, because of the anatomical differences we discussed earlier.
How does this relate to COVID-19?
Ron also cites an article from CNN, which discusses how healthcare providers are making it a point to place more severe patients on their stomach, and rotate them at certain time intervals throughout the day. This helps patients who are ventilated recover from COVID-19 infection.
The reason that positioning helps these patients is that lying on their stomach creates more stiffness in their abdominal region (from the pressure of the surface), and more stretchiness in the back. It also drains the back lung area of any infection, fluids, and stale air so that it can fill again with fresh clean air. Similarly, when the patients lie on their right side, the left side drains so that it can refill, and so on.
What is so amazing to me is that Ron and the Postural Restoration Institute created simple techniques that place your body in a position that drains all the right parts of your lungs, but in a functional, physically active way. Patients in the hospital on ventilators can’t do this because they are too weak, but you can!
Why would you want to do these exercises?
It’s so important right now to keep your lungs healthy. And if your lungs are draining and refilling well BEFORE you get sick, the severity and duration of your illness will be much less. So, hopefully you DON’T get sick, but if you do it will be good to have your body as prepared as possible to combat the virus.
Having good stretchiness/stiffness ratios in your body and lungs helps with so many other issues!
Allergies, airway issues, pain syndromes, there are so many benefits to these techniques.
I hope you try them, you will benefit from doing one or both of these every day. And at the very least, get up and move, whenever you can!
If you know me, you know I love to look at research studies. Sure, they have their limitations, but it’s really cool to see things we intuitively know are good for us proven under the scrutiny of the scientific method!
Take, for example, a recent review of the literature that studies the role of a positive outlook on pain. This study is from the Clinical Psychological Society in the Netherlands.
They found that a positive outlook significantly reduces pain, and reduces sensitivity to painful events.
For people with chronic pain or other painful conditions, they found that positivity can also optimize the effectiveness of other treatments.
Wow! That is pretty amazing. But if you’re anything like me, you’re thinking,
“Well, it’s pretty hard to be happy-go-lucky when you’re in pain! How am I supposed to do that?”
This is especially true if you have chronic pain that you’ve been dealing with for a long time. It’s hard to not let that get you down, and understandably so.
So how can we use this research to make change in our pain and our lives?
My prescription for you is this:
decide, right now, that you are your own first priority.
Yup, that’s right. Before you start thinking of reasons to put yourself second (or third, or fourth…or last), consider this:
When you get on a plane, don’t they tell you to put your own oxygen mask on before helping other people? That’s because you’re not much good to anyone if you’re passed out in the aisle!
Taking care of yourself is like putting your oxygen mask on. You need to be okay before you can be there for other people in a meaningful way. Otherwise, you will end up resentful to those you intended to help, and/or you will burn out. If you REALLY want to be there for the people you love and the causes you care about, you MUST take care of yourself first.
There are so many simple, quick and effective ways to reduce your levels of daily stress, and thereby improve your mood and your outlook.
Some of the things you can do to boost your mood are quick reminders that you can include easily in your day on the fly, and others you have to plan for. Let’s take a look at both.
On the Fly Mood Boosters
I’m gonna give you some daily, stress-busting reminders to try.
Your job is to pick one or two that you can really do over the next week.
Write the one you pick on a post-it and stick it on a mirror, the refrigerator, your desk, or anywhere else you know you’ll see it a lot. You can even post reminders in more than just one place!
After a week, take a moment to notice if anything has shifted in you since you started this practice.
You might keep up with it as it is, change your reminder, or just modify yours a little. It’s your daily ritual, make it how you like it!
When you’re feeling stressed, ask yourself, “what is the most important thing right now?”
Pick a different energy- whimsy, joy, playfulness, or one of your own choosing- and call it into your mind and heart.
Remove extra minor stressors when you find them (e.g. driving just a little too fast…it’s weirdly stressful!).
Be willing to ask for help when you need it.
If you’re pushing yourself to complete a self-imposed task, ask yourself, “will this matter in a year?”
Take several slow, deep breaths before each meal.
Remind yourself to “slow down” more often.
Pretend that you’re at your “vacation job” or your “vacation home,” or in your “vacation car.” How would you act differently if this was exactly what you wanted to be doing, where you wanted to be? If you CHOSE this?
Plan Your Relaxation Time
While it’s good to have little reminders in the day, nothing can match the power of actually scheduling time in your day to do something to take care of you. And, for most of us, if you don’t schedule it in your calendar, it won’t get done.
So grab your favorite pen, your planner, and block out some time for yummy self care!
Here are some ideas you can choose from, or you can come up with your own self soothing experience 🙂
Planned Ways to Reduce Stress
Practice this Active Rest Pose for 5 minutes, a few days a week.
Practice self empathy for a few minutes, especially if you are feeling down.
Take a nap!
Go for a walk outside. If possible, try not to look at your phone (or not bring it if you can!).
Buy yourself some flowers.
Leave early for an appointment and enjoy the journey getting there.
Go for a walk with your dog or child, and let them lead the way. Stop where they stop, notice if you feel impatient, and let them teach you how to slow down and savor the moment.
Use all your paid time off!
Read a book (that’s not related to work or self-improvement!)
Eat your lunch outside, and JUST eat. (try not to look at your phone, read, or listen to something).
Plan a “frump day” where you stay home all day in your comfy, frumpy clothes and do whatever you feel like. Watch movies, do some stretching, bake some cookies, take a bath.
Write a handwritten letter to someone you care for and haven’t seen in a while. Use special stationary that you like.
Lie on the couch for a few minutes. Not to listen to a podcast, sleep, or text. Just be there.
Take a 5 minute stretch break at work- make sure you’re breathing!
Not all of these may appeal to you, but I’m sure some of them do! Incorporating some spontaneous and some planned relaxation into your day can make a huge difference in your outlook, your pain, and your overall experience of life.
After all, what’s the point of all this if you’re not enjoying some of it along the way, right?
Keep taking care of yourself, and the world will reward you.
May you find ease in your body! I’ll be there rooting for you the whole way.
Happy Spring! I have had much more time to contemplate and reflect during quarantine life, and am making the most of time at home with my hubby and doggie. I hope you are able to find some light in this uncertain situation, too.
I’m feeling inspired by the new season, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming! I’m excited for everything this season has in store for me and for you as well. In fact, I’ve gotten so inspired that I made an awesome challenge to rejuvenate your body and spirit in under 15 minutes a day (more on that below)!
Whether you know me from the clinic, or have been following along here on the blog, you’ll know that I am all about taking realistic small steps to finding peace and ease in your body rather than looking for a miracle cure.
I’m a firm believer that little bits of self care lead to lasting change. Why? Because it works.
Real change—in our lifestyle, our mindset, our breath, our lives—doesn’t happen all at once. If you’re anything like me, you love the intoxicating hope and energy that comes with creating big, amazing goals. But at some point, we have to take the first step!
Now that it’s spring, a time of rebuilding and growth, it’s especially important to go step by step!
As we emerge from our winter cocoon into a more active lifestyle, it’s important to do this with grace and gentleness so that we can be present for our loved ones, and for ourselves. It’s easy to go full force and then find yourself burnt out before you even really got started. Trust me, I’ve been there! When that happens, those exciting goals might lose a bit of their allure. Luckily, that’s where the small changes I keep mentioning come into play!
Every change you manifest in life (big and bold, slow and steady—it all counts) starts with a decision. You decide you want to go after or create something, then you start walking that path. The key is to start where you are and just begin.
There’s something magical in those first small steps, no matter how baby they are. I think it’s time to honor those small steps.
So, as spring sets in, I’ve got an idea for you: Instead of going full speed ahead, let’s reserve some of that time for self care, so that you can keep moving forward in a calm and centered way!
I’m calling it the Rejuvenation Revolution!
I’m not saying you shouldn’t go after all those amazing and fun things you have planned for this spring and summer (you absolutely should!), but it is time for those plans to share your brainspace with your wellbeing, today.
Not your wellbeing next month or next year—your wellbeing now.
I’m talking about finding simple ways to nourish and care for yourself today. About taking simple, doable actions that bolster you up rather than wear you down. You might be surprised what’s possible when you put the next 6 months aside and focus on caring for yourself in this very moment!
Not sure where to start?
Join me for my 5 Day Restorative Yoga Challenge! If you haven’t experienced the power of restorative yoga before, you’re in for a treat! It’s the perfect opportunity to choose one small thing you can do for yourself now.
Instead of huge lifestyle changes, we’ll simply be adding one simple, relaxing restorative yoga posture to our day for 5 days. No prior experience necessary! I talk you through each exercise with enough detail for complete beginners (but don’t worry, I don’t gab the whole time)! It’s a fabulous way to kick-start this more active season with a steady, consistent energy with a focus on taking care of YOU.
Because no matter what your big goals for this spring and summer may be, adding just one restorative yoga pose a day to your routine will set you up for success in mind, body and soul. It’s a small step you can take today towards creating a healthy habits that will sustain you all year long.
When you join the challenge, you’ll get 5 restorative yoga postures to help you regain energy, be more calm and focused, relax your body and feed your soul! Just because we’re taking small steps doesn’t mean we can’t go after big, lovely results, right?!
When you join, you’ll get:
Each day for 5 days you’ll receive one restorative yoga posture with a guided video in your email.
You’ll also get tips on how to make the most of each posture and modifications if you need ’em.
Oh, and did I mention that all the videos all take less than 15 minutes to complete?
I wasn’t always an active person. In fact, growing up I was a total bookworm. I hated sports, I was the slowest person in gym class, and I spent most afternoons curled up with a book or watching TV.
In high school I started working out and watching my diet, and it felt really good! I was also getting more attention from classmates, the cool girls and guys who had never noticed me before were striking up conversations and inviting me to hang out. I even joined some sports teams.
Naturally, I became very attached to my great liberator, exercise. How could I not? It made me feel great, bolstered my social life, gave me energy, and all the other merits that we constantly hear about exercise.
But, there was also a dark side to this life changing health decision.
Exercise and Attachment
This last month I have been sick. Not terribly ill, but definitely not able to run and workout like I want to. And I think I have prolonged my illness to some degree by still pushing myself more than I should have. For me, I am so attached to the boost I get from exercise, that when I don’t have that in my life I start to get really down on myself. I have a good base in meditation and mindfulness practice, but I am still human and I still have my attachments. It takes quite a bit of work for me to “take it easy” and “listen to my body.” And how do you even “listen to your body” anyway?
Do I need a break, or should I keep pushing? (hint: you probably need a break!)
I hear it all the time, “listen to your body, if you need to rest, rest.” But then I also hear the opposite, “push yourself, when you are feeling tired, that’s the time to push even harder!” And, to be honest, I mostly end up just following the advice that suits my mood in the moment, but that’s not always the healthiest choice.
For example, in this recent bout of illness, my body was telling me to slow down, nap, drink tea and CHILL. But I hate the feeling of being unproductive, and when I don’t workout I feel that inner child bookworm creeping up. Or rather, I could say that I am attached to the feeling of being productive, and instead of asking how I could console this inner child that is struggling, I am pushing her away.
It doesn’t sound so good when I put it that way. But that’s the reality of it. To really understand how to actually listen to our bodies, we have to first talk about wanting vs attachment.
Getting Past the “Shoulds”
When I am really listening to my body, most of the time I still want to work out. I love the way it makes me feel, the health benefits I get, and the joy of moving my body in the great outdoors. The difference is that I am not attached to working out, because I can tune in and listen to my sensations and trust my intuition. So, if I get signals from my body that I need to rest, nap, take more time to relax, I can listen to that instead of shaming myself out of it. This is the goal, but that takes practice.
The most common way we disregard what our bodies are trying to tell is by shaming ourselves. My favorite guilt trip is, “Wow, you are being so lazy. You had so much you were going to get done today, and you’re just going to nap? How dare you! When everyone else in the world is out there working!”
Pretty mean, huh? If I talked that way to my friends, I probably wouldn’t have any. But it is not uncommon for us to talk to ourselves in this way. How can we allow for that? It stems from attachment, to the way we think we should act, should look, should engage with our world.
In order to be able to connect with our intuition, a.k.a. be able to “listen to my body,” we have to learn how to let go. To let go of the “shoulds” and get back to our sensations in the present moment.
Learning to Let Go: Two Versions of the Self
Letting go is hard. It’s hard because we feel like we are going to fall apart without the things that hold us together. For me, working out on a regular routine is one of those things. Part of me feels that if I skip a week or two of working out, I’m going to be horribly out of shape, feel awful, and be a hypocrite (because a lot of my job as a physical therapist is teaching people about exercise!). This is the part of me I call the Fear Self. But there’s another part of me that knows I’m going to be okay. This second part is what I call the Rational Self. She looks at the big picture, and knows that I will get back to working out when I am better, that by taking a real break I will heal faster and get back to my routine faster. The rational self is rooted in truth and fact instead of fear and worry.
At first, the fear self is always louder. She comes up with all sorts of reasons to be concerned, sad, and frustrated. She is small minded and short term focused.
The rational self is quieter, she’s always there but needs to be called upon to speak up. By seeing the long term results and the reality of the situation, she can make good decisions without being influenced by self imposed “shoulds.”
How To Quiet the Fear Self
To connect with your rational self means to listen to your body, in a real and non-superficial way. In order to do this, we need to first identify our fear self. By naming our fears and worries, we can clearly see how irrational and unhelpful they are. The next time you find yourself criticizing yourself, acknowledge that this is the Fear Self. Tell her that you see her, and you appreciate her concern for you, but you’ve got this one under control.
Here’s an example:
Fear self: “You are not even sick, you are just being lazy. You have all this time to be working on projects and getting fit and you’re not using it! You’ll never get this opportunity again!” (hint: all-or-nothing words like “never” are a clear sign that the fear self is talking).
Me: “Okay, I see you, Fear Self. Thank you for looking out for me, but I am doing what is best for me right now.”
It doesn’t help to get mad at or blame your Fear Self. That will just have the opposite effect. Instead, think of your Fear Self as a scared child, who needs comforting and consolation, not to be yelled at or scolded.
*Remember: listening to your body starts with being kind to yourself.
Of course, you won’t be able to catch every critical comment, but whenever you are able to go through the process of calling out the Fear Self, you are developing new neural connections that make it easier to do the next time. It is a skill to cultivate and hone.
Once you’ve identified the fear self, she loses her power. Just by naming it, you begin to see the fears and worries for what they are: intangible ways of keeping us stagnant in our old patterns. To move forward, to grow and expand as a human being, we need to connect with the rational self.
How to Connect with the Rational Self
Once the fear self is quiet, the rational self can emerge. Let’s stick with the example above.
Fear self: “You are not even sick, you are just being lazy. You have all this time to be working on projects and getting fit and you’re not using it! You’ll never get this opportunity again!” (hint, all-or-nothing words like “never” are a clear sign that the fear self is talking.
Me: “Okay, I see you, Fear Self. Thank you for looking out for me, but I am doing what is best for me right now.”
From this point, I can ask the Rational Self, “what do I really need to do right now? Am I being lazy, or am I actually sick?” Then I focus on the area of my belly or chest, and wait until I get an answer. This also takes some practice, but really it doesn’t work if you over think it. Just ask, focus on the center of your chest, and see what comes up. For me, the answer way, “Girl, you are actually sick! Rest up!” And when I heard that my thought was, “Duh! How have I been ignoring this obvious advice?”
The harder part is actually listening to that advice. And I promise you, if you continue to not listen, your body will make you listen. In the past, I’ve pushed myself to the point where I HAD to lay in bed for a while. That is my old pattern, to keep pushing and ignore those signals to slow down. I’m not perfect, that’s for sure, and it takes effort for me to change this pattern. Of course, doing the things the way we’ve always done them is easier. It’s an inertia, you’ll keep going the way you were always going unless some effort is applied in another direction.
So, as for me, I’m still working on taking it easy, and listening to those signals from my body. Sometimes I don’t want to listen, and I give in to the Fear Self. But I keep trying, and I’m getting better.
With all the latest diets, pain “cures” and workouts at our finger tips, it can be really hard to decide what works for you and what doesn’t. But the more you can connect with your Rational Self, your True Self, the easier you will be able to navigate decisions about what is best for you.
Have you ever struggled with the Fear Self, or had trouble listening to your body? I’d love to hear your story. Share your story by leaving a comments below.
Earlier this week it snowed a lot. Then it melted, and froze overnight. And when I took my dog out for her morning walk, well, you can probably guess what happened. I didn’t make it 20 feet from my door before my feet slid out from under me on a patch of ice and I landed hard on my butt, with my head being painfully snapped back. I was, of course, a little stunned and went back to my house to survey the damage. No broken bones, just some bruises. Over the next few days I monitored myself for signs of concussion, which , thankfully, there were none, but what I did have was a painful stiffness and ache in my neck when I tried to move my head. “Oh great,” I thought. Whiplash.
An Icy Morning.
When I first walked into my house after slipping on the ice, these were the thoughts in my head, “oh no, you have a delicate neck. This is going to be so bad. You are going to be dealing with this for months. What if you have another concussion? That’s going to really mess you up…” and on and on.
Luckily, I had the knowledge and training to know that these thoughts would be the most significant factor in my speed and completeness of my recovery. Even though it was hard, I started to change my self talk. I said to myself, “this is not that bad. You’ll get over it soon with a couple days for your strained muscles to heal. You didn’t hit your head, and there are no signs that anything is seriously wrong. You’re going to be ok.”
At first, I didn’t believe these words I told myself, but I kept up with it. And, over the course of the day, I started believing a little bit of it. But more importantly, my body felt less tense and guarded. Now, three days later, my neck pain is almost completely gone. I didn’t have to go to a chiropractor or have needles stuck in my neck. I didn’t have to do any special exercises except some breathing to calm my nervous system. I didn’t even have to change my daily activities and still did what I would usually do, including exercise.
Of course, it’s not always that easy, and it has not always been the case for me to get over neck pain that quickly. I have had many neck injuries of varying severity, and the pain of them has plagued me for many years of my life. I tried everything, acupuncture, chiropractic, and of course several physical therapists. Those all helped, but my neck pain never really went away until I changed the way I thought about my pain. I know, I know, it sounds like I’m saying, “it’s all in your head.” Which is just not true. But, it is true that a lot of it is in how your head and your body talk to each other.
Pain and the Brain
You see, the brain determines levels of threat, and sends signals to our body on what to do accordingly. When your brain perceives high threat, it starts emitting neurotransmitters that tell your body to tense, to breathe more shallowly, and halt healing processes.
This is actually really good. For example, let’s say you’re a wild human and you get attacked by a tiger. You find yourself bleeding and injured, and your brain knows that it needs to get your muscles tensed and ready to go so that you can hoof it back to your village before you die in the middle of the prairie. (Do tiger’s even live on prairies? Anyway, you get the idea). Your brain, in that moment, is not worried about healing. Healing occurs when you get back to the village and your wounds can be tended, you are safe.
But what if you never get to the village? What if the stress of getting attacked by a tiger is replaced with the stress and worry that’s associated with chronic neck pain, the fear that you will never get better, the threat of having to deal with a stiff neck on top of all the other things you are having to deal with in your life right now?
In this scenario, your body never gets a signal to relax, to soften your tensed muscles, to release a cascade of neurochemical transmitters that promote healing. You become caught in a troublesome feedback loop: your muscles get’s tense, which causes your brain to percieve threat. As a result of that percieved threat, your body get’s more tense. And on and on, until you find yourself dealing with months to years of pain with no one able to explain to you why it won’t go away.
Getting out of the Cycle of Pain
I have been there, in that loop. I have a tendency to go back there, maybe it’s just how I’m wired. I have to actively, consciously, change the way I think about my body and pain in order to subvert that loop. And it works. I also use relaxation techniques and mindfulness meditation practices to assist me in this process. But what has been so fascinating to me is that this is the missing link in healing from chronic pain, and, perhaps more importantly, preventing it in the first place.
This is not news to the medical community; there have been plenty of studies linking a patient’s outlook on recovery to how well they actually recover. This mind body connection is starting to become more popular in pain management, but in most cases it is not emphasized or even acknowledged in our healthcare system. Certainly, there are appropriate times to seek invasive modalities or even surgery, but shouldn’t we start with an intervention that is very low risk and potentially very high reward in regards to resolution of symptoms?
I have created some resources to help you manage your pain and to prevent yourself from developing chronic pain syndromes. It starts with being able to sense and feel your body, in a non-threatening way. This will allow your brain and body to get out of the cycle of threat and pain and back into fluid, alternating, reciprocating motion.
Getting Back in Your Body
A great place to start getting back in your body is with this simple 5 minute Guided Body Awareness Technique. (You should try it, it’s really relaxing!)
Five Minute Body Awareness Exercise.
Remember, pain is not just in your body, and it’s not just in your brain. Whoever says that mind and body are two separate things is just wrong. You can’t treat one and not the other and expect to change the patterns that we live in. If you find yourself in chronic pain, be kind and gentle with yourself. Reconnecting with the sensations in your body is the first step to letting go of these stuck patterns.
It was my second year of physical therapy school, and I was sitting in the white and beige lecture hall. The room emulated the newness and grandeur of the medical campus, but lacked character or color. The course title, “Musculoskeletal 101,” was stamped in the top right of the slides, and today’s topic was Managing Dysfunction of the Cervical Spine. I was bent awkwardly over my desk, furiously taking notes when I had to take a break because my neck was just killing me.
The irony of this was not lost on me.
Even though in physical therapy school I was learning about all the cool ways to crack joints and push and pull on muscles, the tension in my neck was inescapable. I was seeing a physical therapist myself, who would stick needles in my ropey neck tissue, and I was spending my precious study time rolling all around on tennis balls and stretching in all the right directions to “loosen up” my neck. While these things helped for a short while (and some not at all)
I couldn’t help wondering if there was another reason I was getting so tense.
Did I mention that physical therapy school is one of the most stressful things I have ever done in my life? Long commutes, sleep deprivation, assignments that took longer than the hours I had to finish them, projects and social dynamics, constant testing, hours of note taking, clinical rotations with high expectations… you get the picture. I don’t regret any of it, it was an invaluable experience. But I DO regret not having the tools to help me manage my stress levels, because it was taking a huge toll on my body.
Why Do We Get Tense?
We tense our bodies as a way to protect ourselves. It just so happens that high stress levels cause your body to perceive threat and therefore seek protection. Another reason we get tense in our necks, lower backs and hips is to hold ourselves up when our core is not functioning well. Guess what? Stress triggers us to shunt blood away from our core and to our arms and legs (because if there’s a threat, you better be ready to run!)
This is what I call the stress-tension one-two punch.
It’s the double whammy that stress has on causing tension in our bodies. The first blow is the initial tension you get directly from the stress hormones in your body that are readying you to fight or flee. The second comes from the compensatory way your body carries itself when in a stress state.
Hold on a sec! My stressful scenario wasn’t one where I had to fight or flee, I was just bent over my computer hacking away at a keyboard like a madwoman on a diet of coffee and energy bars. Why would my body have to ready itself for anything?
Tension and Stress
The thing is that your body doesn’t know the difference between the stress of being chased by a mountain lion or the stress of your boss adding an extra pile of work to your already overflowing inbox.
Stress is stress! The same hormones are released, and the same responses occur.
Our systems to manage stress are a primal instinct, present since we were “wild humans,” if you will, and the threat of having to fight or flee for your life was a more common occurrence. The steady drip of minor stressors (emails, traffic, alarm clocks, board meetings) did not even exist yet.
We are designed to manage a stressor that is an immediate threat – it is something that we deal with and then it’s over.
You either get away from the saber toothed tiger chasing you down, or you kill it, or you die. Done. Your system takes a few minutes to an hour to return to relaxed muscles, deeper breathing, and an active core. You can rest, digest, and hold yourself up properly.
When we have that steady drip of stress, however, our body doesn’t know how to get back to that baseline “rest and digest” state anymore.
We’re constantly juiced with stress hormones that make our body tense, despite how many physical therapists or chiropractors poke our muscles or push on our backs. To get rid of that tension, we have to get to the source.
We have to help our nervous system relax.
A Nervous System Reset
Even though we can’t always change the world around us, we can certainly change ourselves. You may not be able to change your work situation, your commute, or your other stressors.
But you CAN take small actions that reprogram your nervous system to quickly get back to that place of calm, and by doing so let go of tension in your body.
There are lots of ways to reset your nervous system. Below are three of my favorites because they are:
Easy to do
Fast
Effective
One way is by balancing the right and left sides of the body with your breath.
Balancing Breath:
sit comfortably. Bring your right hand index and middle fingers down, leaving the right thumb, ring and small fingers up (see video below if this is tricky for you!)
Cover your right nostril with your thumb, and exhale completely through your left nostril.
Pause for a 4 count, then inhale through your left nostril.
Cover your left nostril with your ring finger, pause for a 4 count, then exhale completely through the right nostril.
Pause for a 4 count, then inhale through the right nostril.
Pause for a 4 count, then cover the right nostril with your right thumb and exhale completely through the left nostril.
Continue with this sequence for about 6 breath cycles. Then rest.
Do this 1-2x/day.
https://youtu.be/c6ay8f6bJHk
Alternate Nostril Breath: a simple way to balance the body
Notice how you feel before and after doing this exercise. With some practice you can do this quickly and easily to help your body relax and release tension.
Cupping the Eyes
Did you know that how you see the world affects how tense your body gets? No wonder most people who work at a computer all day develop back or neck pain (or both)!
By letting our eyes relax, our nervous system gets an immediate signal that we are safe, and our bodies relax as a result.
Here’s how to do it:
Lean your elbows on a desk or table. Place your head in your hands so that the perimeter of your palm rests on the orbit (boney part around the eye). You don’t want any pressure directly on your eye.
Close your eyes, and stare into the darkness behind your eyes.
Try to make your field of vision very wide, like you are trying to take in as much of the view behind your eyes as possible.
Notice the gradations of light behind your eyelids. You will notice that it is not all black, but rather that there are different grades of blackness and lightness.
Focus on the darkest areas, see if they get bigger.
Tip: if you don’t notice any different gradation of blackness, just keep focusing on the wide view behind your eyelids.
Stay for 2-5 minutes, then come back by lifting your head and slowly opening your eyes.
Do this 1-2x/day.
How to do it: Cupping the Eyes to Help your Body Relax
Notice how you feel after. Try to connect with and remember in that feeling of relaxation in your body.
Breathe!
When we are stressed, our breathing becomes shallow and rapid. Chances are, if you’ve been stressed for a while, you haven’t taken a full breath in a looooong time. And when I say a full breath, I don’t mean getting a lot of air in, I mean getting air OUT!
That’s right, when we are breathing shallowly, it’s the lack of complete exhales that prevents us from getting new, oxygen rich air to our brain and other tissues. If you can’t get the old stuff out, you can’t make space for something new (that’s a good metaphor for life, too)!
Here’s how to do it:
Sit comfortably.
Place one hand on your lower front ribs.
Inhale quietly through your nose.
Exhale completely through your mouth, making an “ahhhhh” sound.
Pause 1-3 seconds at the bottom of your exhale before inhaling again quietly through your nose.
Repeat 4 breaths. Rest and repeat 4 more cycles of 4 breaths.
Do this 1-2x/day.
Like I said, I wish I had known these ways to de-stress when I was in physical therapy school. I knew stress mattered, but I didn’t realize the incredible impact it was having on my body!
I hope this article prevents you from having to endure chronic tension in your body, and from having to constantly seek ways to release tension. If you can find the wellspring of calm and ease within, the body will follow.
The first time I sat to meditate I made it about two minutes before I somehow ended up in the kitchen making myself a sandwich. The current of my thoughts and “to-do’s” was so overwhelming I couldn’t justify sitting still for 10 minutes, let alone relax while doing it!
In my first year of yoga classes, I hated savasana, the pose where you lie still at the end of class. I literally could not wait for it to be over, and sometimes would just roll up my mat and walk out. If you have ADHD or trouble being still, you know what I mean. Meditation can seem like a daunting if not impossible task. It wasn’t until I started exploring different ways to approach meditation that I finally found a way to observe my body and sensations without hating every moment. I realized that I didn’t have to sit still for hours to get benefits, and in some ways it was harmful for me to force my body and mind into a box that didn’t fit. Once I became open to new ways to meditate, I started to develop a consistent meditation practice, and enjoy being with myself.
In this article you’ll find simple, actionable advice to help you get the benefits of meditation even if you have ADHD or any other condition that makes it hard for you to stay focused.
Do you get distracted when you should be meditating? It happens to the best of us.
Move
On my first meditation retreat I wanted to be the best meditator. I sat up straighter than everyone else, and for longer than everyone else. But I was miserable. Instead of letting go of my ego, I was feeding it by trying to be “the best,” instead of acknowledging my needs. The battle to not move became so distracting that I couldn’t meditate, defeating the whole purpose of why I was there! Thankfully, when I related this to my teacher on the retreat, she told me to go outside, and walk. And walk fast.
Getting up and moving is a great tool for meditation, because it allows you to experience the ever changing nature of reality directly. If you have trouble sitting still, try this walking meditation:
Go for a walk outside, or find a space where you can continually walk for about 5-10 minutes.
Walk slowly, sensing the ground under your feet.
Feel as much of your foot as you can as it touches the ground, starting from the heel, then midfoot, then toes.
If it is too hard to pay attention as you walk slowly, you can walk faster and instead feel the sensations in your legs. You could even jog and notice how alive your legs feel.
Change Your Perspective
Sitting in the meditation hall, deep in the torture of trying to observe my own thoughts and being constantly distracted, I opened my eyes a little and snuck a peek at the rest of the people in the hall. Lo and behold, everyone else is sitting still and quiet, like statues of buddha! I felt so terrible. I completely gave up on trying to meditate and spent the rest of the hour thinking about all the things I would do and eat when I got back from retreat.
I learned two very important things from that experience. I learned that no matter how peaceful others look on the outside, there is no way we can know the turmoil inside. And trust me, everyone has their own inner demons that they struggle with. Secondly, I learned that losing focus is not a bad thing, in fact it is a normal and necessary part of meditation. Instead of getting down on myself when I lost concentration or focus, I had to celebrate it!
Yes, you read that right. Whenever you lose touch with your object of focus, that is a wonderful moment! Because it means that you get to come back. And coming back, over and over again, is the real practice of meditation. Expert meditators who have been meditating for many years seem like they are able to sustain focus on one object for a very long time, but what they are actually doing is coming back to their object of focus very quickly, so it appears that they are continually focused.
The next time you realize you are lost in thought, try saying to yourself, “oh wonderful, an opportunity to come back!” Because every time you come back to your object of focus, you are making new neural connections that make you a better meditator.
Short Bursts of Practice
Meditation doesn’t mean that you have to sit still for hours at a time. In fact, there are some traditions of meditation where formal sitting is deemed not as effective as becoming quickly and immediately aware of the true nature of reality in the moment, with no preparation.
The purpose of meditation is to see things as they really are, constantly changing and impermanent. To start practicing this, take a moment several times in your day to observe your sensations. You may do this for 5 seconds or 2 minutes or 20 minutes, it doesn’t matter the length but all that matters is that you observe some sensation directly in the moment.
One place that I find it really easy to feel sensations is the tingling that is always present in my hands and feet. This is a good place to start.
Try this exercise right now to practice observing your sensations in the moment:
Close your eyes and just feel your fingertips or the soles of your feet.
Notice if you feel a tingling or buzzing sensation.
Keep paying attention to the tingling or buzzing for however long you feel like.
Do this regularly, for example every time you go to the bathroom, check your instagram, or have a drink of water.
Once you get good at this you won’t even have to close your eyes, you can observe your sensations without anybody even knowing that you’re meditating! (Pretty cool, huh?)
Pro Tip: If you can’t feel anything in your hands or feet, try rubbing your hands on your thighs or your feet on the floor briskly for 10 seconds, then stop and close your eyes and see what you feel. You will definitely notice some sensation in your hands or feet after that. You’re not looking for anything special! Just observe that sensation, and you’re meditating.
Exercise
Sometimes I sit to meditate after working at my desk all day, and my body refuses to be still. Our bodies need to move, and if you’ve been sitting all day, it will be hard to sit for meditation.
If your body has energy that it needs to expend, it will be more difficult to sit quietly to meditate. Try doing some vigorous exercise of your choice for 10-20 minutes before meditating. This could be running, swimming, jump roping, climbing, jumping jacks, whatever you like to do to release excess energy.
Set Achievable Goals
Achieving your goals can provide you the confidence and momentum you need to be able to stick with your meditation practice. But these goals have to be achievable!
If you have never meditated before, or have difficulty meditating due to ADHD, it is not a good idea to set a goal of meditating 1 hour every day. Pick something that you feel at least 80% confident that you can achieve. Your goal may be to do a walking meditation for 2 minutes a day for 1 week. Achieving this goal will give you the confidence you need to stick with it. And if you don’t achieve that goal, set another one that you can achieve! Being kind and patient with yourself is one of the greatest lessons in meditation, and in order to learn that lesson you have to start where you are.
Be Kind to Yourself
Meditation is a tool to help you develop greater understanding of your true self. Before you undertake a meditation practice, ask yourself, “why do I want to meditate?” Get clear on why this is important to you. Most likely, your goals for meditating are not to berate yourself and compare yourself to others. So be kind to yourself, and give yourself lots of space to experiment until you find what works for you.
As long as you are observing the reality of the present moment, you are meditating. Thoughts and doubts will always arise, but keep coming back to your object of focus in a kind and gentle way and over time it will become easier. If you are getting frustrated with your meditation it’s okay to take a break and try again later.
Meditation has helped me so much in my life, and I hope that this article makes it easier for you to find ease in your mind and body, too.
You got into yoga to relax and get some exercise. But, as you lie in corpse pose at the end of the class you find yourself wondering, “how the heck am I supposed to relax when my back is killing me?” You intended to be doing something good for your body, not hurting it!
This was me for a long time. Yoga has many wonderful health benefits, but it is also a common culprit in creating back pain. When I first started doing yoga, and actually many years into my practice, I loved the way it made me feel but couldn’t help noticing that my back pain was getting worse, not better. Many of my patients have been told by their doctors to try yoga for back pain, and end up with no change or even worse pain! In this article I’ll share with you the most common reason why yoga causes back pain and how to get rid of it. I’ve worked with many patients to get them back to yoga without back pain, and you can do it, too.
Breathe Better to Relieve Your Lower Back Pain
Modern yoga tends to have a lot more extension based postures (i.e. backward bends) compared with traditional yoga practices.
Yoga Postures that commonly cause back pain:
Upward facing dog pose
Bow pose
Camel pose
Basically any pose where your spine is arched back.
I am not sure why backward bends have taken a forefront in today’s yoga, maybe it’s because they look pretty? However, they can be very problematic to our backs for several reasons.
It’s not that backward bends are inherently bad, but rather they require a certain amount of stability and skill before they can be performed correctly. I was always very flexible, so it was easy for me to contort myself into all kinds of crazy postures. However, when you do back bends without the right stability, they create a lot of compression in you lower back which causes back pain and sometimes sciatica. Improper backward bending can also force us into bad breathing patterns.
Let’s maybe not go for this until we’re ready…
Ditch the Belly Breathing
One thing we need in order to bend backward without pain is a strong connection between our front lower ribs to our front upper pelvis. This means you need your abs to be working, and in the right way. And you need to be able to MAINTAIN that abdominal contraction as you inhale, i.e. no belly breathing!
Whaa???
You heard me right. Belly breathing is not good for you, especially not in a back bend. In fact, in a backward bend, it’s actually really bad for you! I know, everyone talks about all the amazing benefits of belly breathing, but hear me out.
Belly breathing (pushing your stomach out when you inhale) doesn’t allow you to maintain an abdominal contraction while you inhale, so your lower back has no support and basically gets way too compressed. This is painful and damaging if done repeatedly.
Secondly, belly breathing teaches you to breathe without moving your ribcage. When your ribcage becomes rigid, you are forced to move more from your lower back, creating it to be even more unstable and painful.
To breathe correctly in backward bends (and in general when doing physical activity) you should be able to move your ribcage and maintain some tone in your abdominal muscles, particularly the abdominals on the sides (obliques and transversus abdominus).
Exhale Focused Breathing for Back Bends:
Exhale completely and feel your lower front ribs drop down towards your pelvis and in towards your body.
Simultaneously draw your pubic slightly up towards your belly button.
Pause there, at the bottom of the exhale, for 3-5 seconds.
Then, quietly inhale without losing this ribs to pelvis connection. You should feel air move into your upper chest and maybe your upper back.
This breathing pattern teaches your core to turn on in the correct way, and stabilizes your back. Obviously, as you bend backwards, your abdominal region will lengthen, but you want to keep that action of lower ribs moving toward the front of your pelvis and the front of your pelvis curling up towards your ribs as you do so.
Some of us are already pretty arched in our lower back to begin with. If you are arching more on top of that to backward bend, you’re going to be in trouble. If you’re like me, and backward bending is really easy for you without much practice, you really need to work on developing some core stability before diving deep into backward bends.
Developing Core Strength
In forward bends and standing postures, keep trying to find that position of exhaling lower front ribs down and in, and bringing pubic bone up towards your belly button.
Use your Legs to Develop Core Strength for Back Bends:
In addition to exhale focused breathing, think about drawing your inner thighs towards one another, and rolling your inner thighs back behind you.
this is called hip adduction (together) and internal rotation (turning inward).
These actions are only helpful if you have the first concept of ribs down and pubic bone up, so if that is hard for you then work on that for a while before adding the leg actions.
These actions of hip adduction and internal rotation create spaciousness in your lower back and create stability in your stabilizing musculature, particularly in the pelvic floor muscles. the pelvic floor is a sling of muscles inside of your pelvis that assists your abdominals in stabilizing your lower back.
You can think of drawing your inner thighs together even when they are apart. Take anjaneyasana, or kneeling lunge, for example.
Instead of leaning forward into the lunge to stretch the front of your hip (and arching your back and losing all sense of internal stability) stay more upright, find ribs down and pubic bone up.
Then, draw inner thighs towards one another as if you were trying to close the gap between your legs without actually moving.
This may not look as pretty or as deep as in the picture, but it will feel a whole heck of a lot better, and will teach your body so much in regards to strength, true flexibility, and good habits.
Develop Good Habits
Before jumping into backward bending, spend some time in standing postures and forward bends, working on bringing your lower front ribs down and in, bringing your pubic bone up towards your belly button, feeling air in your upper back, and drawing inner thighs together and back. Only once you have this well established should you explore deeper backward bends.
Once you are ready to start experimenting with backward bending , a good place to start is with some gentle standing backward bends.
Start With a Gentle Back Bend:
Establish your lower front ribs down and in on an exhale, as well as pubic bone up.
Then, draw inner thighs together and roll inner thighs back.
From there, cactus your arms and see if you can gently arch your upper back WITHOUT letting your lower front ribs pop up or your pubic bone moving down away from your belly button.
You probably won’t go as far back and that’s okay, because now you’re actually lengthening your front body in a healthy way that supports your spine instead of just dumping into your lower back.
It’s always good to follow backward bending with a counter pose, which would be a forward bend. Child’s pose is great, or seated forward bend. However, try not to just flop into these poses, either. Remember the same actions from above (low ribs in, pubic bone up, inner thighs together and back) while forward bending as well.
Final Thoughts
The real practice of yoga is about being with ourselves in the moment. When we’re in a class, or even by ourselves, we may have ideas of how a pose should look or what we think we should be able to do. However, if we do not take time to establish a good foundation, or if we push our bodies beyond our limits, we will get feedback. In the case of excessive back bending, feedback will occur in the form of physical pain.
This is where the real yoga starts. Can you listen to your body and let go of what it’s “supposed to” look like, and meet yourself where you are? That is probably the biggest challenge, but will provide the greatest reward when you find that you can practice longer and more often because you are not limited by pain and injury.
Most of the patients I work with benefit from wearing a shoe that not only supports your foot, but also provides neurosensory feedback that allows your ankles, hips, ribcage, and neck to move better. The right shoe is like a circuit breaker that gets you out of old patterns so you can rehab better and faster.
These shoe recommendations are not forever, but certainly while you are going through the rehabilitation process a good pair of shoes is essential to progressing and maintaining gains. Every year, the Hruska Clinic, created by Ron Hruska and the Postural Restoration Institute, provide a “shoe list” with the year’s best shoes based on appropriate stability and neurosensory prinicipals. This is a good place to start when selecting shoes. See the current shoe list HERE.
Once you are done with your course of physical therapy, you can certainly wear whatever shoes or boots you like to go out to dinner, the movies, etc. I still recommend that if you will be on your feet all day, when running, or if you are going on vacation and will be walking a lot, wear shoes that provide appropriate support and neurosensory feedback. This will keep you feeling good.
A lot of my patients ask me about dress or casual shoes that they can wear while they are still in their rehabilitation process, as they cannot wear tennis shoes to work.
While the shoes on the Hruska Clinic List will be the best during rehabilitation, here are some general concepts that you can apply to any shoe.
1. No Heels
Heeled shoes push you onto the balls of your feet, making your back arch and front ribs move up. In order to find a neutral position in our bodies, we have to be able to sense the ground through our heels. When we are forced into an extended position, this can cause issues all the way up the chain, from your feet to your neck and head.
2. Shoe Structure
Mary Jane strap shoes or shoes that lace up are best. Slip on shoes or flip flops provide a sense of instability to your body, causing your ankles, pelvis and neck to stiffen in an attempt to stabilize. This leads to compensations and pain.
3. Heel Stability
Not only do you have to sense the base of your heel through your shoe, but it is also important to feel a “hug” around the base of your ankle, just below the achilles tendon. This support allows your ankles the freedom to “wobble” in and out. This wobble allows our foot to transition between pronation and supination, which are essential for normal walking.
4. Sense Your Foot.
Feeling your heels is important, but the shoe should allow you to feel your whole foot. Try this technique to see if you feel your whole foot in your shoe:
Stand with your right foot slightly in front of left, left arm forward, right arm back (as if you are in the middle of taking a step while walking).
See if you feel your left heel, arch, and big toe.
Slightly lift your right foot off the ground, and see if you still feel left heel, arch, and big toe.
Repeat on the other side (right foot slightly behind left, right arm forward).
If you don’t feel your arch or big toe in this position, this is not the shoe for you. Or, if you only feel your arch and it is painful or you don’t feel the other parts of your foot (heel and big toe), then the arches in the shoe are too high.
5. The Shoe Should Feel Good Right Away!
You should not have to feel like you have to break in a shoe. It should feel comfortable when you try it on in the store. Your body will let you know when you have found a good shoe.
Everyone is different and some people need individualized advice on finding the right shoe. However, if you find a shoe that meets all these criteria, you are likely going to have good success with that shoe.
Most of our movements- the way we sit, stand, eat- are happening subconsciously. Furthermore, we all have preferences for doing things on one side or the other, and in one way or another. While handedness plays a role in this, our neurology and the way our brains are wired play a much larger role.
Most of us have heard that we have different functions for the right and left sides of the brain. As far as physical function, the right brain controls the left side of the body, and the left brain controls the right side of the body.
The perception of the two sides of the brain is a bit more nuanced. The right brain manages sustained, broad, and vigilant alertness. Conversely, the left brain has a narrow, sharp, and focused attention to detail. The right brain is more focused on the big picture, the surroundings, what’s going on in the background. The left brain is more alert to what’s right in front of us, the immediate task at hand, what’s next on the agenda, etc.
An example of how the two sides of the brain work together is driving a car. In this situation your left brain has focused attention on the road in front of you. While this is very important, it is also important to be aware of your surroundings. Your right brain is broadly scanning the environment for potential threats such as other cars, pedestrians, hazards, and so on.
Different sides of the brain have different functionality
The left brain contains the centers for speech and language. Since the left brain controls the right side of the body, the right arm becomes prominent in communication, growth, and development. Even in left handed people, there is a tendency for the right shoulder complex to be tipped forward and down as a physical representation of the interactive quality of the right side. This is because even though handedness is a strong driver of pattern, the brain and nervous system are far stronger.
This normal and natural asymmetry can be problematic when it is not balanced with left arm neurological and muscular activity, so in clinic we work on changing movement patterns at the level of the nervous system. My patients often tell me that when they do their exercises at home, they are not sure if they are doing it right and it feels hard to keep track of all the movements in the exercise. I always tell them this is exactly what we want, because we are trying to change a movement pattern, not just get stronger. You can go to the gym by yourself and lift weights if your goal is muscle mass. What you need from physical therapy is to learn how to change the wiring of brain and body, to become better balanced right to left in three dimensions. For this to occur, it will probably feel like your brain is working just as hard, if not harder, than your body when you do your home program.
Learning to change a movement pattern is like learning to drive a car. At your first driving lesson, there was an overwhelming amount to pay attention to: hands on the wheel, gas, brake, checking mirrors, road signs, and if you had a clutch then that’s a whole different animal. But now, you drive somewhere and think, “wow, I don’t even remember driving here, I’m just here!” That’s because the neurological and muscular systems have become automatic through repetition, but you had to start with a very “thinking heavy” process to get there. You had to pay attention in the beginning, and now it just happens naturally.
That is how we bring our body into balance, by literally re-wiring the neurological and muscular patterns in the body. We use conscious effort until it becomes unconscious. Because the reality is that so much of what we do in our day is unconscious; but if those daily patterns are not regulated by transitioning well from right to left and back again, we develop strong patterns that create structural weaknesses, instabilities, and pain syndromes like fibromyalgia.
One simple way to balance the left and right sides of the body is through a breathing technique called “nadi shodhana” in sanskrit, which we can loosely translate as “alternate nostril breathing.” This technique is simple and very soothing to the nervous system as it creates a deep sense of balance in the body at a neural and respiratory level. See the video below to try it out.
https://youtu.be/c6ay8f6bJHk
Alternate nostril Breathing for Body and Brain Balancing
