Time to move your FEET!
We're back with a little movement for your weekend ahead!
In November I posted a breath exercise and explained briefly how your breath might be affecting your posture and specifically causing hip flexor tightness. I wanted to continue on the same line today - by talking about our feet and giving you a super simple foot exercise that you can do anywhere.
(If you missed the Breath exercise you can catch up here)
Scroll down for the exercise, or read on for a brief explanation of how your feet connect to your breath.
The bottom of your feet (aka the arch muscles) are the base of the fascial (connective tissue) line that is often referred to as the Deep Frontal Line. This line includes our two big muscles we talked about in the breath exercise: the Psoas (the big hip flexor) and the Diaphragm.
The Deep Frontal Fascial Line runs up through “the core” of your body and also includes your inner thigh muscles (the adductors), pelvic floor, Quadratum Lumoborum (the QL), and the tongue (in addition to the Psoas and the Diaphram). Some fascial models also include the deep abdominals and deep rotator muscles of the hip (the most famous or infamous of those is the Piriformis).
When I say “the core” of the body to describe this, I’m literally meaning the deep insides of your body, the inner parts of your legs and inner muscles of the pelvis and rib cage. This is not entirely the same definition of core that most Pilates folx would use.
In any case, now you know how it’s all connected in case you were curious. The reason I think it’s interesting to know this is because I find that pain is often a result of this line not functioning together very well. Individual muscles might be strong, and you might be able to do all the hundreds, and roll ups and teaser versions known to man, but you might still be experiencing back pain. Or sciatica type of pain (which is a real pain in the butt). Or plantar fasciatis. I could go on, but you get the point.
And since our feet are literally the base of our bodies that moves us through space it’s nice to give them a little love! Plus waking up this fascial line can help line up our bodies better for a more effecient posture - thus minimizing our chances of pain.
I could go on and on about this topic forever but I’ll leave it here for now. Maybe I’ll be back at a later date with more…
But for now, I hope you know just a bit more about how your bottom of the foot connects to your hip flexors and breath, and for that matter your tongue. The body is magic!
And now it’s time to move!
Set up:
Stand with your feet about a fist distance from each other making sure all ten toes are pointing directly forward.
Foot Exercise:
Keep the ball of the foot planted on the ground then lift all ten toes off the ground (getting the pinky toe off as much as possible).
Hold the toes up for 5 counts. Repeat 5-10 times.
Repeat the same movement but this time tap the toes rhythmically 20 times.
I’ll leave this here for now. I hope you give the exercise a try and if you do, please let us know how it went!
Thanks for reading and I look forward to getting the next movement nugget to you soon!
Let's Breathe!
Did you know that how you breath may be causing your hip flexor tightness? Proper breathing is super important for your nervous system, your posture and your general health. Join us in trying G’s deep breath exercise and see how you feel!
Did you know your hips might be tight because you're not breathing properly?!?!
It's been quite a year for us at RTL, and we have not been good at staying in touch - on any platforms! But here it is, our first post in a while - about the importance of breath and how it can affect our nervous system and our movements and posture.
In the studio we have been talking a lot about how connected everything is in our body, both movement wise as well as exercise, diet, and immune system health. Breath is a huge component of our existence and it greatly affects our biomechanics, posture and our nervous system, so I thought I'd share a breathing exercise for our first blog after our hiatus. I bet it hasn’t occurred to you that your tight hip flexors, or your lower back pain might be due to an inefficient breath pattern. In efficient breath patterns can have big ramifications - specially over time.
Scroll down for the exercise (and a video), or if you're interested in a very brief explanation of why breathing properly is important, read on. I've been finding this exercise very helpful for both clients and myself so please give it a try and tell us how it went!
Breathing is one of those fundamental things that we all do, and don't pay too much attention to. Proper breathing is important for both healthy biomechanics, and posture, and it helps regulate the nervous system. Without getting too technical there is a fascial relationship between the Diaphragm and Psoas muscle (HUGE hip flexor), and this connection means that when your breath stays shallow you could be causing hip flexor tension, and as a result your biomechanics and posture will be affected (and not in the good way...). Shallower breathing also has many more effects over time. Shallow breath corresponds with increased sympathetic nervous system response (fight or flight) and decreased parasympathetic nervous system response (sleep, digestion, etc.). When we fail to fully exhale we also place a lot of pressure on our abdominal organs, and create tension in our abdominal muscle wall, and pelvic floor. Tension is never good - and generally always leads to pain eventually.
*A quick note to keep in mind. The inhale part of our breath is the “active muscular” part. The exhale is where our muscles should relax, but ironically that’s where most people have trouble. It’s hard to relax!!! What I’m getting at is that I encourage you to truly empty your lungs on the exhale - and for most of us that means continuing to exhale another 20-30% after you think they’re empty. You might feel like your chest is “collapsing” - embrace it - your upper spine (thoracic spine) is meant to be slightly round and you’re encouraging your spine into a more functional weight bearing position.
Long story short, deep breaths are important and good for you! The good news it only takes a couple of deep breaths to feel better and get the effects. The below exercise (video with the exercise below!) is a play on a Pranayama technique and a 4-7-8 breath pattern developed by Dr. Andrew Weil. Dr. Weil refers to this pattern as a "natural tranquilizer for the nervous system". I've adjusted it to hold the lungs empty too, as I find that practice helpful, for both myself and my clients, to try and "unstick" the diaphragm from the Psoas which then helps to drop the ribcage and release tension.
Ready to Breath?
Pre exercise:
Lie on your back and find a comfortable position. Notice the position of your rib cage, neck and head. Place one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly, breath a couple of times and notice whether there is equal rise in chest and belly. If you're not finding any drop in your chest try and exhale a little more forcefully and notice how that affects your rib cage. Feel free to keep your arms on your chest/belly if you find it helpful through the movement, or just relax your arms wherever you are comfortable.
Breath Exercise:
Inhale fully for 4 counts
Hold lungs full for 7 counts
Exhale (try to empty lungs COMPLETELY) for 8 counts
Hold lungs empty for 7 counts and think of spreading the bottom of the back of your ribs into the floor/mat.
Thank you for reading all the way through, and I hope you found the information helpful. And if you gave the breath exercise a try let us know how it went!
Keep breathing and well see you on the mat!
Harnessing Our Mind’s Power by G
I started RTL because I believe deeply in the power of intelligent movement. I briefly shared some of my struggles with back pain through my teenage years in January. Long story short, I was a serious ballet student in my teens and later became a professional contemporary dancer. My relationship to movement and my body was, for a very long time, fraught. This is something that I know so many of us have struggled through so I wanted to share some of my story.
Content warning: In the following blog I describe my story of how I viewed my body, food and movement. I use language that ran through my head repeatedly and was frequently used around me in years gone by. This language is something I would never recommend anyone use towards themselves or others, as it can trigger strong emotions and can be difficult to hear for anyone who is or has gone through issues with body image and eating problems. I am in no way a health care professional who is able or attempting to diagnose myself or others.
NOW ON TO OUR SUBJECT!
I started RTL because I believe deeply in the power of intelligent movement. I briefly shared some of my struggles with back pain through my teenage years in January. Long story short, I was a serious ballet student in my teens and later became a professional contemporary dancer. My relationship to movement and my body was, for a very long time, fraught. This is something that I know so many of us have struggled through so I wanted to share some of my story. When I wrote my January blog I went through many photos of myself in my youth. I have a clear memory of what my perception of my body was at the time and it was fascinating to look back. I had a hard time reconciling who I had thought I was from what I saw reflected back.
I remember feeling ‘fat’, un-ballerina like, and like the awkward, dorky, unpopular kid in teenage movies. I went through phases of weighing myself every day, scrutinizing food labels and coming up with daily exercise plans of 100 sit ups. This may seem extreme for a young teenager but let me assure you I was not alone in my day and I would venture a guess this is quite common among today’s teenage girls. And perhaps even still among women of my age.
WE CRAVE SIMPLE ANSWERS - I IGNORED MY MIND…
I used to religiously watch The Biggest Looser and I remember Gillan Michaels yelling at someone that losing weight is really simple- you burn more calories than you consume, that’s it! Most of us crave easy answers. In order to achieve X you do Y. Simple, concrete and easy to implement. In this case calories consumed vs. calories burned - simple. The problem with this is that it distills food and movement down to a math problem and we totally ignore all other factors that may be present.
When my son was a baby a friend recommended “The First Bite” by Bee Wilson. I was hoping for some helpful tips on introducing Ari to different flavors, but what I found was a book that thoughtfully discussed how our upbringing, the society around us and even our families’ previous generations, affect and shape our relationship to food and eating habits. Let me explain this a little more in detail as I think this is also relevant to how we think about exercise.
SMALL CUES WE GET AS CHILDREN CAN PREDICT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD/MOVEMENT AS ADULTS.
You get hurt and cry as a child. You get a piece of chocolate. Magically all is well again! Later that night at dinner you are coaxed to “Just finish three more bites of your broccoli”. What we learn from those interactions blueprints several things. We learn that chocolate is tasty and brings us comfort. But it also teaches and conditions us to use a sweet treat to recover from any undesirable situation. On top of that we now connect broccoli as something that is “good for us” but that we dread and must force ourselves to eat. For me it’s fascinating to think about our relationship to exercise in the same way.
Let’s face it, gym classes are awkward for every kid - no matter your shape, size or fitness level. I say this from my own experience of being a healthy and athletically inclined kid, but not participating in gym classes past 7th grade. Beyond the social awkwardness of shorts and showers and maneuvering our developing bodies, the gym classes I experienced taught me that fitness is a competition and workouts are something to be dominated. I was told to push through to get the maximum reps of sit ups and push ups and the fastest running time possible. I was also graded on how ‘well’ I performed. ‘Well’ was defined as the most movement in the least time or the maximum exertion possible. There was very little thought given to how to move in a functional pattern and there was never a focus on how to build a healthy movement routine with sustainable habits.
WHAT YOU TELL YOURSELF MATTERS!
Gudbjorg, age 14
We all have personal stories we unconsciously tell ourselves. Just like our relationship to food can be shaped by small cues in childhood, our personal stories are created and shaped by everything and everyone around us. One example of this is how as a teenager I would continually tell myself I was ‘fat’. I was actually often told by my family how ‘skinny’ I was - my weight and appearance were often commented on by my mother and her family, regardless of whether I had gained or lost weight. Before anyone blames my mother or my family for my unhealthy teenage habits, let’s take a moment to actually talk this through. I wasn’t self conscious about my weight because I was being told I was ‘fat’. I was obsessed with my weight and looks because I was given the signals by multiple generations of my family that ‘skinny’ is good and ‘fat’ is bad. I unconsciously started evaluating myself against those invisible measuring sticks. Being a ballet student and spending upwards of 12 hours weekly scantily clad in front of a mirror didn’t help matters. I constantly compared myself to my peers and felt chunky in comparison. So I created my own narrative - I was ‘fat’ and I wanted to be ‘skinny’. But this narrative didn’t start with me. It was simply being passed down from the previous generations of women in my family. This stuff runs DEEP.
Gudbjorg, Age 17
The good news is that because we create our own narrative we also have the power to change it and the smallest little tweaks can be incredibly powerful. At the start of Covid I found myself dreading teaching group classes. I couldn’t give any touch cues, talking through an entire class while also demonstrating is, frankly, extremely hard, and the whole set up felt weird. We all know the stories and have lived them. We were all deeply overwhelmed and, for me, teaching a virtual group class just felt like another chore on a long list of stuff that had to be done. Then, at some point I decided enough was enough. I love Pilates and I had to change my attitude. I decided I should feel lucky to have a chance to have a regular Pilates practice built into my life. As soon as I changed my narrative from “Do I really have to?” to “Yay, I get to!”, things shifted dramatically. I became excited when I woke up and realized I had a class to teach that day.
ARE WE OUR OWN OBSTACLES?
My professional life is spent dealing with how muscles and fascia move but I find the brain and human behavior absolutely fascinating and often quite relevant to my work. I recently went down a Ted Talk rabbit hole and came across a talk by Dolly Chugh where she addresses some brain basics, and how our subconscious routines affect our ethical decision making process. Dr. Chugh mostly researches unconscious bias and how to overcome it - truly fascinating topic in todays world but pretty far outside of my expertise (I’ve included some links below if you’re interested in finding out more). However, one of the fundamental ideas that her research is based on is by Manfred Zimmerman, a German Physiologist, who states that our brain is capable of processing 11 million ideas at any given moment but that nearly all of this work happens unconsciously. Out of the 11 million points only 40 actions are conscious*, most of our life is run on autopilot without us giving any meaningful thought to it. This idea has been rattling around in my conscious mind recently and I’ve been thinking about how this affects how I move, as well as my relationship to movement and food and the world around me.
I named these vast number of unconscious processes that our brain performs every second ‘habit loops’. This is not a technical term at all, only something I made up. It helps me to remember that these are habits that I am bound to repeat again and again in a loop. The only way I can change these ‘loops’ is to first consciously notice them and then make the decision to break or alter the habit. These ‘habit loops’ can be simple, concrete physical actions that we perform repeatedly, like brushing our teeth. We don’t have to think about it, we just go and do it. But these ‘loops’ can also be something more subtle and explain how these small cues we get as children can unconsciously become imprinted as long standing ‘habit loops’ in both how we create our own narrative as well as how we act in general in the world. More on that in a bit.
OUR MOVEMENT AND THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND
I deal with movement so let’s first talk about how these ‘habit loops’ can affect how we physically move. If you’ve ever watched a child learn to walk you can see how they spend every single ounce of concentration on just putting one foot in front of the other. Yes, they do need to build strength in order to be able to stand up but most of their concentration is spent on learning the movement pattern and mastering the coordination. As adults we don’t necessarily dedicate our precious 40 conscious thoughts to any movement or exercise we’ve already done before. We most often let our ‘habit loops’ take over and we just move through as if we’re brushing our teeth. How often have you finished the hundreds without even remembering what you did? I’ve written a bit before about how the magic of pilates lies in the potential it has to change our movement patterns and not just in building strength (see link to props blog from January). The problem is that in order to make changes we first have to recognize and acknowledge our current patterns. Unless we are aware of our ‘habit loops’ we can’t make any changes. Because what we tell ourselves really matters!
BACK TO OUR NARRATIVE
Now on to the less concrete. Another idea that Dr. Chugh talks about that I find helpful is the smog effect (coined by Beverly Daniel Tatum in the context of unconscious racial bias). This is the idea that we subconsciously notice everything. It’s like smog that washes over us and we can’t avoid it or be selective about what permeates and affects our unconscious ‘habit loops’. This applies both to ideas we consciously agree with (like, for me, positive body image messages) as well as concepts that don’t align with our conscious beliefs (like repeatedly seeing heavily airbrushed super models on magazine covers - I know the images aren’t real but they still seep in and affect my ‘habit loops’). In the context of my relationship with food and exercise it could be that piece of chocolate my great aunt gave me to soothe me after a fall. Chocolate = happiness. Or that time I was cheered on by my gym teacher in 5th grade to dig deep and finish that 3K run with a bang. While I was happy to beat all the other girls in my class I really just wanted to puke. Exercise = Pain.
Our narratives are in a large part shaped by our ‘habit loops’, but once we recognize what our subconscious patterns are we have the power to change them. Instead of staying stuck in our ‘habit loops’, created and put into practice without conscious choice, we have the power to notice our current patterns and consciously come up with new patterns. Thankfully there are a lot of people doing research on how our mindset affects how we live our lives and on how we can ‘trick’ our minds into healthier and happier patterns, but that’s a whole post in and of itself. So for now I’ll leave you to ponder what you have been doing daily without ever questioning how or why you do it. And I challenge you to explore an ‘old’ exercise in your next class to see if you can make it new again.
Happy Moving!!!
RESOURCES
If you are interested in following me down the rabbit hole I hereby formally invite you to join me! Here are some links to Ted Talks, podcasts, and articles that I find interesting. Please share anything you find interesting or relevant in the comments!
The First Bite, a fantastic book by Bee Wilson that speaks intelligently about our relationship with food, as well as how deeply rooted it is and influenced by everything around us.
The Happiness Lab Podcast: All four episodes of the podcasts that have come out this year are super relevant to this subject. Specifically I like Episode 1, which deals with how we should treat ourselves with more compassion (more on this at later time) and Episode 4 which deals with how our relationships to movement may be formed very early on.
Dolly Chugh: I have listened to her Ted Talk multiple times and find it fascinating every time. I also find this interview very relevant for the times - more specifically focused on implicit bias, but I think a lot of the information is relevant to how we view ourselves and our self worth based on societal influences. I generally find her willingness to candidly talk about her failures, and how she has learned from them very inspiring.
Brené Brown: I think her research and Ted Talks on shame and vulnerability is quite relevant to this conversation. And just like Dr Chugh, I find Dr. Brown’s ability to talk about difficult subjects with humanity, wit and grace utterly delightful and inspiring. Plus I connect with her impulse of wanting to organize things into boxes and categorize all of her life. Sadly I have been pretty bad at accomplishing this feat…
The Hidden Brain: Last summer’s ‘You 2.0’ series featured Gabriel Oettingen and her WOOP method where she speaks about overcoming the “obstacles within us” and how the WOOP method can provide a concrete way to overcome our ‘habit loops’ and develop strategies of noticing and Emily Balcetis’s research into how visualization can help us achieve our goals and put our priorities into perspective.
What’s a Ballet Body? An interesting discussion of how Covid has influenced ballet dancer’s relationship to their body, and speaks to some of the issue I personally dealt with and have discussed with so many of my friends from the dance world.
My Fat Body is Not a Punishment… Interesting discussion on how our culture is hardwired to see our weight/looks as a positive or a negative, and how we constantly have the impulse to ‘control it’.
*Citation: 11 Million processed thoughts, 40 of them conscious is from the following resource: Zimmermann, M. (1986), "Neurophysiology of Sensory Systems", Fundamentals of Sensory Physiology, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 68–116, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-82598-9_3, ISBN 978-3-540-15870-7
G's Favorite Banana Bread
It’s officially February - the days are getting longer and it feels like spring is just around the corner. This is the time of year when we see a lot of our clients pay close attention to what they eat. Let’s face it, we all need good fuel to get the full benefit of our workouts and those Hundreds (or Two Hundred’s depending on your instructor’s ability to count 😉) require a lot of energy! I have been asked for this recipe by several clients - in fact, one asked again just last week - for the fourth time! So I figured I would put it here. Because food. Who doesn’t love talking ‘bout food?
Pumpkin Chocolate chip version incognito as birthday cake!
It’s officially February - the days are getting longer and it feels like spring is just around the corner. This is the time of year when we see a lot of our clients pay close attention to what they eat. Let’s face it, we all need good fuel to get the full benefit of our workouts and those Hundreds (or Two Hundred’s depending on your instructor’s ability to count 😉) require a lot of energy! I have been asked for this recipe by several clients - in fact, one asked again just last week - for the fourth time! So I figured I would put it here. Because food. Who doesn’t love talking ‘bout food?
My family LOVES food and we generally love to cook. We’re not very big bakers, however this is a family favorite. We eat it for breakfast, we take along to pot lucks, and we’ve been known to cover it with frosting and call it Birthday Cake. It’s gluten free, dairy free, grain free, and can be made nut free. It’s chock full of healthy fats from the almond flour, fiber from the coconut flour, flax and chia seeds, and has minimal sugar. A buttered slice can keep me going for hours! Also, did I mention it’s delicious? Emma has forbidden me from leaving any in the studio because she WILL eat it all.
I’ve been making this in a square “brownie” pan lately, but you can do this as a loaf, muffins or whatever shape you are partial to. You will need to adjust the cook time accordingly.
(Please note: All times are approximates as ovens vary wildly. The difference between my gas oven in NYC and my parents’ electric oven in Iceland is wild! The bread is ready when you are able to insert a toothpick and it comes out clean, and the bread will look somewhat golden brown on top.)
BASIC RECIPE + VARIATIONS
Variety is the spice of life so I’ve included the basic recipe below and some of my favorite variations.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip: Swap the mashed banana for 2/3 cups of pumpkin puree (or mashed sweet potatoes), and add in a scant cup chocolate chips instead of the blueberries. One of my clients has also tried using cacao nibs instead of chocolate - she liked it, I personally prefer the sweetness of the chocolate :)
Pumpkin Gingerbread: I recently made a pumpkin version for Christmas with more gingerbread spices and dried cranberries in addition to the chopped up chocolate chips. It was a hit! Add 2 tsp of ground ginger and a bit of black pepper to the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip version above. Then add a 1/2 cup of dried cranberries when you add the chocolate. Yum!
Nut free: You can swap the almond and coconut for 2 cups of ground up sunflower seeds. This variation comes in handy for pot luck or school situations. Plus sunflower seeds tend to be cheaper than nuts - just get a pack of raw sunflower seeds and throw them in your food processor or blender until you have a nice ground consistency. A word of warning - you should know in advance that when you combine sunflower seeds and baking soda the seeds will turn green! Thus the whole bread will have this (I think kind of pretty) dark green hue. It’s nothing to worry about but helpful to know before you get surprised by it!
I’ve attempted to make an egg free version, replacing with flax egg. It wasn’t super successful but if you figure it out let us know!
GO FORTH AND BAKE!
Stirring is fun for small hands!
This recipe is definitely a family affair. My son and I have been making this together since he was 2 years old. It’s easy, no fancy equipment needed, and not a lot of clean up! I used to try and mix the dry ingredients without Ari but now he is practicing measuring cup techniques. Then he mixes everything together and puts in the pan. It’s a good hour of activity, plus he’s way more excited to eat something that he made “all by himself”, as he will proudly proclaim to anyone who will listen.
I hope you enjoy making this as much as my family does. We constantly have to remind ourselves it’s fun to involve Ari in our cooking adventures, and he’s a great helper when he wants to be! We would love to see any baking efforts or hear about any variations you or your family create! And even if you end up with a flop, you’ll have enjoyed some valuable family time together!
Happy baking and see you on the mat!
The Power of Props! by G
Props are a great way to give you extra challenge and add variety to your practice. But for me the biggest bonus of using props is that they give you guidance and feedback that allows you to explore the practice in a new way and that helps you discover the depths of the exercises.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
I know this is a blog about props, but before we got to those let’s quickly discuss Pilates and why it’s unique.
The best thing about Pilates, in my opinion, is that it is mindful movement. What do I mean by that? I prefer to talk about Pilates as a movement system (or theory of movement as Emma likes to say) and not a workout routine. Yes, you’ll get a workout for sure but the goal isn’t to burn calories or to develop a six pack, although that may be a welcome side effect! The ultimate goal is for you to develop more efficient movement patterns that will support you through all aspects of your life. When you move through the exercises mindfully, and allow yourself to fully explore different ways of doing the same thing, you have a true chance to not only get stronger, but to change your movement habits in a positive way. And change is where the magic lives!
G’S BOX OF PROPS!
WHY USE PROPS?
Ok, now that’s out of the way, let’s go back to our intended subject - props.
Props are a great way to give you extra challenge and add variety to your practice. But for me the biggest bonus of using props is that they give you guidance and feedback that allows you to explore the practice in a new way and that helps you discover the depths of the exercises (remember change is where the magic lives…). This is actually why the studio equipment is so brilliant, but let’s face it, most of us can not spend the $$$ and dedicate the space to have a reformer in our living room (although we can all dream!). A small stash of inexpensive props can give you some serious bang for your buck, take up much less space than the equipment, and are much easier to stick in your suitcase for that time when we can actually go adventuring again.
I would highly recommend that if nothing else you invest in a good exercise mat. In a pinch you can always lay out a towel - but a mat will give you more cushion, it has better grip and it won’t get all tangled underneath you.
If you are new to the idea of props and have none on hand you can scour your house for things that can be useful. You would be surprised what you can do with a pillow, a rolled up towel/blanket or any balls you have lying around the house. Think tennis balls, pinky balls, soccer/playground balls from your kids toy chest.
If you are ready to invest in some props but are starting from scratch I recommend you start with these three basic items.
An exercise mat
A squishy ball
Thera band
Why do I recommend this particular combination? They are inexpensive, they are versatile and between the three you can achieve a challenging workout and discover the exercises anew.
So let’s look at one exercise and the different ways we can use a ball and band and how they can guide, support and add challenge depending on how you use them.
CUE THE HUNDRED
If you know one thing about Pilates it’s probably The Hundred! We all “love” it. It’s simultaneously simple in its movements and concepts, but has a lot to unpack when you really examine it. To execute you keep the trunk and legs very still against the vigorous pumps of the arms, all while you breath smoothly and deeply in for 5 and out for 5. Complete 10 reps, or a combined 100 pumps and voila, you have done The Hundred.
The trick to a really good Hundred is a strong curl from your bottom ribs with a continuous slope going up through shoulders, neck and head. While the arms and legs actively lengthen forward, the back of the head reaches up and back in opposition to the limbs. (Check out our fancy animation)
The most common problem I see in The Hundred is neck strain and tension, followed by lower back strain. There are a lot of reasons this could be happening but the good news is that with some simple tricks we can use the props to help support our movements, as well as guide the body to discover better patterns and add additional challenge.
EXERCISES
BALL VARIATIONS
The ball is super versatile and one of my favorite props to give to clients. It can support the weight of your head (and thus get rid of that pesky neck strain) or you can place it to give feedback to help you understand the upper body curl better.
*For the ball variations you could substitute a pillow, rolled up blanket/towel for a similar feel.
1. Ball behind head
The ball supports the weight of head and positions it properly. This allows you to release the neck muscles and find the curl from the bottom of the ribs for a deeper ab fire. This helps you to build strength to eventually lift the head off the ground without the ball support.
Ball position: Place the ball behind the head, and go forth and pump!
2. Ball behind shoulders
This is the next step. The ball now supports your upper shoulders to guide the upper body curl to go deeper. Great for those who feel comfortable with the head position, and whose neck muscles are strong enough to support the weight of their head, but are working on developing a deeper curl from the rib cage, more mobility in their upper back and a stronger ab connection.
Ball position: Place the ball behind upper shoulder blades and attempt to release your upper ribs into the mat as much as possible.
3. Ball under hips
This is similar to the first two variations in how the spine is shaped. The curl is still coming from the same place, the bottom of the ribs, but we now have the hips lifted instead of the head. This is a great option for those who experience lower back strain through the exercise. Option: you can lift your head off the mat if you feel comfortable with the curl.
Ball position: Please the ball behind the hips (right under the sacrum, the triangular bone at the base of the spine).
4. Ball under feet
This is a great feedback tool for those who are already comfortable with the curl, but are working on deepening their ab connection and increasing their upper back mobility. As soon as you add the feet pushing down and forward into the ball the ribs magically sink back into the mat and you start understanding the opposition between the two (see our fancy animation above).
Ball position: Place ball under your heels and go!
THERA BAND VARIATIONS
Just like the ball there are multiple different ways that you can use the Thera band to support and guide the body.
1. Band supporting head
The band supports your head and gives guidance for head placement. This is a great option for those who have enough neck strength to hold their head up, but are struggling with how to place their head to find the length of the head reaching back and up (remember our fancy animation).
Band position: Line the band up along your spine and hold onto the end above your head.
*Option: You could do a similar version with a towel. Lie on the towel and grab the two corners above your head to support neck and head.
2. Band between hands
The advantages of this version is that the band encourages length through arms while you activate shoulder and trunk muscles, which help you deepen your curl. This is a good option for those who are already comfortable with the curl, but are working on finding the connection of their arms, shoulders and abdominals.
Band placement: Hold band between hands under legs and gently pull outwards. Imagine the bottom ribs open backwards and outwards while you reach arms forward.
3. Band around feet
The band gently supports the weight of the legs, while giving resistance to push forward against to encourage more length through legs (like standing tall!). The band tension guides the arms into long strong pumps, and helps you understand the shoulder to ab connection. This is a great version for those who are comfortable with the curl, but struggle to keep tension out of their lower back.
Band placement: Wrap the center of the band around the balls of your feet and grab the two tails in your hands.
4. Band looped behind you
The reformer gives you amazing feedback to understand how the different body parts reach in opposition (see animation above), and this version mimics that. The band resistance both guide the bottom ribs down into the mat, while the shoulder muscles and abs get to work together to achieve the curl and pumps. This version is great for those comfortable with the regular exercise but are looking to deepen their practice and connection.
Band placement: Loop the band around something heavy behind you, grab the tails and go!
5. Band behind upper back
Looping the band behind your upper back gives you a solid surface for the ribs to push back against, while the arms pushing forward into the band both actives the shoulder muscles and helps to reinforce the shoulder to ab connection. This is a great version for those trying to understand the opposition between arms and ribs (see fancy animation).
Band placement: Wrap the center of your band around your bottom ribs, grab the tails in your hands and push forward into the band throughout the exercise (your arms will need to reach slightly higher than normal).
GO FORTH AND BE PLAYFUL!
Well, that was quite a lot! This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the fun things you can do with these simple props, but I wanted to emphasize how small changes in positioning can have a profound effect on how you feel and understand a movement. And I’ll say it again, change is where the magic lives!
Next time you find yourself zoning out while going through The Hundreds think of what small changes you could make. Can you change the angle of your palm a bit? Can you emphasis the pumps coming from the thumb or the pinky finger, and how does that effect your curl, your shoulders and your abs? Can you reach your legs a little bit longer than you thought, and how does that affect your lower ab connection? I could go on but you get the idea, the possibilities are endless.
Go forth, be playful and have fun with your movements!
PS: If you are ready to purchase some props, you can always get in touch with us and we can help select the options best for you. You can also check out our resource page where we give a brief overview of all the things we personally rely on and use both in studio and at home.
New Year - New Look At Posture by G
Our clients love to work on their posture - but the problem is that our preconceived ideas of what good posture looks like often ends up working against us.
Farewell and goodbye to a crazy 2020! We are excited for the potential that 2021 brings. This New Year may be far from normal but I bet a lot of you have still set intentions, resolutions and goals as usual. I, myself, have been reflecting on my priorities, as well as those of my clients. When I take stock I realize there is one goal that comes from clients repeatedly; they would all like to have better posture.
A BIT ABOUT POSTURE
Many of my clients tell me they want to improve their posture. They have been battling aches, pains or injuries, and they are convinced that better posture is the solution. The problem is that what we colloquially consider good posture - standing tall, wide open shoulders, and looking presentable - isn’t necessarily the most functional way of carrying our bodies. Far from it.
Gudbjorg at 14 - During the year of back brace and intense back pain
I was always told I had very good posture. If you were to ask anyone that knew me as a young teenager what my posture was like, they would tell you it was impeccable, I stood tall with open shoulders, and looked every bit like someone who was a serious ballet student. At the time, I had just grown to about the same height as my mother but everyone was convinced I was quite a bit taller. Once they realized I wasn’t they would exclaim, “Well, it’s because your posture is so darn good so you just look taller!” But that was exactly my problem. My posture was too “good”. In reality I was in constant pain. I recently came across X-rays that were taken of my spine when I was 15. As soon as I looked at them I thought ‘Of course I was in pain! My spine is totally straight!’ That is exactly why I spent the year prior to the X-rays being taken in a back brace and going through periods of barely being able to walk to school.
X-rays that were taken in June, 1998 - The red line traces what a normal, healthy spine should look like, yellow line traces Gudbjorg’s spine at the time (age 16)
Part of the problem is that most of us consider posture as something that is static. In reality, our posture is a living, breathing thing. And it moves with us to support our movement through life. As I looked through photos to attach to this post I came across one that was taken the summer after I turned 16 (about 3 months after the X rays were taken). It’s a photo where I’m “hugging” a bear statue and I realized my spine looked to be incapable of doing the smallest side bend. Instead I was leaning sideways from my hips and just had a bend in my neck. My “good posture” meant my spine was incessantly straight and had sections that were completely immobile. As a result I moved through life with rigidity and tension and in a great deal of pain.
THE CURVES ARE REALLY IMPORTANT
It turns out the curves of the spine are REALLY important. The hood of a car is designed to fold on impact in order to absorb as much of the energy of the shock as possible and protect its passengers (this blew my mind when I found this out as a child - why would you design the car to get destroyed in a crash?!). Just like a car’s hood, the spine is designed to have curves and movable parts at every single section in order to absorb the shock created by the mere fact that we walk upright. It’s quite elegant how the curves weave forward and backward to not only absorb shock but perfectly balance the weight of the pelvis, rib cage and head. If you start to consciously straighten the spine you end up with two problems. One has to do with less effective movement, and the other has to do with additional tension patterns.
So today I want to give you a couple of thoughts about posture and how our perceptions often hurt us.
1) Less Efficient Movement
G during the summer of 1998 - Notice the lean and stiffness in torso!