tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61635067494018385382024-02-20T17:35:24.244-08:00Kangaroo FitnessKangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163506749401838538.post-80081894341594982572013-05-03T10:44:00.000-07:002013-05-03T10:44:15.807-07:00Blog has moved!My blog has moved to my new website. To read my new blog post, just click <a href="http://www.kangaroofitness.ca/blog/diastasis-recti-and-ab-work" target="_blank">here</a>. To get blog posts into your inbox, just <a href="http://www.kangaroofitness.ca/blog" target="_blank">subscribe. </a><br />
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See ya. Kangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163506749401838538.post-50064335583819421062013-03-11T11:35:00.000-07:002013-03-11T12:37:42.302-07:00What Shoes Kids Need<div class="bq_s">
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When our now 5 year old son started to walk, I proudly bought him his first pair of outside shoes. It was a fairly sturdy sneaker kind of shoe. A shoe pretty much like this one, just much smaller and not as pink:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You might recognize this shoe as a shoe most kids wear in day care or school - at least they do where I live. </td></tr>
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Had I known what I know now, I would have looked for a shoe with a flexible sole, zero heel, zero toe spring (i.e.that upward slant on the sneaker in the pic) and enough space for the toes to spread - the kind of shoe my children wear now in and outside daycare. <br />
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Why? Because a shoe on our feet is like big fat sturdy gloves on our hands. It immobilises. Overtime the many muscles that live in the foot atrophy (weaken) and that in turn has a negative impact on the overall health of the tissues in the foot. The nerves inside weak muscles are not good sensors of or responders to information - think tripping over objects or even over your own foot. Weak muscles are also poor stabilizers for the ankle and even impact the stability of knees and hips. <br />
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<u>What makes the feet so special?</u><u><br /></u><br />
Out of the 206 bones we have in the body, 25% of those live in the feet - 26 bones and 33 joints in each foot. The same goes for muscles and nerves: 25% of our total live in the feet. <br />
This amazing anatomy gives the foot the potential for 1001 little movements: Imagine walking barefoot through the forest and navigating the uneven terrain with big or small rocks, fallen tree branches and slippery slopes. Our feet are equipped with the ability to sense every little unevenness of this terrain and to deform to meet the changing shape of this environment. Nice!<br />
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Except that our feet spend their whole life inside shoes and hardly ever get the chance to put this amazing ability to use.<br />
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<u>What shoes do to our feet</u><br />
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Shoes protect the feet from the environment but have the sorry side effect of putting somewhat of a cast around the foot. When it comes to shoes, we think the more stablity a shoe offers, the better for the foot. But we forget that we were given a ton of muscles and joints inside the foot and that its the job of skeletal muscle to move and stabilize joints. <br />
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Let's go back to the imagery of the barefooted walk in the forest. Imagine you do it with your tight feet from a lifetime of shoe wearing. Your foot won't deform to meet the shape of a rock. You might trip over a branch or over your own foot. Without the many foot muscles working in sync, the ankle takes the brunt of the impact with every single step. Throw in some tightness of the calves (which we do have too from wearing shoes and sitting all the time) and the knee will hurt. Without restoring some foot mobility, the barefooted walk might do more harm than good.<br />
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I injured my foot last fall by missing the last step of our staircase. Turned out my foot had been slowly degenerating without me noticing it. Don't tell my mom but the shoes she bought us had lots of stability features but didn't foster the development of healthy feet. Obviously. So nice when you can blame your mom :) <br />
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<u>Maintaining foot mobility in children - what to look for in a shoe</u><br />
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The <b>sole</b> of the shoe ...... should be flexible enough for the foot inside the shoe to deform to meet the shape of the environment while still offering enough protection from the environment. <br />
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The <b>heel</b> of the shoe ... should be free of any kind of elevation as it brings the natural heel of the foot higher than the front of the foot. Even the smallest positive heel changes the geometry of the foot bones (how they relate to eachother) and therefore also impacts the alignment of bones in the legs, pelvis and spine. Alignment changes impact the muscles' ability to generate appropriate force. (You can read more about how heels impact your whole body alignment in my <a href="http://kangaroofitness.blogspot.ca/2013/02/mindful-standing.html" target="_blank">last blog post</a>).<br />
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If you are after foot mobility for yourself or your child, the shoe should have zero heel. Sneakers do have a heel! Cute Mary Janes for girls also have a heel. A small heel for a child translates into a huge geometrical change!<br />
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The <b>toe box</b> ... is where the front of the foot is placed. It should be big enough for the toes to fit in easily without squishing. Toes should have enough room to spread and wiggle. The front of the foot should also not slant upwards as in the above picture of that sneaker, especially if the sole is stiff - the whole foot including the toes need to have contact with the ground.<br />
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The<b> upper</b> of the shoe ... is the material that makes the shoe. It shouldn't be too tight (the toes can't wiggle and move) or too loose. Flip flops or crocks worn without the strap at the heel offer a flimsy attachment to the foot and the toes have to grip hard to keep the shoe on - toe gripping does not lend itself at all to a natural gait pattern. <br />
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<u>The best advice </u>I can give parents with toddlers that are just
beginning to walk is to allow those little feet to develop naturally and to keep them barefoot as much as possible or in socks with rubber
dots on the sole or in <a href="http://www.robeez.com/DE-DE/default.htm?lang=DE-DE&pricecat=4" target="_blank">Robeez</a> or <a href="http://www.softstarshoes.com/" target="_blank">Soft Star </a>shoes. Many water shoes also fulfill the above criteria and come in all sizes and offer a cheap alternative and are readily available in stores come Spring and Summer. Those shoes also make great choices for daycare or school. <br />
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And the same shoe criteria apply to adult feet of course. For a resource guide for minimal shoes, <a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/shoes-the-list/" target="_blank">click here. </a><br />
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I quickly took a photo of some of summer/indoor shoes we have lying around:</div>
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<u>The second best advice </u>I can give is to take yourself and the
kids to walk on natural ground to let the feet go through a variety of little motions. I let the kids walk on people's lawns in
the summer when we go to the playground. How about barefooted walks on forest
trails, beaches or at the very least in your own back yard.<br />
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<u>And the third best advice</u> has to do with the very fact that we don't live in a natural environment. Our streets are hard asphalt and the times we do go walking, on uneven terrain or not/in minimal shoes or not, is limited. Older children and adults can restore foot mobility with little exercises: spread the toes as wide as you can, try to lift one toe at a time, use your foot to pick up objects (marbles, socks, ect) and put them where they belong. I, for example, try to build a habit of using my feet to pick up clothes that lie on the floor. If I do it, my kids will eventually do it. I hope :)<br />
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To get more ideas for what you and your children can do with your feet and to be inspired by somebody who does everything with her feet read <a href="http://vitalgaitway.com/interview-sarah-kovac-and-her-too-right-feet" target="_blank">this post </a> by a fellow Restorative Exericse Specialist. <br />
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And if you live in Ottawa and you have foot pain or you would like to transition to minimal shoes or you have a child whose foot development you are worried about, call me to book a session. In addition to being a brandnew Restorative Exercise Specialist, I also certified as a Healthy Foot Practitioner last year. And so did Jillian from <a href="http://www.livealigned.ca/" target="_blank">LiveAligned</a> - another Ottawa resource. <br />
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<u>More reading: </u><br />
Dr Rossi, podiatrist articles: <br />
<a href="https://nwfootankle.com/files/rossiWhyShoesMakeNormalGaitImpossible.pdf" target="_blank">Why shoes make 'normal' gait impossible</a><br />
<a href="https://nwfootankle.com/files/Rossi-FootwearTheprimarycauseofFootDisorders.pdf" target="_blank">Footwear: the primary cause of foot disorders </a><br />
<a href="https://nwfootankle.com/files/Rossi-FootwearTheprimarycauseofFootDisorders.pdf" target="_blank">Children's footwear: launching site for adults ills</a><br />
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Book: Katy Bowman <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Every-Womans-Guide-Foot-Relief/dp/1936661071/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363026083&sr=8-1-spell" target="_blank"><i>Every Womans Guide To Foot Pain Relief</i></a><br />
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A collection of abstracts and links to online material can be found <a href="http://www.unshod.org/pfbc/pfmedresearch.htm" target="_blank">here. </a><br />
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'And those healthy little feet of your children - keep them strong as they are now by giving your boys and girls the right kind of shoes and by teaching them to walk like and Indian - with toes straight ahead.' a short article about foot health written by a life insurance company!!! and published in 1932 in National Geographic Magazine. </div>
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'Shoes make 'normal' gait impossible. How flaws in footwear affect this
complex human function'. This is the title of one of a series of
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1. Optimum foot development occurs in the barefoot environment.<br />
2. The primary role of shoes is to protect the foot from injury and infection.<br />
3. Stiff and compressive footwear may cause deformity, weakness, and loss of mobility.<br />
4. The term "corrective shoes" is a misnomer.<br />
5. Shock absorption, load distribution, and elevation are valid indications for shoe modifications.<br />
6. Shoe selection for children should be based on the barefoot model.<br />
7. Physicians should avoid and discourage the commercialization and "media"-ization of footwear. Merchandising of the "corrective shoe" is harmful to the child, expensive for the family, and a discredit to the medical profession.<br />
Staheli, LT Pediatrics [1991, 88(2):371-375] <br />
<br />Kangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163506749401838538.post-14610758979313895202013-02-12T11:32:00.001-08:002013-02-12T13:56:13.033-08:00Mindful StandingLast weekend I came back from certification week at the <a href="http://www.restorativeexercise.com/" target="_blank">Restorative Exercise Institute</a>. One day after I got home, my little 15 year old sister came to visit from Germany. As she came out of customs at the airport, I first saw her lovely happy face and then I saw her high heeled boots!!!!!! I managed to keep my mouth shut until the next day but then I couldn't restrain myself and she got the high heel talk!<br />
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The high heel talk goes a bit like this and really is all about basic geometry:<br />
<i>Imagine you are made of steel and you stand barefooted on the ground. You would be standing in a vertical line perpendicular to the ground. Now image you stood in shoes with a heel on. You would be leaning forward. In fact you would be falling on your face. </i><br />
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<i>Now, we are not made of steel but of living tissue with joints and muscles. Joints can distort and muscles can contract and pull you back to prevent you from falling. So, you think you stand pretty straight with your high heeled shoes on. Whats the big deal? </i><br />
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<i>While it doesn't necassarily look to you like you are pitched forward, every cell in your body knows you are. And especially your feet, knees, hip and spine. Not to mention the bone building receptors in your hips. And its not just stilettos. A regular running shoe easily has a 1/2inch (or more) heel. So we are talking about positive heels more than high heels. </i><br />
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The positive heel talk always goes better with an illustration or two.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGK6dAJC2mcLczXOashxyHPm1Tp1tV5ObsE1Z6KlGkCodpVVBnl96kvd9keay8JRksOAeinlQFt0avuOaaVYJabMDf3aSnGxucWSukCdCOj8hlU6Dp1Rclxa1aK4j-wxvhA5tyFr6pPMs/s1600/G20+Figure+10+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGK6dAJC2mcLczXOashxyHPm1Tp1tV5ObsE1Z6KlGkCodpVVBnl96kvd9keay8JRksOAeinlQFt0avuOaaVYJabMDf3aSnGxucWSukCdCOj8hlU6Dp1Rclxa1aK4j-wxvhA5tyFr6pPMs/s320/G20+Figure+10+.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image adapted from Rossi: 1: barefoot, aligned stance; 2: displacement of body if body was rigid on 2'' heel, 3: adjustments of body on 2'' heel </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Restorative Exercise Institute: demonstrating the body's displacement by approx. 1'' positive heel</td></tr>
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My sister seems to listen to me because those boots have been untouched since she got the talk.<br />
The next day I took a picture of her standing at our standing work station checking her facebook updates:<br />
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<i>She looks alot like the person on the far right in the Rossi image above. Even without shoes on!</i><br />
<i><br />Can you see how her pelvis is pitched forward? And how big the curve in her lower back is from thrusting her rib cage forward and pulling her shoulders back? In this picture, her hips are over the front of her feet (see the red line?). </i><br />
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<i>To stand in alignment, the red vertical line would need to go through her hips, knees and heels. Only then her joints would be weightbearing optimally and we could be talking about long-term foot, knee, hip and spinal health. And optimal bone generation in her still developing hips, legs and feet. And a healthy pelvic floor for giving birth naturally one day. But she doesn't want to know about that yet :)</i><br />
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So, I showed her how to do <a href="http://kangaroofitness.blogspot.ca/2012/08/post-long-weekend-stretching.html" target="_blank"><u>calf stretches</u></a> and the <a href="http://www.alignintegrationandmovement.com/1/post/2012/05/a-song-to-my-psoas-please-release-me-let-me-go.html" target="_blank"><u>psoas release</u></a>. The next day I taught her how to back up her hips so they are over her heel. She is a good learner:<br />
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<i>Because her calves and hamstrings are so tight, her torso leans forward as a result of backing up her hips. That's ok. Because I told her I'll buy her new shoes (<a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/shoes-the-list/" target="_blank">minimal shoes</a> of course!) if she does calf stretches every day from now on and to also work on her standing alignment every time she is standing. </i><br />
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<i>Eventually, she'll be able to get her torso back while standing with her hips over her heels. </i><br />
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<i>I'm going to be in Germany for the summer. The pressure is on :)</i><br />
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A few days later I asked her to check her facebook so I can take a picture. Obviously, she did it more mindfully knowing what she now knows. But I didn't give her any feedback. I just took the picture:<br />
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<br />
<i>Not bad. I particularly like the look of her torso. There isn't as much tension in her upper back. </i><br />
<br />
<i>The best part is that I noticed that she was standing more mindfully in general. </i><br />
<br />
<i>Can you see the blue calf stretching device? She has been using it every day. Because she wants new shoes more than healthy knees. Whatever... </i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
PS: Imagine you are not 15 years old but a mom carrying the extra load of a baby or toddler! I imagine you truly ARE interested in all that pelvic floor and core and knee and spinal health stuff. Your new daily fitness routine is to notice when you stand <b>like this</b><i>:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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<br />
And to immediately correct yourself so you stand more <b>like this: </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ty1zK8YR1OMR6DsH0NMRJQvHPeYChLoc7bXnyM_mbWrhm4ULA2hEOU6qk5_Zx9NvGcq0h6DGoqdgwmVRa5k4mNn1wNpauW4dkdFNkYm6_EDccoTqnFzmKn9QOR7gJW4YV695mRq0rQ0/s1600/IMG_0032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ty1zK8YR1OMR6DsH0NMRJQvHPeYChLoc7bXnyM_mbWrhm4ULA2hEOU6qk5_Zx9NvGcq0h6DGoqdgwmVRa5k4mNn1wNpauW4dkdFNkYm6_EDccoTqnFzmKn9QOR7gJW4YV695mRq0rQ0/s320/IMG_0032.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<b> </b> <br />
Then email or phone me to tell me how great you feel or to ask me questions or to book a session to learn more :)<br />
<br />
And in any case, I highly recommend you read Katy Bowman's book called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Every-Womans-Guide-Foot-Relief/dp/1936661071/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339121051&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i>Every Woman's Guide to Foot Pain Relief: The New Science of Healthy Feet. </i></a>It could also be called Every Woman's Guide to Fixing your Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. It also lays out some first steps to a long-term fix of your mummy tummy. And I could go on and on and on. <br />
<br />
<i><br /></i>
Kangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163506749401838538.post-48888705490663515602013-01-01T16:13:00.002-08:002013-01-01T16:13:36.086-08:00About Kangaroos and Fitness and 2013It’s only 2 years ago that I started my own business and called it Kangaroo Fitness. <br />
<br />
I was a social work graduate and a new mom and new Canadian with an entrepreunal spirit and newfound joy for teaching fitness classes for moms and moms-to-be. With my Personal Trainer and Pre/Postnatal Fitness Specialist certification received, all I needed was a business name. It took me 5 minutes to come up with Kangaroo Fitness. Four and a half minutes searching the internet for ‚How to find a good business name‘ and the other 30 seconds to figure that a Kangaroo is both maternal and sporty and that Kangaroo and Fitness are two words that look pretty good next to eachother. Turned out that it wasn’t a bad choice. If you are ever in search of a business name, ask me :) <br />
<br />
Except that I’m not so happy with it anymore. I still love the
Kangaroo. More than ever actually. Did you know that a newborn kangaroo
is about 2cm long and weighs less than 1 gram and is strong enough to
crawl into its mothers pouch? Pretty cool. <br />
<br />
I also read that the kangaroo got its name after Europeans asked the
native Australians what that animal was called. They responded saying ‚I
don’t understand‘ which sounds like ‚kangaroo‘ in their language. The
Europeans thought this was the name of the animal and this is how the
kangaroo got its name. <br />
<br />
Kangaroo Fitness - ‚i don’t understand‘ fitness. Funny. Because it is
very much what I’ve been contemplating this past year. Fitness. What
does it mean? I don’t get it. Or rather I think that we as a culture
don’t get it. Have we been brainwashed by the fitness industry? <br />
<br />
Fitness is defined as ‚being physically fit and healthy‘. To be ‚fit‘
means to be suitable to fulfill a particular role or task. That leaves room for a lot of interpretation. Good. The key words
here are particular <i>role </i>or<i> task</i>. <br />
<br />
Is it the task to be able to do 3 sets of 15 biceps curls with that followed by 25 push-ups? <br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOAlojxeCC7WJqutQ3BzlvnrtGy59VCv00BIFCYlY8xM_HO872KPxNIP_vq5kKv0D9LVq6UINfsgH4sesfDPF6mMeNPqWazQMQgzMfUnZOQesASWA9ldFj3rDDADkji1Lv6xKOhOz1sMM/s1600/free+weights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOAlojxeCC7WJqutQ3BzlvnrtGy59VCv00BIFCYlY8xM_HO872KPxNIP_vq5kKv0D9LVq6UINfsgH4sesfDPF6mMeNPqWazQMQgzMfUnZOQesASWA9ldFj3rDDADkji1Lv6xKOhOz1sMM/s200/free+weights.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
Or is it the motherly role to lift and carry a toddler without getting a back spasm when turning over to grab the diaper bag? Is it to run a marathon or is it to be
able to run after your kids every day without leaking urine? Is it to
get through some insane workout once or twice a week or is it to be able to <i>enjoy</i>
a nice long hike in the woods without having foot pain the next day? <br />
<br />
And how about being pregnant and not have pelvic or lower back pain? To
have a smooth vaginal birth without blowing through your pelvic floor or
abdominal muscles? To have birthed children and not say that the
babies have ruined your body? To be 30, 40, 50, 60 years old and not
have any of the ailments that seem to come with age in our culture? Or how about being able to
squat in order to pee in the woods (everybody has to do this at least once a year, yes?) and not fall over or pee on your shoes in the process? <br />
<br />
How about being able to stand for more than 5 minutes without leaning
against a wall or table or without tucking your tailbone under or bending a knee and
hiking one of your hips up? Or how about being able to do <b><i>this</i> </b>for more
than 5 seconds?<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif7VQgiwEZln8S4b-xUA_IHqgoSrQBKn7hoKvYXRYLId5ManDWN0c9SR4O0yQ73lNLFGhfC9RxR12YM716K8Rsd_9B4tdo7-fEMcqU4FPLPbqZNq3-Oa04BAR4iuVq10VPaENGJtJ7A04/s1600/hanging+from+monkey+bars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif7VQgiwEZln8S4b-xUA_IHqgoSrQBKn7hoKvYXRYLId5ManDWN0c9SR4O0yQ73lNLFGhfC9RxR12YM716K8Rsd_9B4tdo7-fEMcqU4FPLPbqZNq3-Oa04BAR4iuVq10VPaENGJtJ7A04/s200/hanging+from+monkey+bars.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<br />
You could be ‚fit‘ in terms of being able to get through a tough workout. You could even be ‚fit‘ in terms of looking the part. But do all your body parts move effortlessly and are all your body parts healthy? <br />
<br />
I contemplated changing my business name because I don’t offer ‚fitness‘ anymore and I want this to be clear to everybody. But then I really like Kangaroo Fitness and I still want to attract people who subscribe to the fitness paradigm and introduce another way of thinking about our body and what it should be able to do. It works for the people who committ. A client of mine who was really into working out and believed that <i>more is better</i> recently wrote in a testimonial that she learned to <i>'work out smarter not harder'.</i> Her back pain dissappeared and her diastasis recti closed. And she didn't do crazy amounts of exercises every day. A bit of education on body mechanics and a willingness to commit to using her body for movement <u>and</u> using her body for mindful and aligned movements. Just the way our bodies were designed to be moved, really. <br />
<br />
So, I'll keep the word 'fitness' in the name. Because I want more clients like her :)<br />
<br />
I’m working on a new website and I’ll have a new logo and the new tagline will be something like this: <br />
<br />
Kangaroo Fitness – <i>Aligning Fitness With Natural Movement.</i> Or maybe not. Because the word <i>natural movement </i>is loaded with preconceived ideas too. I'm not
telling everybody to take off their shoes and go barefoot running. Just saying. So maybe its going to be: Kangaroo Fitness - <i>Aligning Fitness With Everyday Movement. </i>What do you think? <br />
<br />
I’m excited about 2013 and grateful for all the ups and downs that helped me get to where I am right now. And thanks to YOU reading my blog! <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>PS: </b>Here is a challenge! <b><br /></b><br />
<i>'Work out' by just standing in alignment every time you are standing. <br />Read this post about proper stance from my teacher and biomechanist Katy Bowman and follow the instructions: </i><a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/stance/" target="_blank"><i>http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/stance/. </i></a></blockquote>
<br />Let me know how this feels. And if you want an extra challenge, stand in this aligned stance while holding your baby or toddler or shopping bags! No need to go to the gym!<br />
<br />
<div style="color: blue;">
<b>Cheers to an aligned and healthy 2013!</b></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Kangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163506749401838538.post-64776925314622245902012-12-12T12:47:00.002-08:002012-12-13T13:22:53.560-08:00Core AlignmentBethany Learn's from <a href="http://fit2b.us/blog/" target="_blank">Fit 2 Be Studio</a> asked me to write something for her blog after she read my <a href="http://kangaroofitness.blogspot.ca/2012/11/belly-blues-and-what-to-do-about-it.html" target="_blank">belly blues</a> blog post from a few weeks ago. This is what I wrote and what was published on her
blog last week. It's about time that I put it up on my own blog - slightly edited. Its a bit on the longer side but it has lots of picture! Here goes: <br />
<br />
As you may know, I have a special interest in all things core and I am sought out by mostly women who want to restore their midsections. I am very conscious of the fact that women's self esteem often depends on how happy they feel about their bodies and that the women who come to me put their trust in me to help them. It is my responsibility to keep learning so I get better at my work and to help my clients be in control of their bodies and their health. Luckily for me, its a very fulfilling responsiblity. I find this stuff fascinating. <br />
<br />
Anyway, my learning took on a new level of excitement for me when I started taking <a href="http://www.restorativeexercise.com/about-katy" target="_blank">Katy Bowman’s </a>(biomechanist) Whole Body Alignment course at the Restorative Exercise Institute. And the exciting part about it is that in those 4+ hour covering the core, I didn’t learn a bunch of abdominal exercises but instead I began to understand the relationship between functioning (or non-functioning abdominal muscles) and the alignment of the bones to which the abdominal muscles attach to - the rib cage and the pelvis - and how therefore alignment work can rehab 'broken' abdominals. <br />
<br />
So if your abdominal muscles are split in the middle (diastasis recti) or you’re *just* wider in the waist than in the hips, it’s worth having a look at how you carry your pelvis and rib cage through space. Because alignment of those body parts has a dramatic effect on how the abdominal muscles can do their work. <br />
<br />
<h4>
<u>Diastasis recti and a bit of anatomy</u></h4>
<br />
All of the abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques and transversus abdominis) attach to the pelvis and rib cage. The deepest layer, the transversus abdominis, also attaches to the spine. They all ultimately attach to strings of connective tissue (linea alba and 2 linea semilunaris) in front of our abdomen. Katy Bowman refers to it as 3 abdominal raphe with raphe just meaning ‚seam‘.<br />
Now, if the muscles didn’t connect to this collagen containing seam in front but to a nice long bone instead, we would all have toned abs but obviously it would also make living our life and growing a new life much more complicated. <br />
<br />
So we were equipped with this raphe which, IF held in the right position and under the right amount of tension, can be as strong as bone and can thus be a solid attachement point for the abdominal muscles.<br />
<br />
When there is a gap between the muscle (diastasis recti) it means that the raphe isn’t bone-like anymore because it has lost its shape and therefore its tensile strength. It is no longer under the right amount of tension to offer the abdominal musces a solid attachment point from which to move and generate force.<br />
<br />
The raphe attach to the sternum and the pelvis which is why the position of the rib cage and pelvis really matters when it comes to the tensile strength of this funky part of our body. When the attachment points of any muscle are in the right place, the muscle can get to work in its intended plane of motion, it gets to be at its intended length and, with regular use, can develop its intended strength. Pretty cool. <br />
<br />
<h4>
<u>Neutral Alignment of Pelvis</u></h4>
When sitting or standing the neutral position for the pelvis is when the ASIS is in a vertical line over the pubic bone. A neutral pelvis is key for the abdominal muscles to be aligned. Let's find it: <br />
<br />
<i>Sit down how you would normally sit. Are you slouching? Are you maybe sitting on your tailbone? Can you not make out a curve in your lower back? Tilt forward so you are coming off your tailbone until you are sitting on your ‚sitting bones‘ (ischial tuberosity) and you get a curve in your lower back. Your pubic bone is no longer in front of you but stacked underneath your 'hip bones' (ASIS). </i><br />
<br />
<i>Just like this: </i><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkeM6AZhkmgo4_dsp2trqemF4cPlp4tGeXntYXiC8S1b0JVNtS2B4YoqiAjkCIgg2t9iWrk8h2AFao2UeiKZ4UX3ukGvhjm1V-t6rd4M6TSKZBTuIsjw0LQi6TCo1ND1MSY6yxDWVqlns/s1600/sitting+in+neutral+pelvis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkeM6AZhkmgo4_dsp2trqemF4cPlp4tGeXntYXiC8S1b0JVNtS2B4YoqiAjkCIgg2t9iWrk8h2AFao2UeiKZ4UX3ukGvhjm1V-t6rd4M6TSKZBTuIsjw0LQi6TCo1ND1MSY6yxDWVqlns/s200/sitting+in+neutral+pelvis.jpg" width="200" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: 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center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: 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<i>And absolutely not like this: </i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHrSBLSctnB4j3TVRzaF5HlMdgF05LBBA1GdidIE5zS_TY_6TwL_XKArsRrOCwcns9MbfsCa4fBaqmJm-BsdY2-difdvkpcZHR2FWDFz6KvbioYjgvFTPY3OcM0fEFcU0Jti0xvXxdcQk/s1600/post+tilted+sitting.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHrSBLSctnB4j3TVRzaF5HlMdgF05LBBA1GdidIE5zS_TY_6TwL_XKArsRrOCwcns9MbfsCa4fBaqmJm-BsdY2-difdvkpcZHR2FWDFz6KvbioYjgvFTPY3OcM0fEFcU0Jti0xvXxdcQk/s200/post+tilted+sitting.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<br />
Just to practice finding neutral pelvis, you can rock back and forth and always find the point where you are in neutral. Notice how this feels like. <br />
Once you got this, notice how maybe some or a lot of that movement comes from your upper body. Are you thrusting your rib cage forward? Maybe you even feel some pressure in your mid-back? Try to relax your upper back without losing your neutral pelvis and see if you can align your rib cage over the pelvis. <br />
<br />
When I do it, it looks like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsEJYAu06RzB6wEkjs8pQfJTDae5Qh0WqFtlbsEqS_vmWEYsWWa__YMdwLtn_ZYEiCg5AvWGeZZ0GSX2xKCYhTI0tL6f8C6mYdXmkbfdFz-H9jcLGpyeYfySZ5Kp4hYNSmv2tkgqsnEQ/s1600/neutral+pelvis,+ribs+down+sitting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsEJYAu06RzB6wEkjs8pQfJTDae5Qh0WqFtlbsEqS_vmWEYsWWa__YMdwLtn_ZYEiCg5AvWGeZZ0GSX2xKCYhTI0tL6f8C6mYdXmkbfdFz-H9jcLGpyeYfySZ5Kp4hYNSmv2tkgqsnEQ/s200/neutral+pelvis,+ribs+down+sitting.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
What you see is my hyper kyphosis which is exposed now that I align my rib cage with my pelvis. You can’t see this but I could feel my abdominal muscles turn on immediately. The hyper kyphosis is another issue altogether. This photo just shows you how much I need to round my upper back to get my ribs down and in alignment with the pelvis. How about you?<br />
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<h4>
My favorite part</h4>
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Now, I show you how I look when I lie on my back and how my abs respond to some alignment changes. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><u>Disclaimer: </u>In any of the above and below photos, my belly is relaxed. I am not sucking it in nor am I consciously contracting my TvA (deepest abdominal muscle) by pulling it towards the spine. What you see is how my abdominal muscles respond to a change in alignment!</i></span><br />
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Look at my pelvis in this picture. The white dots show you where my ASIS and pubic bone are – now in a horizontal line where they should be. <br />
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My pelvis is neutral (even though my pubic bone white point looks a
little higher in the photo – maybe not perfectly neutral after all but
you get the idea). <br />
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Check out the dodgy black cross on my lowest real rib: it should be in line with the other white dots. But it isn’t. <br />
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When you do it at home and you don't have a camera and white dots like me, you can tell if your <b>rib cage is too far forward </b>when <br />
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<b>a) your lowest ribs are visibly sticking out, <br />
b) you are able to slip your fingers under your rib cage or <br />
c) your bra line or where your bra line would be is not touching the floor. <br /><br />
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So, if you are doing leg lifts or leg slides from here, bolster your
head and shoulders so that your rib cage comes closer to the floor and thus can be more in line with the pelvis.
Like me in the next photo. <br />
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You never want to look like this when you get ready to do abdominal exercises on your back:<br />
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This is far far far away from a neutral pelvis. This is a tucked or posterially tilted pelvis. You can see how my pubic bone white dot is higher than my ASIS. <br />
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It’s easy to imagine that the 3 raphe that go from my sternum down to the pubic bone are far from taut and bone-like. You can also really see my ribs sticking out. My abdominal muscles cannot fire properly in this crappy alignment. You do not want to start doing leg slides or leg lifts in this alignment!<br />
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<h4>
The even better part </h4>
So now you know that the ribs should be flush with the abdomen for the lowest real rib is in line with the ASIS and pubic bone. No ribs that are sticking out. Yes? Yes. <br />
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In this photo I lift my head and shoulder off the floor to lower by rib cage down so it can be in line with my neutral pelvis. <br />
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This is a killer move not to be mistaken with a crunch! All my abdominal muscles are turned on. <br />
Alignment matters big time!<br />
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If you want to try it yourself, make sure it doesn’t look like this:<br />
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Can you see the bulge or ‚bread loaf‘ grow out of my belly? My ribs are
down but my pubic bone is no longer in line with the ASIS. My pelvis is
not in its neutral alignment. My abdominal muscle are not contracting in their intended plane of motion. <br />
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But even when you are in neutral pelvis, you can get the bulge. So watch your body. What you see is the recti muscle taking over. If you have diastasis recti, your belly would kind of make a tent-shape appearance which you want to AVOID and do more of the basic <a href="http://kangaroofitness.blogspot.ca/2012/11/belly-blues-and-what-to-do-about-it.html" target="_blank">TvA contraction exercises</a> and <a href="http://kangaroofitness.blogspot.ca/2012/09/sucking-in-your-belly-good-or-bad.html" target="_blank">releases</a> before moving on to the more advanced stuff. <br />
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<b><u>Important final note: </u></b>Much much more important than doing a bunch of abdominal exercises every day, is to start noticing where you carry your rib cage and pelvis when you stand, sit and walk around and to correct it into neutral. And to reduce sitting and put more standing and walking into your day. A healthy and functioning body comes from using it properly<b> </b><i>throughout</i> the day. <br />
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Recommended links from Katy Bowman's blog: <br />
Are You A Rib Thruster?<a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/rua-rib-thruster/"> http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/rua-rib-thruster/</a><br />
Neutral Pelvis.<a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/neutral-pelvis/"> http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/neutral-pelvis/</a><br />
Exercising vs Natural Movement<a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/side-effects/"> http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/side-effects/</a><br />
<br />Kangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163506749401838538.post-17976591648755628582012-11-12T11:52:00.000-08:002012-11-12T13:57:27.985-08:00Tight Calves And The Pelvic FloorFor over a year now I’ve been studying with the <a href="http://www.restorativeexercise.com/" target="_blank">Restorative Exericse Institute</a>. Before I decided to go for the Whole Body Alignment course this Spring, I took the <a href="http://www.restorativeexercise.com/no-more-kegels/" target="_blank">NoMoreKegels</a> course which is all about pelvic floor health. I learned about the effect of our footwear and posture on the alignment of the pelvis and how this in turn effects the pelvic floor muscles. I also learned specific exercises to restore pelvic floor function. And one of the most fundamental of those restorative exercises is the calf stretch. <br />
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The CALF STRETCH? For my PELVIC FLOOR? Yep. It all begins with tight calf muscles. (Well, it all begins in the feet but that shall be another blog post.)<br />
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The calf muscle group is made up of the gastrocnemius, soleus and the plantaris. They all attach to the heel of our foot. The soleus attaches below the knee at the tibia. And the large gastrocnemius and the much much smaller, but oh so sensitive, plantaris attach above the knee at the femur. <br />
Muscle always contracts from attachment point to attachment point. Which means that what goes on with the attachment points, i.e. how the bones are aligned, matters a great deal to what goes on with the muscle. <br />
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For example, when I wear a <b>shoe with a positive heel</b>, the natural heel of my foot where my calf muscles are attached to, is brought closer to the knee.<br />
As a result the muscle is put in a shortened position. If the muscles are chronically held in this position because I’m in my positive heeled shoes all day, well, then they stay in this shortened position.<br />
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<b>A chronically shortened muscle is a tight muscle. </b>And a tight muscle isn’t very good at receiving or pumping blood and lymph and also doesn’t communicate well with the spinal cord. In short, a tight muscle isn‘t a strong, force generating muscle. <br />
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Another example is the posture of <b>constant knee flexion</b>. Check out any person running or walking on the street. They all have their knees bent. And then look at all the people sitting around. They also have their knees bent (surprise!). <br />
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Because the gastrocnemius and plantaris muscle attach above the knee, any kind of knee bending action puts slack in those muscles. Muscles can’t stay slack because then they have no force generating power so the muscle fibers simply adjust and shorten themselves. Now they can work again. But because the knees are in flexion all day long (sitting, sleeping, walking with bent knees) the calf muscle is chronically shortened. And a short muscle is a tight muscle is a weak muscle …<br />
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This constant knee flexion is one culprit for the pelvic floor problem. But to understand this, we have to welcome the hamstring group into the discussion. <br />
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The hamstring muscles all attach to the lower leg bones (tibia and fibula) as well as to the pelvis. Knee flexion causes slack in the hamstring muscles. The hamstring muscles get short and tight. And these shortened hamstring muscles are pulling and tucking on the pelvis causing the pelvis to be out of neutral (posterior pelvic tilt). Which then in turn puts slack in all the pelvic floor muscles causing the pelvic floor muscle to adjust and shorten. <br />
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<h3>
And a short, tight, weak pelvic floor muscle isn’t very good at holding up the pelvic organs. A short, tight, weak pelvic floor muscle is also not very good at expelling babies. WOW!</h3>
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Soooooooooo, if you have <b>plantar fasciitis</b> or<b> heel pain </b>or <b>crampy, tingly, tired legs</b> or <b>knee pain</b> or <b>pelvic pain </b>or if you are<b> leaking urine</b> when doing jumping jacks or you have <b>back pain </b>or you were told you have have a <b>hypertonic pelvic floor</b> or <b>prolapse</b> or <b>prostate problems</b>, there are many things you can do right now to get better. Here are a few suggestions: <br />
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1) <a href="http://kangaroofitness.blogspot.ca/2012/08/post-long-weekend-stretching.html" target="_blank">Stretch your calves and click this to read and see how.</a> <br />
2) Assess your shoe wear. If you wear really high heels, get into a smaller heel. And if you wear running shoes with a bit of a heel, consider getting a truly zero heel shoe. (Here is a list for <a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/shoes-the-list/" target="_blank">minimal or ‚barefoot‘ shoes</a>)<br />
3)Increase barefoot time<br />
4)Get out of the chair every 20 minutes and stretch your calves.<br />
5)Get the <a href="https://www.alignedandwell.com/shop/every-womans-essential-body-kit/" target="_blank">Every Woman's Essential Body kit</a> from the Restorative Exercise Institute (and I don't benefit from this recommendation in any way other than the fact that I was the source that led you to some amazing and cheap self help tools and knowledge)<br />
6)You could even take the <a href="http://www.restorativeexercise.com/no-more-kegels/" target="_blank">NoMoreKegels course</a> yourself. <br />
8)If you are in Ottawa, <a href="http://www.kangaroofitness.ca/topic/30-exercise-classes.aspx" target="_blank">come to class </a>or book a <a href="http://www.kangaroofitness.ca/topic/31-private-sessions.aspx" target="_blank">private session</a><br />
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PS: I can't let you go without saying this: <br />
<b><i>The abdominal muscles attach to the pelvis .... calf stretch anyone?</i></b>Kangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163506749401838538.post-23070357525403347502012-11-05T05:50:00.002-08:002012-11-05T05:54:38.430-08:00Belly Blues And What To Do About ItFor many women the belly is a problem zone laden with negative emotions. Maybe you feel totally disconnected from this area of your body. Maybe the look of your belly in the mirror triggers a sense of hopelessness and depression.<br />
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So what do you do? You suck it in. You might suck it in to hide it. You might suck it in because you think this is what „engaging the core“ is all about. Well, <a href="http://kangaroofitness.blogspot.ca/2012/09/sucking-in-your-belly-good-or-bad.html" target="_blank">sucking in your belly is disrupting the normal pressure in your abdomen</a> and has nothing to do with contracting your deepest abdominal muscles. <br />
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You CAN re-connect with your belly again. Over time you can even flatten it so you like looking in the mirror again. All you need to do is get the muscles to work again. And the first step is <b>letting it go</b>! Release your belly. Let it be as big as it wants to be. The hardest thing of all. But now the muscle isn’t “stuck“ anymore and it can actually contract.<br />
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<b><u>Getting ready to contract the deep abdominal muscle (transversus abdominis aka TvA) correctly</u></b><br />
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How you position your pelvis and rib cage really matters to the proper functioning of your TvA – after all the muscle attaches to large portions of both. Check it out on this image from Gray's Anatomy.<br />
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<u>How should the pelvis be aligned? </u><br />
Your ASIS (Anterior Superior Iliac Spine) and your pubic bone should be in a vertical line when standing or sitting. It will give you a nice curvature in your lower back. To find your ASIS you can just put your hands in your groin area and then walk them up until you can palpate the part of your iliac spine that most protrudes. Or maybe it makes more sense if I tell you to put your hands on your hips and find the point that protrudes in front. <br />
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So when you are sitting it should look like this. <br />
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Now that you are sitting in neutral pelvis, relax your belly and check in with your rib cage. Do you feel a strain in your upper back? Are you thrusting your rib cage forward? Try to relax your rib cage back and lower it down so it starts to align with your neutral pelvis. Relax your belly again. And breathe.<br />
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<u>Some cues for you:</u><br />
Take air in through your nose and let the air fill your rib cage.<br />
If you notice your shoulders coming up to your ears when breathing, focus on sending the breath into the lower half of your rib cage.<br />
Exhale through your mouth.<br />
Take your time.<br />
Your belly stays relaxed the whole time.<br />
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Once you get the hang of it and this feels natural, you can start doing some TvA contraction exercises.<br />
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<u><b>Contracting the TvA </b></u><br />
The TvA wraps around our waist like a girdle and contracts like one. Pretty cool. <br />
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So.... inhale again and now as you exhale through your mouth you draw your belly button towards the spine. Maintain the neutral position of your pelvis as you do this.<br />
Also make sure that your rib cage is not thrusting forward. <br />
Let your belly relax after each contraction and check in with your pelvis and rib cage and re-set if necessary. <br />
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<b>How many?</b> It's up to you. More doesn't necessarily mean faster results. Focus on maintaining neutral pelvis and dropping the rib cage as you go throughout the day and when doing the exercise. And ... relax your belly. Now that you know how to contract the TvA properly you can hopefully see that your habit of sucking in your belly has nothing to do with contracting your abdominals.<br />
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PS: One day you don't even have to think about contracting your abs, they will do it for you. Like they are supposed to. If only we used our bodies the way we should. Our habit of excessive sitting is not exactly helping. The exercise shown is a good starting point - since we sit all the time, we might as well sit properly and wake up our core. When you're done with it, get out of the chair, do a <a href="http://kangaroofitness.blogspot.ca/2012/08/post-long-weekend-stretching.html" target="_blank">calf stretch</a>, put a pair of really flat and comfy shoes on and go for a walk. It will help with the belly blues!<br />
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PSS: A quote from <a href="http://www.restorativeexercise.com/about-katy/" target="_blank">Katy Bowman</a>, biomechanist, about core strength.<br />
<i>Core strength does not mean abdominal exercises! It is the ability to stabilize the bones in the upper body, rotate the torso with proper spinal curvature, and maintain pelvic position while sitting, standing, and exercising! It’s the ability to control the bladder, stabilize the ligaments of the knees with the lower abdominal wall, and breathe correctly while doing all of these! </i><br />
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<br />Kangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163506749401838538.post-63959574968206106732012-10-18T10:55:00.003-07:002012-10-18T13:24:34.539-07:00Oh, The Sarcasm Of My Last Post and A ContestLast Thursday I wrote a post with the title <a href="http://kangaroofitness.blogspot.ca/2012/10/fall-into-habit-of-walking.html" target="_blank">'Fall Into A Habit Of Walking'</a>. I thought it was a funny game with words since its fall and falling into a habit of walking sounded like a really witty title. I wasn't laughing the next day. I did walk on Friday morning like I said I would. But I also did the falling part. No, not <a href="http://www.livealigned.ca/2012/01/24/why-is-walking-falling/" target="_blank">that kind of falling</a>. But the literal Falling Down The Stairs.<br />
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I thought I got to the end of the stair case and wanted to keep walking but there was another step left and I stepped into the air and then fell and twisted my foot. I can't tell you how dumb I felt. And how painful it was. This is what my foot looked like on Friday: <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_P4lWK9RuA1jmuKOq_JHrln_qRllWIQp_mZs18IJdziPQmuiHpnqh37azSsYJm4wAMsm4omcxuIHzmK1EC10Px8jU3BZaF739uBL7xnTW0RIwVmsbuhE0W9VGa7ufNO1KAqGz1XEjgqU/s1600/my+bumpy+foot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_P4lWK9RuA1jmuKOq_JHrln_qRllWIQp_mZs18IJdziPQmuiHpnqh37azSsYJm4wAMsm4omcxuIHzmK1EC10Px8jU3BZaF739uBL7xnTW0RIwVmsbuhE0W9VGa7ufNO1KAqGz1XEjgqU/s320/my+bumpy+foot.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> See the bump on the outside of my foot. OUCH. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I became a certified <a href="http://www.restorativeexercise.com/healthy-foot-practitioner/" target="_blank">Healthy Foot Practionioner </a>in September and know what a delicate and complex structure our feet are. Leonardo da Vinci called the foot 'a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art'. Since my feet are a good example of what our shoewearing lifestyle does to this masterpiece (think crooked toes and bunions in my case and fallen arches, plantar fascitis and calluses maybe in your case), I felt extra angry that this had to happen to me. <br />
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So even more work for me. Why more work? Because my feet were in my very own rehab even before the stupid fall. Our feet are the foundation we stand on and since I don't want to have chronic back pain and a knee replacement when I'm older, I want it to be a good foundation.<br />
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Here are a couple of exercises that I do with my injured foot to get the blood flowing and the lymph draining in there. The exerices also innervate the many small and completely underused muscles inside the foot. And these exercises are key to healthy feet in any case - acute injury or not. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_Z_aqromDu4Qa0eXL8lp65bGNkgG7vJ-dxGVAAAlogDJTx3ybvmg3iun_-J325b_DtEh3SUcUztZbrVbCIUw4sy_f1DOgW0Krs3pnBETevjPXNLrdP7abK7QtUi-a6XhvLRpI24hoFM/s1600/toe+lift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_Z_aqromDu4Qa0eXL8lp65bGNkgG7vJ-dxGVAAAlogDJTx3ybvmg3iun_-J325b_DtEh3SUcUztZbrVbCIUw4sy_f1DOgW0Krs3pnBETevjPXNLrdP7abK7QtUi-a6XhvLRpI24hoFM/s320/toe+lift.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I lift my big toe keeping the others on the floor. With the swelling in my foot, this is hard work. I am taking it easy. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" 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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3QCvNGG6girB9wkMerfbjy6364FFmlPg10a3X6CQIu_SrCH_LTkCdabUEChH0aCr-fnYj79mnkzrpODPIB66aK1brdFdZTq-jFUZ7lL55uEMOBJJcNS6JngnXuw3FNuHXTblk3AXW5Ak/s1600/adducted+toe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3QCvNGG6girB9wkMerfbjy6364FFmlPg10a3X6CQIu_SrCH_LTkCdabUEChH0aCr-fnYj79mnkzrpODPIB66aK1brdFdZTq-jFUZ7lL55uEMOBJJcNS6JngnXuw3FNuHXTblk3AXW5Ak/s320/adducted+toe.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The swelling somehow causes my big toe to adduct (turn in). Like the beginnings of a bunion.Maybe your toes looks like that?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-anI2rnCokLPrDqZceK_cYogXOMAho8krqGltOQnNHb9fXcPV3FL0whT1_OIrSoaN1FPYg2DRhCKEI1NZeGTet17HJrRPjOUGnGBwJxdX66WAmSRVr6za_7_StmcpZ8n1AlbpI3kcDA/s1600/big+toe+lift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-anI2rnCokLPrDqZceK_cYogXOMAho8krqGltOQnNHb9fXcPV3FL0whT1_OIrSoaN1FPYg2DRhCKEI1NZeGTet17HJrRPjOUGnGBwJxdX66WAmSRVr6za_7_StmcpZ8n1AlbpI3kcDA/s320/big+toe+lift.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So I spread my big toe out (abduction).</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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See if you can lift your big toe while keeping the other toes connected with the ground. If you can, work on lifting up the other toes one by one. If not, keep practising. For the health of your feet and your whole body. Because 'the foot bone is connected to the leg bone and the leg bone is connected with the hip bone and the hipbone is connected with your spine' and so on. <br />
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<b><u>Book recommendation:</u></b><br />
Katy Bowman (2011) <i>Every Woman's Guide To Foot Pain Relief </i><br />
<u><b>DVD recommendation: </b></u><i> </i><br />
<i><a href="https://www.alignedandwell.com/shop/fix-your-feet/" target="_blank">https://www.alignedandwell.com/shop/fix-your-feet/ </a></i><br />
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<h3 style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">
<b>Contest:</b></h3>
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<b>The first person who can tell me how many joints are located in each foot, wins the book. (I got some copies as part of my training so I might as well make use of them and hand them out.)</b></div>
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<br />Kangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163506749401838538.post-86091257642844179682012-10-11T16:15:00.002-07:002012-10-11T16:15:33.217-07:00Fall Into A Habit Of WalkingThis morning I had some unscheduled time. So after my husband and I got the kids fed, dressed, packed and walked to day care and after I responded to some emails, I was faced with the following choices:<br />
a) do some bookkeeping<br />
b) get some study time in for my <a href="http://www.restorativeexercise.com/whole-body-alignment-course/" target="_blank">Whole Body Alignment course </a>so I get closer to my goal of being a Restorative Exercise Specialist<br />
c) write a blog post to share a bit of what I'm learning in the just mentionned course<br />
d) walk to the store to buy new woodchips for our guinnea pig so he can get a fresh house today<br />
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Bookkeeping is boring. So this was out from the start. Since the pig's house was in a stinky state and the sun was shining and walking is so good and walking in alignment practice is part of my course, I decided to put my shoes and backpack on and go for a little walk. Mind you the store is only 800m away from our house. So walking back and forth is a mere 1,6km. With our morning walk of 2km to and from day care I'm at a whopping 3,6km. Plus 2 more km when we pick up the kids later this afternoon. 5,6km. 3 miles. Not all that bad. And good decision making, right!<br />
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<b>Walking the way we are biologically supposed</b> <b>to</b>, i.e. in alignment involves half of the over 600 muscles in our body. And the more muscle we use, the more blood those muscles can pump into more areas of our body and thus the more cell regeneration occurs. More cell regeneration = more health. And we really are supposed to use our body in a way that gives us the most chance of survival, i.e. health. (In the past, I wrote a little bit out <a href="http://kangaroofitness.blogspot.ca/2012_07_01_archive.html" target="_blank">what our sedentary life style does to our immune system</a>). <br />
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So <b>what is walking in alignment?</b> This is what I'm learning from Katy Bowman, biomechanist, in the course I am taking. It should not involve bent knees or bouncing hips or powerwalking arms (read an <a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/gait-101/" target="_blank">article</a> from Katy herself). Natural walking should also not involve shoes with a positive heel. Even the regular running shoe has a positive heel, i.e. inside the shoe the natural heel of your foot sits higher than the ball of your foot (read a rather lengthy scientific essay by Dr Rossi about <a href="https://nwfootankle.com/foot-health/drill/2-Articles/110-Dr.%20Rossi%27s%20Articles" target="_blank">why shoes make proper gait impossible</a>). So for us shoe-wearing, chair lounging and asphalt walking people, it's actually really really really difficult to walk naturally. And I'm nowhere near it. <br />
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I want you to start appreciating a walk and encourage you to start walking on a regular basis. And to walk with your kids. Our kids are now 3 and 4,5 years old. We always walked the 1km to our day care but finally banned the stroller this spring. The first day was tough and maybe the second too. I don't remember actually. There probably was some whining. And it might have taken us 45min to get to day care. But we made it a priority. And now it's a habit. We all walk in the morning and in the afternoon and its fun and sometimes its not and it often takes much longer than I'd want.<br />
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And maybe you think 'Ha, I wish I had time to walk my kids to day care, school, activities!' - and I will just tell you to Make Time! Because walking is the one movement we absolutely NEED to do every day for optimal health. And children need it for their healthy development. When I was a kid I walked to school every day. 1,9km one way. I google-earthed it. When did your 6 year old kid last walk 1,9km?<br />
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And if you are a new mom with only a baby and no toddlers ... well ... you can get out first thing in the morning tomorrow. (after you packed the diaper bag and put yourself some clothes on and waited for baby to wake up and nursed and changed the baby, ect. - I remember it well!)<br />
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And just in case you want to think about your alignment when walking, here are some first main pointers:<br />
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<b>1) </b>Keep your feet straight. Align the outside edge of your foot with a straight line. If the feet are not pointing forward when walking, the muscles of the legs and the muscles around the pelvis don't work properly. And those muscles are kind of like your engine for proper walking and also ensure that your pelvis is in its neutral position and the spine isn't overly taxed from walking with your tailbone between your legs. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPBEUMPBSm_dkl0U9JeBwC-a7H03YT5Zbdmw6Urcd-Bxz_TA0oHy_JTYs9w9j-TWL95IoyrbpZuASiSvdBBeQs_X-pTFU3BfsY7AOx82YXKs307z2jkxnTsT8vQ8dqdOuLj1WBWS7xk1o/s1600/turned+out+feet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPBEUMPBSm_dkl0U9JeBwC-a7H03YT5Zbdmw6Urcd-Bxz_TA0oHy_JTYs9w9j-TWL95IoyrbpZuASiSvdBBeQs_X-pTFU3BfsY7AOx82YXKs307z2jkxnTsT8vQ8dqdOuLj1WBWS7xk1o/s200/turned+out+feet.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">notice turned out feet - no lateral hip and gluteus involvement</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5OqhhuVANwg48NC1k7AGSPZe04OeYUK_ir4MnELLbrCHexMXFa_CmQWqTmxet4bZQcVWU1O4JHcQvF_9X-4NQ5EEWb9_K9AAKYX0cNSbGh9AxUGcg510PSyGKnWffubapQ1L_JksBzQ/s1600/straight+feet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5OqhhuVANwg48NC1k7AGSPZe04OeYUK_ir4MnELLbrCHexMXFa_CmQWqTmxet4bZQcVWU1O4JHcQvF_9X-4NQ5EEWb9_K9AAKYX0cNSbGh9AxUGcg510PSyGKnWffubapQ1L_JksBzQ/s200/straight+feet.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">that is better </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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When you try this and you feel pigeon toed and your knees turn in, it means that you need to practice <a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/advanced-foot-position/" target="_blank">externally rotating your thigh. </a><br />
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<b>2) </b>Find a shoe with a truly flat sole. If you are a high heel wearer, get a smaller heel and come closer to the ground over time. In addition to a zero heel, the shoe should have a flexible sole and your toes should have lots of space to wiggle around. The same applies to your baby's or your child's shoe. Keep your kid in soft soled, roomy shoes as long as possible. Robeez and Soft Start Shoes are great choices for kids. Katy Bowman recently compiled a comprehensive <a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/shoes-the-list/" target="_blank">list of minimal shoe brands for kids and adults. </a><br />
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<b>3)</b> When you can, keep your arms free and start swinging your arms. Not pumping forward with the elbow in a 90° angle! Let your arms hang. Swing back actively and let the arm swing forward passively. <br />
If you push a stroller, push it with one arm only and swing the other arm. It will prevent you from using the stroller as a crutch as a nice side effect :) The arm swing is there to make walking a symmetrical activity. One leg goes forward, the oppostite arm swings back. It minimizes any twisting of the pelvis and spine when walking. It also allows the lymph in your armpit to flow and this is good news for breast health in general and nursing mothers in particluar.<br />
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And, btw, during my little walk to the store this morning I was so busy checking in with my feet and butt muscles that I completely forgot about the arms. <br />
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<b>Happy Walking! </b><br />
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Ps: And here the picture my husband took of me and the kids walking home this afternoon. It was cold and started to rain. And the 3 year old didn't want to walk because she was too cold but didn't want to wear all the extra clothes we brought..... So I carried her. What can you do? It wasn't much fun and walking in alignment with a 3 year old is well ... another story. But we walked. And we will walk tomorrow.<br />
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<br />Kangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163506749401838538.post-32987221096790154452012-09-21T08:34:00.000-07:002012-09-21T08:34:56.572-07:00Women Hold Up Half The Sky‚The Freedom in a country can be measured by the freedom of birth.‘Agnes Gereb <br />
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Last night I went to see the world wide premier of <a href="http://www.freedomforbirth.com/" target="_blank">‚Freedom Of Birth‘ </a>– a movie that any woman and man supporting a woman in childbirth should watch. A movie that slaps it right into your face that childbirth is a human rights issue. And after it has slapped you in the face, it stabs you into your heart. At least this is what happened to me.<br />
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Meet <a href="http://www.freeagnesgereb.com/" target="_blank">Agnes Gereb</a> - the subject of the documentary. She is a Hungarian obsetrician and midwife and international homebirth expert. She was taken into custody Oct 5, 2010 after a woman had gone into unexpected labor at Agnes' birth centre. As I understand it, Agnes had advised this woman to give birth in hospital but the woman rejected the idea and happened to go into labor during a class at Agnes' birth centre. There must have been some trouble because Agnes immediately and rightly decided to call an ambulance. With the ambulance that took the labouring woman to hospital, the police came to arrest Agnes. The reason? Reckless endangerment of life committed in the line of duty. The woman gave birth to a healthy baby and was soon discharged from hospital. <br />
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Three months after Agnes was jailed the European Court of Human Rights established under Article 8 (right to private and family life) of the European Convention that any woman has the right to choose where to give birth. (case of <a href="http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx#%7B%22dmdocnumber%22:[%22878621%22],%22itemid%22:[%22001-102254%22]%7D" target="_blank">TERNOVSZKY v. HUNGARY</a>) Agnes Gereb was freed but is still under house arrest! <br />
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This is Hungary! In the year 2012! A member country of the European Union since 2004! REALLY!!!<br />
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I deeply care about women's rights in childbirth. And it pains me that I don't see enough women really care about it. Or don't realize they should care. Or at least don't show that they care. <br />
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I'll quote Dr Nancy Salgueiro - the Ottawa woman who you might have seen <a href="http://yourbirthcoach.com/videos-of-birth-video-of-birth-best-birth-prenatal-class-childbirth-course-natural-birthing-water-birth-videos-unaasited-videos-of-birth-home-birth-video-hospital-video-of-birth/" target="_blank">give birth live on camera </a>11months ago. She is also a childbirth educator and women's advocate (and chiropractor). In her talks with women she finds that:<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Women are given misleading information making them feel as if procedures are necessary when they are not.</i> - Induction or Oxytocin anyone?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Women are being told they are incapable of birthing their own baby and must trust in a system that does not support normal birth. </i>- Ever been told during check-ups that your baby is large, maybe too large for you to birth vaginally? I hear stories like that ALL THE TIME.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Women are being forced to birth in institutions because of lack of access to birth attendants outside hospitals. -</i>We are lucky in Gatineau to have the Maison de Naissance but I felt like I won the lottery when I landed a midwife there to give birth to Elise outside the hospital. Ottawa residents are lucky to have quite a few midwifes and many homebirths. But not enough! <a href="http://www.ontariomidwives.ca/support/centres" target="_blank">Ontario is going to get 2 birth centres</a> though. So there is a shift happening. Slowly but surely.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><br />Women are abused and assaulted by procedures done to their bodies without consent and even after consent is withdrawn </i>- Too many nurses, doctors and student nurses check how dilated you are? You just accepted it and realized later how much you disliked that? I gave birth in a Ottawa hospital to Joshua. It was an easy birth without any intervention and I didn't have a single tear. My vagina felt pretty good actually. Yet, I remember having to turn my naked butt to at least two nurses (one was a student, I believe) who checked for </span>hemorrhoids<span style="font-size: small;">. I felt uncomfortable to say the least. And 5 years later I still think about it. So, yes, I feel kind of violated! My midwife who cared for me after Elise's birth in Gatineau never felt the need to look at my perineum because she knew from the birth that I didn’t have tearing and she knew I would tell her if I had some trouble down there. After all <b>I know my body best. </b>Not to mention the fact that most women are automatically supplied with oxytocin at Ottawa hospitals. I didn't believe it but an ex-hospital nurse at last night's talk said that she cannot think of a single case under her watch where oxytocin was not given - with or without consent. I still find it hard to believe actually. <br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Women are being told they have no choices and must comply with medical orders or be threatened that their child may be taken from them.</i> - I don’t know about a case in Ottawa but looks like Nancy does. </span><br />
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So women here in Ottawa are being violated and discriminated against under the Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. We just have to start owning this! This room last night was half-full. It should have been packed! Too many women do not know the facts about the effects of interventions on the outcomes of childbirth. Too many women do not know that a <a href="http://www.chsrf.ca/publicationsandresources/Mythbusters/ArticleView/11-05-06/ab4a74cd-ffbc-427b-9995-7f7434a87a67.aspx" target="_blank">C-section is <b>major surgery</b> and does come with risks.</a> We can't just wait for the system to change and hope that one day doctors will give us truly informed choice. I totally believe that change has to come from the top. But I believe just as much that change has to be iniated by you and me first. After all, <b><a href="http://www.halftheskymovement.org/" target="_blank">Women Hold Up Half The Sky! </a></b><br />
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Check out the <a href="http://informedchoice.ca/" target="_blank">Informed Choice Coalition</a> and come to the next screening on October 12. <br />
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If you had a traumatic birth experience and feel ready to work through it, there is the amazing Julie Keon with her <a href="http://informedchoice.ca/film-festival/the-other-side-of-the-glass" target="_blank">Making Peace With Your Birth workshops. </a><br />
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Kangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163506749401838538.post-2177580359951748962012-09-19T12:32:00.005-07:002012-09-19T12:33:37.753-07:00Tough Workout or Whole Body Movement?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have a love-hate relationship with facebook. I love it when I see a link to really cute minimal shoes like <a href="http://www.lingeshoes.com/products/teal-ballet-shoe" target="_blank">these ones</a>. But I get rather <a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/more-blood-physics/" target="_blank">turbulent flow</a> in my blood vessels when I come across people saying stuff like:<br />
'I had an awesome leg workout. I had to take the elevator down because my legs were so sore.'<br />
or 'Great workout. I hobbled home'. Haha. <br />
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It stresses me out big time. Why on earth do people think this crazy pain is good? I'm not talking about a bit of muscle soreness that we get from using a muscle that we haven't really been using before. I mean the 'I can't walk anymore' kind of muscle soreness. This is just our body saying This-Is-Enough loud and clear. And the way I see it, it is just not natural behaviour to feel happy and proud when our body is saying NO. Or am I alone here?<br />
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Imagine you are a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic" target="_blank">paleolithic person</a> and you live fully in tune with your body because listening to your body's signals means the difference between life and death. Imagine one day you feel that all this natural living stuff stinks and you want to have a bit of fun and show everybody how cool/strong/able you are by doing something nobody has ever done: You climb up and down 15 trees as fast as you can followed by lifting 5 big rocks and a 30minute chase after a mammut (or whatever). Imagine you made it and everybody is cheering. You feel the rush of adrenaline. It feels great. You also feel sore and have to lie down. Not so great. You actually feel too weak to embark on the 5mile trek to the next food source. Not great at all. You are left behind. The End.<br />
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Had the paleolithic people and the people after that been abusing their body like this, well, we wouldn't be here. Humans survived and evolved because they spent their days doing whole body movements like walking and carrying their children (or dead animals.) And then they rested. No CrossFit or treadmills or crazy leg workouts needed to live and thrive. Just walking and carrying stuff in their arms. And maybe the occasional climb up a tree or fight with an animal. And then a period of rest.<br />
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What happened to us? This big fitness boom. It's only been around for the last 40 or so years. Before that people just moved more throughout the day. They didn't need to work out. Now <a href="http://kangaroofitness.blogspot.ca/2012/07/why-sitting-is-bad-for-our-health.html" target="_blank">we sit on our butts</a> for most of the day. Most of us don't even wash the floor on hands and knees anymore. (I do! I do!) And because we know we are so deconditioned, we take our completely underused body with its 600+ muscles (most of them way too tight) into a gym and give it a tough workout. Then it <i>makes us</i> feel great. But, really, for our body it's only stress. On every level. Muscles, tendons, ligaments, connective tissues, organs, blood vessels. Each and every cell really. And it shows. Foot, knee, hip, back, neck and shoulder pain anyone? Feeling tight? Not able to walk up or down the stairs? Needing to take the elevator after a workout???????? It just doesn't make sense to me!<br />
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Oh, and at the end a little help for all of you out there with tight calves from a tough workout, from wearing heels or from sitting too much: THE<a href="http://kangaroofitness.blogspot.ca/2012/08/post-long-weekend-stretching.html" target="_blank"> calf stretch</a>. A rolled up towel will do too.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4oFqZbjrBK33BIMgAFnJphEsOiEhRApRvovhzg2Z94A0aMwFPGORTpeISH7Gel7MxYS93mU2eQE821FbbdEATQpsbytoAjgr5ai1CPJ2UkNE00powX3myx3EMSJLcW-RYX-zmSPQAA8Y/s1600/calf+stretch+on+half+dome.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4oFqZbjrBK33BIMgAFnJphEsOiEhRApRvovhzg2Z94A0aMwFPGORTpeISH7Gel7MxYS93mU2eQE821FbbdEATQpsbytoAjgr5ai1CPJ2UkNE00powX3myx3EMSJLcW-RYX-zmSPQAA8Y/s320/calf+stretch+on+half+dome.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
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<br />Kangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163506749401838538.post-42045517040152540062012-09-13T06:18:00.002-07:002012-09-13T06:21:09.318-07:00Sucking in your belly - Good or Bad?BAD. Very bad. Very, very bad. And before you say 'hang on a minute, I was told to pull my belly in', let me explain:<br />
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Your deepest abdominal muscle (the TvA) contracts when you pull it towards your spine with the pelvis and rib cage in their neutral alignment. When you carry your pelvis and rib cage outside of where they should be, you don't work your core. But this is another blog post (If you can't wait, click <a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/neutral-pelvis/" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/the-best-abdominal-exercise-youre-not-doing/" target="_blank">here</a>). Getting your TvA muscle closer to optimal functionning is absolutely crucial for the health of your spine, pelvic
floor, cardiovascular, digestive and reproductive systems. Not to mention the good
looks we are all after. <br />
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<u>Sucking in your belly has nothing to do with contracting your TvA.</u> I have seen and talked to so many women who want to get their bellies in shape. And they all do it: They suck in their bellies. Even men suck in their bellies. And you suck in your belly propably right now. I know it. Because even I suck in my belly. Especially yesterday. And when I do it, you do it, too. (Very good reasoning on my part!)<br />
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When we suck in our bellies, the motion is up under the rib cage and not at all back towards the spine. Feel the pressure just under your ribs? This habit of sucking in our belly doesn't make the belly smaller because the abdominal muscles just aren't innervated. Instead we create unwanted pressure in our thoracic area - especially at the diaphragm. So much for healthy breathing! We need the diaphragm for expelling stuff (think vomiting or coughing). Not for pressing the contents of our abdomen against it. When we are so busy sucking it all in and up, then our bodies have a much harder time with all these very necessary downward motions like birthing babies or pooping or menstruating.<br />
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If you want to get your abdominals to work and if you want to breathe, oxygenate, digest, poop and birth freely and get a flatter belly as a bonus, you have to start with this: <i><u>let your belly relax.</u></i><br />
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Let it hang. All of it. Breathe. And let it hang. The best position for releasing it is on hands and knees.<a href="http://www.alignintegrationandmovement.com/1/post/2012/03/habits-and-sucking-in.html" target="_blank"> (click here for pictures)</a> Then you can start working on your TvA - with the<a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/neutral-pelvis/" target="_blank"> ribs and pelvis in neutral! </a><br />
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<b>We were just not made to suck in our bellies. </b>Just think of how happy this pig must be. (Though it might be time for pig to learn some TvA contractions. <a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/tail-of-two-pumpkins/" target="_blank">He doesn't even have a lumbar curve.</a> Oh well. Maybe not so happy after all...)<br />
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<br />Kangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163506749401838538.post-22211897216395680282012-08-21T18:08:00.003-07:002012-08-21T18:08:48.997-07:00Fit Pregnancy Or What?You know that exercising during pregnancy is good for you, the pregnancy and outcome of the birth. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC) even considers it a risk to not exercise during pregnancy. But what does this exercise thing really mean?<br />
<br />If you are like most women in Ottawa, you have an office job and sit all day long. You know you need to start exercising. So you enroll in a prenatal aqua or yoga or fitness class once a week. Good! Maybe you start walking during your lunch breaks. Better!<br />
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So that makes 30-60min of walking every day and 1hour of structured exercise a week. What about the other 23+ hours in the day? Do we really think that 1 hour of exercise can outbalance 23 hours of sedentary behavior? Seems crazy, yet, it’s exactly what we do: Oh, I ate this extra slice of cake while reclining in my comfy chair. I really have to go to that class tomorrow and get fit again. <br />
<br />Fit. Fitness. Prenatal Fitness. There is something wrong with the way we use the word Fitness. According to my Oxford Dictionary it is ‚the state of being physically healthy and strong‘. Being fit for something means `the state of being suitable for something‘. So here it gets a little sketchy. Fit to swim 20 lanes? Or fit to have a pregnancy without back pain? Fit to give birth without intervention? Or fit to be pregnant without walking like a duck.<br />
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The achieve this we need to do a little more than this one exercise class once a week. And I don’t suggest you take an exercise class every day. How about just getting out of the chair for starters?<br /><br />
While the positive effects of exercise have been extensively studied and written about, more and more researchers are looking into the other sedentary 23 hours of our day. What has come to light is that the health outcomes are just as bad – for the non-exercisers as well as the exercisers IF both sit on their butts for the biggest part of the day. It's the sitting that ails us. Thus, we need to be more active throughout the day to be healthy and, naturally, to have healthy pregnancies. <br /><br />
We don’t need fitness in the sense we use the word. <b>We just need to move our bodies. Throughout the day. </b> <b>Every day. </b>And we need to move our body the way it was designed to be moved (excluding all those <a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/mind-your-pelvis/" target="_blank">bad slouchy and thrusty habits</a>).<br />
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Maybe you can do 15 push-ups on the edge of the pool during your prenatal aqua class but you know something is missing when you do the duck-walk on your way back to the change room only to notice that your back pain has come back. Right?!<br /><br />
<b>To Do List: </b><br />-get out of your chair every 30minutes and do the <a href="http://kangaroofitness.blogspot.ca/2012/08/post-long-weekend-stretching.html" target="_blank">calf stretch</a><br />-consider signing up for Kangaroo Fitness‘ <a href="http://www.kangaroofitness.ca/topic/30-prenatal-and-postnatal-fitness.aspx" target="_blank">new prenatal exercise/education class</a>? ( I know, it’s a little bit ironic…..)<br /><br />
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Kangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163506749401838538.post-48647020950954399152012-08-12T10:15:00.000-07:002012-08-12T10:17:19.826-07:00Preventing Postpartum Back Pain – Proper Lifting MechanicsI wrote this article with <a href="http://www.livealigned.ca/" target="_blank">Jillian</a> (who is a Restorative Exercise Specialist and just awesome) for the fall issue of From Belly To Baby which is a free pre/postnatal mag that comes out every 3 months. I have always loved reading it - ever since I got to Ottawa with my pregnant belly. You can pick it up at some locations in Ottawa or read it <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_367158828">online.</a><br />
And because I like German efficiency, I will just publish it as a blog post.<br />
Here we go! <br />
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You say: <i>“I’m starting to get pain in my lower back“.</i> <br />
Your doctor/friend/neighbour replies: <i>“Well, you are pregnant. That’s normal. It’s part of the the common aches and pains you get“. </i><br />
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Pain during pregnancy – and postpartum - is so common that we mistake the word common with the word normal. It is NOT normal. Our bodies were made to be able to accommodate a pregnancy without aches and pains. Our bodies were also made to be able to lift things (think baby, diaper bag and groceries) without getting a spinal or sacroiliac joint injury. We just have to use our bodies the way they were designed to be used.<br />
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Most back injuries happen when we lift things, and new moms tend to lift heavy loads every day. Let’s look at proper lifting mechanics then! But really the best time to learn proper lifting technique is before you even get pregnant. Don’t worry though, a lot of back pain can be alleviated and prevented by starting to lift correctly right now. <br />
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Lift with your butt and legs and keep your lumbar curve. The curve in your lower back is there to absorb loads we place on our spine – our yown body weight from standing and additional loads from lifting. What we usually think of as excessive lumbar curve actually comes from what happens further up the spine: from thrusting the rib cage forward. By maintaining the curve in your lower back and drawing the rib cage down, you get your spine where it needs to be. Bend your knees, but don’t let them drift over your toes: keep your knees over your heels and stick out your butt. Not easy, but the more you stabilise your spine and carry loads with your legs, the happier your back will be. <br />
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Lifting While Twisting places much more stress on your lumbar spine and SI joint than lifting with your shoulders and chest in line with your knees and feet. For example, we tend to get the car seat out by facing the car with one side of our body. This ultimately results in an excessive load being placed on the spine from a twisty lift. Square yourself in front of whatever you are lifting and then lift as decribed above, loading your legs and stabilising your spine.<br />
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Lifting after C-section, if you have diastasis recti or a weak pelvic floor calls for a lot of caution. Your body’s mechanisms aren’t really working the way they should and the additional load from lifting can place dangerous pressure on your pelvic floor, abdominal wall or even diaphragm. You can control the pressure by learning to check in with your body. Do I feel pressure on my pelvic floor? Do I feel/see a bulge where my abdominal muscles should be? Avoid the activity if you can. If you can’t avoid it, apply the above tips for lifting. Try to use your deep abdominal muscles while you lift. You can counteract the pressure when you exhale and draw belly button towards the spine before you lift. Or sneeze. Or have a bowel movement.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsIiz1deqHl0x_hBg8Ngx-F8KKFrA6ImdaK4NOuawnD4ilpGdBfgmwuXembRN8fP2IKpsiJGpqA-9A73OaCuYT3sJ5G7vj0DpXjla4Dn40G5HQo3ko_X-TCBV7yVHd86RSLmHlL6wAUuk/s1600/NOT+LIKE+THIS.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsIiz1deqHl0x_hBg8Ngx-F8KKFrA6ImdaK4NOuawnD4ilpGdBfgmwuXembRN8fP2IKpsiJGpqA-9A73OaCuYT3sJ5G7vj0DpXjla4Dn40G5HQo3ko_X-TCBV7yVHd86RSLmHlL6wAUuk/s320/NOT+LIKE+THIS.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">not like this</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">more like this: <br />
knees over heel, curve in lower back and butt out, rib cage up</td></tr>
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Tips: You can reduce some heavy lifting by keeping the car seat in the car and just carrying the baby in your arms. It’s better for your back, a great upper body workout and it allows for the optimal spinal, muscular, and vestibular development of your baby. Not to mention it’s bonus snuggle time for you and the babe!<br />
When you lift an older child, you can save your back by just reaching under your child’s arm pits and lifting with your arms and shoulders. <br />
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The end!Kangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163506749401838538.post-14902203733771288412012-08-06T18:37:00.002-07:002012-12-06T08:04:52.338-08:00Post Long Weekend StretchingWe just got back from a weekend camping trip with the kids and the canoe. Despite the 4 of us sleeping on a rather uncomfortable air mattress my body feels great - no aches, no pains. Must be from all that bare foot walking in the woods, climbing on rocks, squatting to pee, splashing in the lake and just being relaxed! <br />
Or, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe there is just a bit of a tense trace of that air mattress in my back ....<br />
And just in case you have some aches and pains from the weekend or otherwise, here are two of my favorite stretches.<br />
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The first one must be the <b>Calf Stretch</b> the restorative exercise way:<br />
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I am using a piece of foam roller sliced in half but a tightly rolled up towel or a couple of books work too. Get the ball of one foot on the item on hand, keep the heel on the floor, place the other foot next to the one stretching. Or behind or in front. Depending on how tight your calfs are.<br />
Make sure that your feet don't turn out and keep your hips square. Try to relax your quadriceps muscles so that your knee cap is released. Hold it for 30second and work up to holding it for 1minute or longer. <br />
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This is just the BEST! And maybe you can feel it all the way into your lower back. <br />
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The other one that can even be done while lying in bed is the<b> </b><b>Crescent Stretch</b> and it stretches the side of your torso (obliques) and you can even get some IT band action if you are lucky. <br />
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Lie on your back with your arms and legs extended. Check if your bra line is touching the floor: your rib cage should ideally have contact with the floor (unlike mine in the pic). You can put a pillow or two under your head to help. Make your shoulder blades nice and wide as well. <br />
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Then do this: <br />
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Start forming a crescent or c-shape with your body and as you do it focus on getting your hip further away from your rib cage - to really lenghten the side of your torso. <br />
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Then just plonk the outside foot over the inside foot and .... breathe.<br />
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Hold both of these stretches for at least 30 secs, ideally for a minute and by all means for longer. And I know it's unnecessary to add but ... stretch the other calf and the other side of your body, too. <br />
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Good night!<br />
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<br />Kangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6163506749401838538.post-62662586666674284352012-07-27T10:57:00.001-07:002012-07-29T17:46:14.136-07:00Why Sitting Is Bad For Our Health<br />
It’s time to finally start writing my first blog post. I have all these ideas in my head. Should I write about lifting mechanics as it relates to mommyhood or universally answer one of the questions about diastasis recti that I find in my inbox every day or should I write about my journey so far as a student of the <a href="http://www.restorativeexercise.com/" target="_blank">Restorative Exercise Institute</a> or should I write about walking with my children or should I maybe write about the terrible effect sitting has on our health?<br />
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I was mulling this over on Monday while washing the kitchen floor for the 73rd time that day. In between 1001 times of hearing the word ‚mommy‘ I even had a minute to read one article in Saturday’s paper. It happened to be <a href="http://www.nationalpost.com/longer+stand+sitting/6969036/story.html" target="_blank">an article</a> about the growing body of research that shows that sitting is killing us softly. I liked it because the author suggested that chairs should be made really, really uncomfortable so we spend less time sitting in them. I like extreme measures. I’m known to tell clients to stop hanging out in their LazyBoys (how is it spelled again?) or, better, to throw out their couches. One was able to convince her husband to not buy a second couch to keep more room for stretching and hanging out on the floor. These are the kind of client stories I like :)<br />
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Anyway, my decision was made. My first blog post would be about the first thing I tell anyone who wants to listen: what terrible things sitting on chairs does to our bodies. Just in more detail. <br />
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Our body has over 600 muscles. We are supposed to use all of these muscles by means of moving our bodies. We are alive because our heart is pumping oxygen-rich blood through our arteries. Imagine your arteries and venes like a highway that runs through your torso and limbs. But our body is much more interesting than that: there are side roads branching off the highway, and more streets branching off those roads and finally little alleys – the capillaries - at the end of those roads. The heart doesn’t pump the blood all the way there. This is where the muscles have to come in. They compress the blood vessels and thereby direct some blood away from the highway so that it can supply ALL cells in our body.<br />
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Basically, the more muscle is innervated (stimulated), the more blood cells can branch off into the side roads of our circulatory system and finally into the little capillaries. The blood cells carry waste products through the walls of the capillaries into the lanes of our lymph system. The lymph fluid carries the blood cells with the waste products straight to the lymph nodes via these lymph lanes. There, white blood cells are being formed and the fluid is treated for any bacteria and then taken back via the capillaries into our blood vessels.<br />
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Ok, so what does that have to do with sitting? Well, we don’t exactly use many muscles when we sit. <br />
Our major lymph nodes are located behind the knee and deep in the groin, abdomen, chest, neck and arm pits. When we sit on our computers or in the car, our knees and hips are bent. That means these major muscles are kept in a shortened, non-innervated position. Our abdominal muscles are not exactly on overdrive either. Our breathing isn’t optimal in any case. We pull our necks forward like we are turkeys and there is no movement in our arms or shoulders either. And while we work and stress away and think of our next break which we’ll be spending on just another sitting device, the muscles and lymph nodes in all these body parts can’t do their job. Non-working muscles, non-working lymph nodes, no clean blood, no defense for disease. Sitting is defenitely not healthy!<br />
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So, since I’m reaching my word count and promised myself to only write kind-of short posts, I get to the WHAT TO DO part. <br />
- When you must sit, sit straight and breathe freely.<br />
- Start to include some sitting on the floor, ideally on some pillows or a yoga block to get your spine more into its neutral curve and therefore into a better, healthier place<br />
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- when sitting for long time is part of your work day, stand up every once in a while, e.g. when talking on the phone and find reasons to walk around the office.<br />
- Determine a place in your neighbourhood that is 1km away and where you frequently drive to and start walking there.<br />
- Stop watching TV in the LazyBoy and hang out on the floor instea <br />
- Do this <a href="http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/the-how-much-do-i-sit-quiz/" target="_blank">sitting quiz</a> to determine how much much time a day you really spend sitting <br />
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<br />Kangaroo Fitnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11553730404433520454noreply@blogger.com2