I bet you never thought your heart and your ankle mobility could be connected.
It’s a little-known fact, but poor ankle mobility can be a cause of poor circulation. Today, we’re going to talk about why that is — and I’ll show you some practices that will loosen up your ankles and improve your circulation.
The Muscles of Your Lower LegFirst, let’s begin with the muscles in your lower legs.…
If you look at how most people around you move, you will notice many of them walk and stand with their feet turned outward. Sometimes it’s both feet or it can just be one (more often the right foot). This way of standing and walking is known as being “duck footed” or having “duck feet.”
Or maybe you have duck feet — have you checked?…
The quadratus lumborum, or QL, is a key piece of your core. While technically an abdominal muscle, the QL is located deep enough that it has tremendous influence over the lumbar region in your low back.
If you are suffering from lower back pain, understanding and caring for your QL can be a major factor in finding and alleviating the source of that pain.…
I think we can all agree that our feet and ankles take a beating throughout our lives. Not only do they have to support our entire body weight as we move about, but they also have to suffer the aftermath of sprains, strains, sports injuries, high heels, tight shoes, and other mishaps. Who among us hasn’t dealt with some sort of foot pain?…
About 80% of adults in the U.S. experience some sort of low back pain in their lives and many of them suffer from chronic pain.
The result of this widespread problem is that many people live unfulfilling lives due to pain and limited range of motion. They can’t participate in sports and activities like playing with their children or grandchildren. They are often limited in being able to perform simple chores such as grocery shopping and cleaning the house.…
In two previous posts, I talked about mobility techniques for your forearms and upper back to help relieve chronic pain connected to the way you sit. Today, we’re going to take it one step further — we’re going to discuss the muscles in your chest and how they’re overcompensating for your poor posture.
The pec minor is a muscle in your chest — the little brother to pec major.…
For most of us, our thoracic spine takes a beating in our day-to-day lives. When you add up all the time we spend sitting in the car, at a desk, and on the couch, the thoracic spine doesn’t get a lot of movement. In fact, it primarily stays in a rounded position that limits its own ability to rotate and allow full range of motion of the shoulders.…
In this modern age, tight wrists and forearms are standard issue to all of us who use our hands for work. This tightness can lead to all sorts of aches, pains, numbness, and tingling. But while these maladies are quite common, they are also easily preventable. It only takes a little time every day and you’ll see a noticeable difference in how comfortable you feel while working.…
The title of this article is actually a quotation from the Trappist monk Thomas Merton, a well-known theologian. I first came across his words while reading a book by Caroline Myss (a fantastic writer whose books I highly recommend) and it struck a profound cord with me.
Merton wrote this passage while contemplating the scene of a hot summer day in the country.…
Balance is something crucial to our safety in life, yet it is one of those things we take for granted in our youth. And even as we reach the age of forty and beyond, it still often doesn’t get a lot of attention.
Like most things related to our bodies, it is easier to maintain a skill than it is to build it back up after having lost it.…
A strong core is crucial at any age, but it’s something we lose focus on as we get older. This is something I see is many adults over the age of forty. Often, we train less as we get older, and as a result we do fewer core exercises and lack core strength. We may also have a bit of extra weight around the mid-section, and if we already don’t have adequate strength to support our core, then adding extra weight is only going to lead to complications such as hip and back pain.…
