I know that you have heard it before: "Breath is life". Tuning into the breath is my top strategy for change in the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. Focused breathing creates movement in the body: movement of organs, fascia, muscles and ribs. Optimal breathing allows for the vital chemistry exchange to deliver nutrition to all of our cells for health and vitality. Let's face it, life happens, and it's not always full of breath.... We hold, we limit and we restrict. This movement sequence below is a great way to release the muscles surrounding the chest and to improve the expansion of the ribcage for better breathing. Breathing better allows the oxygen to flow to our muscles and nervous system which can decrease tension and bring the body into ease. |
This movement sequence was inspired by my exploration with Jill Miller's Yoga Tune Up™/Roll Model and Yamuna Body Rolling. Susan McLaughlin is a physical therapist who specializes in the management of pelvic floor and orthopedic dysfunctions. She is the owner of ALIGN integration|movement in Salt Lake City, UT. Helpful tips and other self care strategies can be found at www.alignforhealth.com.
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Susan McLaughlin is a physical therapist who specializes in the management of pelvic floor and orthopedic dysfunctions. She is the owner of ALIGN integration|movement in Salt Lake City, UT. Helpful tips and other self care strategies can be found at www.alignforhealth.com.
The outermost membrane, the dura mater extends from the base of the skull to the sacrum and coccyx. The dura is attached to the lining of the base of the skull and the upper cervical vertebra. Through the remainder of the vertebral canal, the dura does not attach to the vertebra until the end of the dural sac at the second sacral vertebrae. Extensions of the dura surround the nerve roots and continue into the connective tissue coverings of the spinal nerves. So this tube that protects the brain, spinal cord and the spinal nerves is pretty important! In order to have healthy dura and healthy nerves we need proper movement, hydration, nutrition and sleep to keep the connective tissue vital. A lot of our days are full of stress, spent in static positions that lead to neck or sacral compression (sitting at the computer, driving in the car) or repetitive movements that can stress and dehydrate the tissues. Try these movements to keep your nervous system healthy. Exercises To Mobilize Your Nervous System
Susan McLaughlin is a physical therapist who specializes in the management of pelvic floor and orthopedic dysfunctions. She is the owner of ALIGN integration|movement in Salt Lake City, UT. Helpful tips and other self care strategies can be found at www.alignforhealth.com.
Susan McLaughlin is a physical therapist who specializes in the management of pelvic floor and orthopedic dysfunctions. She is the owner of ALIGN integration|movement in Salt Lake City, UT. Helpful tips and other self care strategies can be found at www.alignforhealth.com.
These exercises are great for building the global muscles of the core: abs and back muscles, but what about the intrinsic muscles of the core? In my practice, many people have come to me who have already been doing their "core exercises" and yet they still suffer from back pain, SI dysfunction and pelvic floor disorders, etc. The key to true core stability is to develop motor control, timing and coordination of the intrinsic muscles first, and then develop the abs, obliques and back muscles once the inner stabilization system is firing and wiring together. Intrinsic Core MusclesDiaphragmatic breathing is a great way to reconnect the inner core musclesThe Rhythm of the Respiratory Cycle:
Establishing Core Stability Through Diaphragmatic BreathingSusan McLaughlin is a physical therapist who specializes in the management of pelvic floor and orthopedic dysfunctions. She is the owner of ALIGN integration|movement in Salt Lake City, UT. Helpful tips and other self care strategies can be found at www.alignforhealth.com.
Below is a video sequence to address spinal mobility and upper back tension. Before you begin, lie on your back with your legs out straight. Notice the contact of the back of your legs, your low back, lower ribs and shoulder blades to the floor. After you complete the sequence, lie on the floor again and notice the change of your muscles and your connection with the floor. Enjoy! Susan McLaughlin is a physical therapist who specializes in the management of pelvic floor and orthopedic dysfunctions. She is the owner of ALIGN integration|movement in Salt Lake City, UT. Helpful tips and other self care strategies can be found at www.alignintegrationandmovement.com.
Do you experience burning, stinging or rawness in your vulvar area? Maybe you feel itching, throbbing, or aching in the perineum and pelvis. You are not alone. These symptoms are typical of vulvodynia. Vulvodynia is a pain condition of the female genitals: clitoris, vestibule (vaginal opening), labia, and perineum. There are two main subtypes of vulvodynia:
Self Care StrategiesSelf-care and treatments for vulvodynia can help bring relief and recovery. Unfortunately, there is not a "one size fits all" treatment. Working with a trained healthcare provider who understands vulvodynia is crucial to getting out of pain. Here are a few suggestions to alleviate symptoms: Avoid Irritants to the vulvar tissue
Relieve pain and ease pressure
Make an appointment with your local Pelvic Health Physical Therapist
Resources Susan McLaughlin is a physical therapist who specializes in the management of pelvic floor and orthopedic dysfunctions. She is the owner of ALIGN integration|movement in Salt Lake City, UT. Helpful tips and other self care strategies can be found at www.alignintegrationandmovement.com.
This Saturday, September 22 marks the beginning of Fall. The change of seasons here in Salt Lake City is invigorating: brisk mornings and evenings require putting on layers, and the leaves are turning orange, yellow and red. This change feels so synchronized, steady and effortless. If only changing habits and behaviours could be so elegant...
A transition of seasons may appear effortless, because of the consistency in change month after month. We can apply this concept of change to our own habits and behaviours: big changes most often happen from a sequence of small solutions strung together. Using research from business, psychology, sociology and neuroscience, brothers Chip and Dan Heath have written a book called Switch: How to change things when change is hard. This is a “how to” book that begins with a premise: All change efforts have certain patterns that are similar
This Fall, ALIGN has teamed up with SoulSalt coaching to create a program for change. We call our program Ultimate Freedom: Finding your way out of pain. We are seeking individuals who are in pain, and who are ready to move through it! Ultimate Freedom is a 5 week intensive, that is offered in either a group or an individual format. Utilizing principles of coaching, neuroscience, movement and neuromuscular education, Ultimate Freedom will assist to restore you through a season of change, and a future of no pain! The health and function within our body depends on many factors: adequate sleep, nutrition, emotional/mental/spiritual wellbeing, and exercise/movement. In order to get the best health experience with our body, we need to be able to maintain a consistent environment where our cells are given the opportunity to thrive and regenerate. How we move (or don’t move) and use are body on a daily basis plays a big role in the maintenance of our physiological systems: cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic, reproductive, digestive and nervous. It can also effect our emotional, mental and spiritual states. Within the body, the musculoskeletal system is the foundation for our other systems to work efficiently. The skeleton provides the frame for our muscles to attach. The muscles activate and provide the stimulus to pump the oxygen rich blood to all of the body for optimal regeneration of new cells, as well as facilitate waste removal into the lymphatic system. Consistent practice of alignment principles ensures that the body is in position to allow joints to have full range of motion and muscles are at their appropriate length to stabilize the body and optimize metabolic pathways for daily activities. It also provides a means for you to experience a greater range in your emotional, mental and spiritual sense of fulfillment as you begin to discover where your body is and how you are using it. Many of our ailments are a result of incorrect use of our body. When the “foundation” starts to shift from baseline, we get increased stress risers or breakdown, which leads to tissue degeneration: arthritis, muscle/ligament tears, muscle strains, organ dysfunction, spinal degeneration, disc herniations. The more we can pay attention to the objective alignment markers on our body, and be true to our natural design, we can be more vital and pain free! For those of you who would like to know more about the Whole Body Alignment training click here! For those of you who would like to experience an alignment session click here! For those of you ready to get started with 10 of the 25 Alignment Points to Optimal Health, see below: Susan McLaughlin is a physical therapist who specializes in the management of pelvic floor and orthopedic dysfunctions. She is the owner of ALIGN integration|movement in Salt Lake City, UT. Helpful tips and other self care strategies can be found at www.alignintegrationandmovement.com.
Typically the clients that I work with have been in pain for a long time. Pain that has continued past 6 months is considered to be chronic. Most of the people that I see have had pain for years... As the cycle of pain continues past the normal tissue healing process, pathways to the brain can become affected, this is called central sensitization. A “wind up” of sorts occurs in the nervous system so that your threshold for pain actually lowers. What this means is that, what used to be a mild stimulus sensed in the body, is now more reactive and can set off a “flare”, i.e. a loud noise becomes louder, light becomes brighter. Studies have shown that exercise can be an effective way to manage chronic pain levels. So, how does someone with chronic pain initiate a program so that it doesn’t set off a “flare” or increase current pain levels? The goal of a movement or exercise program is to open the “therapeutic window” just wide enough to improve daily function without increasing pain. The first step is to become aware of performing exercise and movements with good alignment. The better the body is aligned, the less damaging forces are acting on your joints, and your muscles can be more efficient. To learn more about what good alignment is, attend my free intro to alignment session, and then sign up for Restorative Exercise™ classes. The exercise classes are designed to move through a variety of stretches and motor skills to get your body back into alignment and functioning more optimally. The second step is to tune into, and understand your tension patterns. For many people with pain, holding the muscles in a braced and tightened position is very common because it is a way to protect the area. However, over time, the muscles habitually will go into that pattern of tension and you may not even be aware of it anymore. It is important to tune back in and allow the muscles to relax. When muscles are in a constant state of contraction, blood flow is not able to circulate properly to bring in oxygen and remove wastes to the area for tissue healing and regeneration. Learning to become aware of specific muscle groups and to consciously relax them is an essential process to begin to reprogram the nervous system and heal. Focused breathing can be an effective tool for relaxing muscles. People with chronic pain typically take short, shallow breaths that result in the upper chest and shoulders expanding on the in breath. The goal is to allow the belly to be soft, as you expand the ribcage so the lungs can fill more completely on inhalation. Filling the lungs means more oxygen to your system. Practice focused breathing and relaxation daily. Start with short sessions, and then progress to 15-30 minutes. The third step is flexibility. Begin to stretch the muscles that have been held in a contracted state. As the muscles begin to lengthen, the grip and compression held in the joints that they cross, will begin to loosen up. The joints will have more range of motion as the muscles let go. As you stretch, begin to feel for the very first resistance to the motion. In the beginning, it is important to stay below a pain threshold or intense sensation of the muscle being stretched. Make sure that you have good alignment when performing the stretch and stay relaxed. Less is more when you first start out. If you notice that your pain has increased after the stretch session, modify for the next session: 1) you may need to perform every other day rather than daily 2) hold the stretch for less time 3) back off of the intensity of the stretch and make sure you are performing the stretch correctly. The fourth step is to begin a walking program for endurance and aerobic conditioning. Begin with short bouts of walking, maybe 5 minutes 2-3 times a day. Increase the duration of walk by 5 minutes every 1-2 wks until you are able to walk 20-30 minutes. Chronic pain conditions require tailored exercise and movement modification. For those of you with chronic pain, utilizing the guidelines presented in this post, may open the “therapeutic window” to enhance function and quality of life. Susan McLaughlin is a physical therapist who specializes in the management of pelvic floor and orthopedic dysfunctions. She is the owner of ALIGN integration|movement in Salt Lake City, UT. Helpful tips and other self care strategies can be found at www.alignintegrationandmovement.com.
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