How about a fun workout challenge??

How strong are your calves? Not, how large and/or tight and “ripped” do they look, but how *strong* are they *really*?

Calf raises. How far forward is your body translating when you raise up onto your toes? Check yourself against a wall (have something to hold onto!) or up to the kitchen counter.

Calf raises are a great way to strengthen not just your calves, but also your feet and ankles. There are so many ways to make them more challenging. Usually, people sway forward quite a bit and use the anterior (front) chain rather than the posterior (back) chain to create the movement. Cheater cheater pumpkin eater 🎃

Using the wall takes that cheat away and all you’re left with is foot/ankle, glute, and core strength. A.K.A. being faced with the truth of your back side.

The first time I tried these I couldn’t raise up a millimeter without holding on. Seriously. It was a gradual progression (mostly due to inconsistency) but the last couple weeks I have worked in a set at the wall each day and now it’s getting much smoother and I no longer have to hold onto anything.

Also, my calves were very unhappy initially. Clearly, I had never used them correctly before. When stationary, you should move basically straight up and down. When walking, calves work in concert with everything else to move you forward. Two different tasks with different demands. Work the isolated strength then move into dynamics and see how much better things feel.

Have fun!

Walking. Seems so innocuous, no? Notice how you walk throughout your day. Feet, arm swing, spine, hips/pelvis, breathing. The whole nine yards.

Here I first demonstrate the gait I see frequently, in women AND men. Lumbar (lower) spine rotates, thoracic (mid-upper back) spine stays still, arms going bananas in an attempt to create forward propulsion.

What we would like to see is some lovely cross body rotation (second demo), with shoulder rotating towards opposite hip as you step forward. A nice, relaxed, fluid motion. Of course, this can take some work to achieve, not the least of which is midback mobility (see my post on this from last August/September). But, in the meantime just notice what you feel and see. This is just a fun little test to see where you are at right now.

One of the things I see most often in women experiencing prolapse and diastasis recti is this lack of cross body rotation and general stiffness. And walking is the quickest way to spy this deficit. Complaints of low back pain are also often accompanied by the stiff upper body and overly-mobile lumbar spine.

The last part is a fun drill to do throughout the day to encourage more rotation. Exaggerate the rotation, and wiggle! Shake those sillies out!

Habit stacking with crawling because...why not?! I have been doing a lot more crawling lately to mix it up, work on serratus strength, core stability, and to keep my brain guessing by introducing novel stimuli every so often. Plus, it’s fun! Double plus, you’re already down on the floor with the kids, so get after it!

My pelvis used to rotate and rock side to side no matter what I tried, but once I stopped my reductionist approach to...everything...and started looking at the whole picture things started falling into place. Enter: the sippy cup. I can keep it standing and as close to motionless as I’ve ever gotten. Hooray!

It’s been good for my brain and body to get creative during this quarantine madness. Play, have fun, mix it up.

Since we are all upping the hand-washing big time these days due to #coronavirus how about a little #alignment #tutorial since you’re spending way more time (at least 20 seconds of lather 12,147 times per day) scrubbing the nasties off your hands 😝

A few tips to consider: avoid leaning on the counter and thrusting hips forward, stand tall from the crown of your head, keep knees unlocked and soft, try aligning sternum over pubic bone, avoid hunching upper back to reach the water and instead reach through with serratus muscle (bringing shoulder blades forward), shake your #groovethang and maybe even practice getting some good 360 breaths in here, too.

Happy handwashing!

It’s a special Halloween edition of The Pelvic Underground. I even dressed up for the occasion!

Here’s something scary...tight glutes and pelvic floor! One of my recent favorite self-myofascial release tricks.

This one targets pelvic floor from behind and specifically deep hip rotators. It is delicious for getting a femur (the “thigh” bone) that sits too far forward in the socket to rest back and center.

Got a tight pelvic floor, hip impingement, or a labral tear? Try this out!

First, lie on the floor with knees bent and feel what you feel, particularly how much floor you can feel with your bum. Is one knee higher than the other? If so, do that side first and most.

Next, find your midline between #glutesofglory and then feel for your tailbone, place the ball an inch or so above and to the right or left of the tailbone. Don’t rest *on* the bony areas, find flesh. Then rest in that spot, breathe into it and feel yourself #relax into this. It should NOT hurt. Then move across your glutes doing this same thing until you reach the back of your “hip bone” (posterior portion of the greater trochanter). Remove the ball and now see how it feels. How much more floor can you feel? Does it feel like a wide open space now? That’s your femur resting into position 😎 Are your knees level now? Excellent!

Happy (belated) Halloween!

Sometimes (a lot of the time) this is parenthood and you do what works . My arm was tired. I stir with my right and don’t want to exacerbate a muscle imbalance I have worked hard to re-balance since becoming a mom so I kick up a leg and my cute toddler can rest on my thigh and my arm gets a rest. Bonus: I can work on relaxing my hip flexors, engaging my #glutesofglory , core stability, and breathing into my glutes to get them to lengthen on the left.

Of my two kids, he is more of a Velcro baby still, and he loves to watch me cook. So it shall be 😎

​{Last night’s dinner was a vegan Moroccan carrot red lentil soup. So yummy, so chunky, so easy.}

Part 4 of Car Seat Calisthenics!

This one will help wake up that core! I want you to think TALL, chin tucked slightly, abs engaged from the bottom up, ribcage down, and hip hinge from the glutes/hips. Only go as far down as your hamstrings allow in order to keep that good hinge. Set the car seat on something to make it higher if needed.

Push through your pinkies to engage shoulders and serratus anterior (remember her? She is besties with external obliques). Don’t sink into your shoulders, engage them!

Keep that core engaged throughout and move mindfully.

No bearing down my ladies with prolapse...none. Do what you can, skip what you can’t for now. If walking out and back with bent knees helps, do that.

Note: I have *no* baby in the car seat, which would have been helpful to keep it more stabilized. Empty made it a LOT more challenging!

Note again: This is sped up 2x so take it slow, breathing through the movement! Again, think: mindful movement, exhale on the effort.

Oh wait, another note: if these are too hard, modify!
~If hamstrings are a hindrance for hinging, put the car seat up higher.
~Bend knees to start and work up to straight legs if too challenging at this time.
~Hip hinge, hip hinge, aaaaaand hip hinge!
~Walk out as far as you can while keeping core engaged and without any doming/bulging/pooching.
~KEEP YOUR RIBCAGE DOWN! Yes, even in standing.
~Use a mirror or video yourself and see what is going on so you know what to fix or high-five yourself for doing well 😎

Well done 🙌 You now have a quick, four part, car seat workout that you can squeeze in without even having to wake up a sleeping babe 😁

Part 3 of Car Seat Calisthenics!

This time balance is challenged. We all need more balance, in all things 🧘‍♀️

I want you to think TALL, chin tucked, abs engaged from the bottom up, ribcage down, and hip hinge from the glutes (no rounded back! Only go as far down as your hamstrings allow in order to keep that good hinge. Set the car seat on something to make it higher if needed.

Keep that core engaged throughout and move mindfully.

No bearing down my ladies with prolapse...none. Do what you can, skip what you can’t for now.

Note: I have *no* baby in the car seat.

Note again: This is sped up 2x so take it slow, breathing through the movement! Again, think: mindful movement, exhale on the effort.

Oh wait, another note: if these are too hard, modify!
~If hamstrings are a hindrance, bend your stance leg more.
~If single leg deadlift is too challenging at this time and/or balance is not there then do a double leg version.
~Hip hinge, hip hinge, aaaaaand hip hinge!
~Don’t use any weight and then work up.
~KEEP YOUR RIBCAGE DOWN! Yes, even in standing.
~Use a mirror or video yourself and see what is going on so you know what to fix or high-five yourself for doing well 😎

Stay tuned for part 4!

What this all boils down to is, be more mindful! Because, sometimes, it’s going to look like ☝️this☝️. And that’s okay!

Notice your habits and if they are not in alignment with your goals, work to change them! With posture it just takes a lot of repetition. These aren't earth- moving concepts. They are simple, actionable things that you can do over and over and over again. Make a sticky note (or 10!) and put one anywhere you look frequently to remind you. If I can help one of you lift and carry better then I am full of joy over here! It isn’t going to be 100% of the time, and likely not even 70% of the time that you’ll have this wonderful posturing. I don’t! You just need to do a little here and a little there, and be more body aware. And it totally helps.

For those of us labeled with various pelvic health ailments, it is scary to read what the interwebs have to share on things like diastasis recti and particularly pelvic organ prolapse. Sure, you need to be more aware and change up a few habits but it is all for the better and will serve you well into old age when everyone else is dealing with overuse injuries from a lifetime of bad posture and mechanics. So, high five to you for taking the first steps!

Good posture and alignment that best suits *you* and excellent breathing strategies will allow you to perform most of what you wish to do. But, obviously, please seek guidance from a qualified medical or exercise specialist who deals with these kinds of things regularly and understands the unique circumstances of postpartum rehab and pelvic health issues. Having a go-to women's health/pelvic floor physical therapist is one of the best tools to have in your lady bits tool box. (Oh my gosh, so many puns in that sentence!)

If you have any questions, please reach out to me and I will do my best to assist you and/or point you in the right direction. We are in this together! YOU are not alone, my friend.