Or, holding any of the heavy things.
If you have a kid (or several) you likely do a lot of carrying of at least one or two of them. Let’s carry our kids better! First pic is what I see everywhere. Low back pain bonanza! Shoulder pain, hello! Pelvic heaviness, oof. And a bunch of other things. So, let’s use our muscles instead of hanging on our joints. Stand tall through the crown of your head, feet hip width apart and pointing forward, shoulders relaxed yet engaged slightly between the shoulder blades (like you're trying to hold a feather there), and engage your core! Not a full force contraction of your abdominals, but think of it more as a slight drawing in of the lower portion of the deep abdominals (transverse abdominals). As my 23 month old says, “Ta da, Mama!” Go try both out and see what you think. Takes a little more muscle power to do it right but then you’re squeezing in a mini core workout several times a day! For my ladies dealing with prolapse, tell your pelvic floors “you’re welcome,” for me. Standing like a schmo? Hello symptoms. Do it better and goodbye symptoms. 😘
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Deep squat for back body expansion. Bellisimo. This is perfect for those of us with a high hinge point. This is the curve in the back that had migrated a little farther up towards mid back, commonly seen in the postpartum body. It is also usually much more exaggerated of a curve than the normal low lumbar curve we like to see.
Grab onto something very sturdy (i.e. won’t move!) and sit back enough that your arms will be straight. Relax into the squat and make sure the fronts of your ankles are relaxed, too (no tibialis anterior activation). Feet and knees together, head down if possible, and breeeeathe. Slow and deep, aiming for the bra line. You may (hopefully!) feel this down into your pelvic floor. If not, focus on this and see what you discover. Don’t let your breath go past your bum though. Let it stop there, otherwise too much efforting could create a bearing down 🛑. Do this for 3-5 good breaths and then go back to whatever you were doing. I try for a few of these daily. They help relax my very overactive paraspinals and are helping me work on decreasing a feisty anterior pelvic tilt! A modification for prolapse or knees that don’t enjoy end range flexion is sitting on a full foam roller, then wrap your arms around your legs instead of holding onto something. I personally have more difficulty with the modification and end up breathing more into my neck. More proof that everyone has different needs. Even with a prolapse I find the full squat works better *for me*. Try both and see what works better for you. I use a foam roller for the modification but you can use a yoga block, stair, curb, firm folded yoga-type blanket, etc. I will do these at the park sometimes, squatting down onto the low divider between the woodchips and grass and it works great! Dropping your head down helps to round the upper back and create more mobility there, but is not required. **Sound on if you are needing the jarring sounds of toddler noise during breakfast!
Another installment in the Breathing Basics series! I will go slightly in-depth into some of the key elements of really good 360 degree breathing. Let's get those diaphragms moving!!
Learning how to breathe into your back is hard work if you haven’t been using a great pattern (e.g. stress/shallow breathing, chest breathing, shoulder breathing). The easiest way to learn is in crocodile pose🐊 Lie prone on a firm surface and support your head with your hands or a small towel roll, legs extended, body relaxed. Breathe slowly and deeply 3-5 times, targeting your midback and lower ribs. Think “bra line” or where a heart rate monitor would sit. Dizziness is obviously a side effect of deep breathing, so keep really deep stuff to 3-5 breaths at a time, then resume quiet breathing. Do this as often as you think of it through the day. I also find this is a great way to chill out right before going to sleep. The goal is to create the habit of breathing fully into your back, belly, and sides, and to move you out of the all-too-typical stress breathing pattern of using our chest and shoulders. Learning how to exaggerate it with deep breathing is the first step, then you scale it back to a more functional application, quiet breathing (which is what you do all day long). At first it might be hard to feel anything moving if things are really sticky back there but use some visual feedback like a mirror or take a video of yourself so you can see. Aligning what you see with what you feel helps you to learn new tasks more rapidly. It also helps you find areas that need improvement. The more you do it the better you will get. Then, you can start working on this in different positions. Sitting in the car or a chair are good places because of the tactile feedback from the seat back. Did you know that full, diaphragmatic breathing can decrease blood pressure, re-frame stressful situations, improve your mood, improve your ability to recruit abdominals, relax paraspinals, and give your abs a workout, all in one sweet package?! It's true. Breathing correctly triggers a vagal response which kicks in the "rest and digest" area of the nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system to be exact. If you really want to nerd out, check out Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory. It will cross your eyes and blow your mind. Being able to expand your ribs through your back is a key element of 360 degree breathing. More tips coming soon! In the meantime, breathe often and fully!! Lateral (side) rib expansion.
Do you have it? Or is it all chest, or all belly, maybe all shoulders? Stand in the mirror and watch yourself, or take a quick video and see what it is you do. Lateral rib expansion is so important for getting obliques to chill out and to manage intra-abdominal pressures well. Without this kind of rib mobility problems start to emerge gradually (diastasis recti, prolapse, hernias, constipation, and incontinence to name a few)...or suddenly! Have good expansion into the sides already? 🙌 Well done! If not, all you need to do is practice! You really can't overdo good breath training. Lying on your side, knees stacked and bent at 90 degrees, and head propped comfortably is the easiest position. As that gets better and you can get 2-3 inches of lateral excursion on each side then start to challenge yourself in sitting, standing, walking/running, lying flat on your back, etc. And remember, do both sides. You may be surprised to find that one side is easier or more mobile than the other side. It can be deceptively hard to do at first. I have done a LOT of work to get to where I am and I still can do some more work. But, it is a great first step on the road to recovery. The video above is my left side only, and it has been my hardest side since having my second baby. Left rib flare, decreased muscle tone in (everything!) left side abdominals, and really tight right side abdominals. I have had all of the muscle imbalances, I am pretty sure! This makes for maximum frustration but also maximum problem solving and using my clinical brain, which is extremely fun for me :) Try it out and let me know how it goes! Make sure to check back for more breathing basics as we talk about all of the basic elements of good breathing. Oh, wait...you didn't know there was such a thing as "bad" breathing? This will be fun! Shoulder Gripping.
When you unconsciously clench your shoulders in some manner. Gripped up, pushed down, squeezed together, lazily rolled forward. Beware: where your shoulders go, your head often follows. Neck and/or upper back pain? Look at the shoulders. Start creating awareness of where you hold your shoulders, which are often the place we store a lot of stress. You can often tell much about a person's psychoemotional state based on their shoulder positioning 😎 Just be careful. It isn’t about moving out of one gripped position to another one in an effort to align better, but more about creating awareness of your alignment habits and learning what does and does not serve you. The act of sitting taller through the crown (not the top) of your head is sometimes enough to get things stacked better and relieve some tension. It is easy to do and you can do it anywhere. Even in the car. By the way, bucket seats are slowly destroying our bodies in my opinion! Un-gripping one area may reveal tightness in another area. That’s okay, and even expected. Take the hint and maybe start to give those things some air time. Butt Gripping.
When you unconsciously clench your glutes (butt muscles). Do you have nice little scoops or “pockets” on the sides of your glutes/behind the head of the femur? Do you ever get a pinching in your groin when you squat or bring your knee to your chest? Low back pain? Flat butt syndrome getting you down (aka “mom butt”)? Can you get a really good squeeze of both sides of your glutes on command or is it hard to do? One side easier to contract than the other? Then you likely favor one side. These are some signs you may be a butt gripper! What to do? Start by noticing it. Check in frequently and do your best to just relax those glutes. Notice when you are doing it and how you are feeling. Tied to stress perhaps? Usually, you don’t need those glutes working so hard during normal, low load activities, like standing around :) Do you frequently find that you shift your weight to one side in particular? Notice this and start shifting to the other side! Or, better yet, place your weight evenly over both feet! Chronic butt gripping can lead to chronic fatigue (i.e. weakness) of those enormous glute muscles, of which we really do need for things like walking, running, jumping, squatting, pelvic floor health, etc. There is a saying that “your glutes ARE your pelvic floor.” So, is your pelvic floor flat, weak, and hard to engage when you need it? Or is it strong, resilient, ready when you need it without having to think about it? Tight hip flexors. Everyone's got them. And everyone is always wanting to stretch them. The problem is that most people aren't even targeting the source of the problem, the actual hip flexors. The psoas muscles! They are deep, they are long, and they influence so many things. You can have someone do it manually by pushing around viscera and poking in a most uncomfortable manner, but it is effective, and actually quite delicious. But, in the absence of a set of practiced and knowledgeable hands, the passive route is quite effective and also a great way to chill out the system and force some downtime for yourself.
For my postpartum mamas, tight psoas muscles are most evident in those of us with more of an anterior pelvic tilt and/or a high lumbar curve (a.k.a. a hinge point). This is the big “scoop” in your low/mid back that sticks around even after baby has arrived. The culprit can be a few things, but for today’s tip we are targeting the psoas. The psoas runs down either side of the spine from T12 to L4, grabbing onto each vertebrae along the way, and having attachments with the diaphragm, moves at an angle out towards hips and then wraps itself a bit to attach into the inner part of each hip (in the groin area) at the lesser trochanters. It is huge and you have two. It’s prime activity is hip flexion. Stretch all day like a lot of commercial exercise videos show you for “hip flexor stretching” but most likely you (and they) are not targeting the main player. Hence, the uphill battle with hip flexors. Get thee a beach towel rolled up or a firm yoga-type blanket folded up a few times, place it under the sacrum, bend your knees, and just let yourself relax into the position. No forcing ribs down, just let gravity do its work. I usually hang out here 3-5 min each time, 1-2x/day. The anterior pelvic tilt (think butt sticking out) I have had FOREVER improves significantly when I stay focused on releasing the psoas muscles. I prefer passive because I can do it myself, it doesn't hurt(!), and I can work on my OM while I hang out which then helps with vagal tone (getting that vagus nerve on board) 🧘♀️, and I can then do my core strengthening and actually make some gains because everything is lined up as it should be allowing for optimal muscles firing and recruitment. It's like the nesting doll of exercise! Having your psoas muscles relaxed allows them to work most efficiently when you actually need them, and it also allows you to hold a neutral pelvis without fighting tight muscles. Everything works together. Isn’t it so beautiful?! Today let’s learn a little about diastasis recti (DRA)! Specifically, how to check for it. It is best to get an official diagnosis from a pelvic floor physical therapist but if you are curious about how to check for yourself then here is the easiest way to do so.
Note: it is truly best to check in every position you utilize, and with every exercise you perform just to see what is happening with your abdominal wall. Lie supine (on your back) with knees extended and abs relaxed. Find your belly button, then raise your head without contracting the abs. Can you feel the margins of your rectus abdominis (the “six pack” abs)? How many fingers wide is it? Palpate above and below the belly button? How far down can you feel it, and how far up toward the ribs can you feel it, if at all? Next, repeat the same motion but this time begin by firming up your deep abdominals as if you are bracing against someone trying to tickle you. Then lift your head and re-check. Any different? Is it wider, narrower, soft and squishy, firm? Now how far down and up can you feel a separation, if any? DRA is very common in pregnant and postpartum women but it is not just this population that experiences it. In my clinical experience it has been just as common in men! I am in the habit of checking everyone who mentions low back pain, regardless of gender or childbearing history. It’s an easy check and can help guide rehab and corrective exercise prescriptions. As always, check with a pelvic floor physical therapist for an official diagnosis. This is meant purely as a fun curiosity check and by no means a diagnosis, but you knew that, right? 😎 Further, more and more literature is coming out revealing that the width of the separation is much less important than the depth of the separation and tension beneath it. Soft and squishy between the two sides indicates weakness of the deep transverse abdominis (TA), even if it is just a single finger width. But some people can have several fingers wide and able to create full tension of the TA when cued, and this is seen as being better than a narrow gap with no tension. Also of note, it is considered an "abnormal separation" when the gap is greater than 2.5 cm or two fingers wide. Why? Who knows. Because if the person cannot create tension in the TAs then 2.5 cm is significant. It all just depends! *By the way, I had a video that went along with a portion of this post originally posted on my Instagram account, but it requires far more tech knowledge than I possess to learn how to do that here :) Ab gripping. It is way too common, especially in women. AKA “sucking in.” It is something we do so much that we stop even noticing we are doing it.
Are you doing it right now? Take your had and place it on your abdomen, close to the ribs and gently jiggle the abs. Feel relaxing? Or was it hard to do? Probably gripping. Check out your abdomen in the mirror: is there a cinched in area at about the level of the belly button, looking from the side? Gripping/sucking in. Are the top abdominals more defined than the lower half? Gripping. Can you "zip up" your abs from the pubis/crotch without those upper abs firing? Gripping. Looking from the side, does it look like your lower abdomen sticks out farther than the upper half? Gripping and lower abdominal weakness. It is constant, long term tension in a group of muscles (usually upper rectus abdominis/"six pack abs" and upper transverse abdominals (TA)) and over time, those muscles adapt to what we ask of them and shorten/weaken so when you go to ask something of them (a heavy lift, core exercises, weight gain, pregnancy, etc.) they have nothing left to give and the pressure has to leak out somewhere, soooooo...yea, diastasis recti (abnormal separation of the abdominal wall) prolapse, leaking of urine or feces, inability to control gas, disc herniations, herniations of the abdominal wall, hemorrhoids, etc. Fun, huh?! Imagine flexing your biceps muscles all day every day. You wouldn't really be able to use your arms very effectively if your biceps were constantly flexed, ha! What would you expect to happen with those muscles? They would shorten and become very tight. Same idea with your abdominal wall. This sort of abdominal weakness is perfect staging grounds for lots of fun stuff, as mentioned above. Men, too! Women are by no means the only ones suffering these issues. Men are just as likely to develop these kinds of problems via means other than pregnancy. Obviously :) If you can’t just relax your abdomen on command (one way to tell you REALLY need this!) then get down on all fours and allow gravity to assist you. Let your belly relax down toward the floor gradually. I know, it feels really weird at first and you will likely be able to feel your body tensing against it, but work through this. Try to keep the shoulders engaged and don’t sink into them. Keep your spine as neutral as you can, trying not to let your low back curve too much. Focus on breathing deeply and slowly, in and out🧘♀️ If you can get in the habit of checking in throughout the day and seeing what your abs are doing (particularly in times of stress) make note of it and try to relax. Hate having your belly "pooch" (terrible word, but everyone can picture it!) out? I get it! But that is what loose-fitting shirts are for in this stage of the game, right?! All sorts of things improve when we stop holding tension, particularly in our abdomen. Digestion, breathing, stress response, constipation, you name it. Try it out and I hope you find some relief! |
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