What's "Neutral Pelvis"?

When I was in school, (for Exercise Physiology) each movement began “from neutral pelvis”, but no one ever explained how to find neutral pelvis.  How far do you stick your backside out?  How much do you tuck your pelvis?  This has always concerned me.  And no wonder!  I recently looked up the psoas in one of my old Anatomy books, and it barely had a paragraph about it.  I can’t believe that.  It’s such an important muscle in the health of your back, and it just had a paragraph!  Of course I had a hard time finding neutral pelvis, not to mention what a hard time I had teaching my personal training clients about neutral pelvis. 

But then, I went to yoga teacher training.  I studied under Stephanie Keach, at Asheville Yoga Center (awesome yoga teacher training program, if you get a chance to go!).  Stephanie teaches a technique she calls “Pez”, like the candy.  I’ll show you what she’s talking about in the workshop.  Suddenly, I understood!  Yay for yoga.

But over the years, with so much teaching, I started to have trouble with my left hip and sacro-illiac joint.  What was going on?  I was practicing Pez!

Last fall, I went to the workshop at AYC with John Friend.  John looked at me, and immediately knew I had been tucking my pelvis under too much.  All these years of teaching yoga had strengthened my abs to the point that they overwhelmed my back muscles.

So, I’ve modified Stephanie’s Pez just a little bit, added a bit of John Friend’s advice,  as well as my own experiences, and have come up with a workshop I call “Neutral Pelvis”.  If you have back pain, or know someone who does, try this workshop!

Hope to see you there!

Why I do yoga: part 2

In this series, I’m exploring all the reasons I choose to do yoga and own a studio.  What I’m discovering is that it could be a long series.  There’s so much I love about practicing yoga!

But today, I want to talk about one of the physical reasons I practice yoga:  my back.

If I could show you my x-rays, you would see a weird bone formation at L-4/L-5.  Those are two of the lower vertebrae, just above the pelvis.  When I was 18, I was having a lot of back pain, and I went to a Chiropractor.  He found that I have a natural fusion of the two vertebrae, and that they form a strange shape, and are connected on the left side of my spine.  This was affecting me in several ways.  First, the spot of fusion was hurting a lot.  It seemed that the fused bones were rubbing on the upper part of my pelvis, and since there was no natural cartilage there, it was pretty painful.  Also, I got “referred pain”, which means that I had muscular pain on the right side of my mid-back, in my left shoulder, and in the right side of my neck & jaw.  And I was just 18, and very fit.

My parents took me to an Orthopedist, who said he could do nothing for me.  He also said that I wouldn’t be able to walk by the time I was 30, and then they would do surgery.  (BTW, I’m about to turn 36 and I walk pain-free!)

Dejected, I began studying how to strengthen my back.  I found that the stronger my back, the less pain I experienced.  I was a personal trainer, and everything I had been taught had to do with the superficiality of the body-the muscles you can see.  I began training the deep muscles of the back.

But then came yoga.  At first, I was so frustrated when I struggled with some of the poses.  I was so strong and healthy, right?  But I learned that my core strength, while better than before, was sadly lacking.  Yoga works better than any other exercises to target, strengthen, and stretch the deep muscles of the back, to support the spine.

Today, I have been practicing yoga regularly for almost 10 years.  I have no back pain.  On a rare occasion, I will “over-do” and hurt.  But now, I know how to fix it.  Yoga has been the ultimate solution to my back pain problem.

If you’ve got back pain, what are you waiting for?  Try a class!

Yoga for Singers & Performers

A couple weeks ago, Dr. Sun-Joo Oh (“Sunny”) asked me to do a yoga class for her singing students at ETSU, specifically designed for their needs. I was thrilled to work with this group, and interested to learn about their special concerns. I had never considered the specific needs in yoga for those who sing, play instruments, or perform in other ways, so it gave me a chance to research & learn a new topic. I found so much information! If there’s enough interest, I would love to do a 3-hour workshop at the studio on this one.


I began by printing out anatomy sheets for each of the students, and discussing just some of the muscles I intended to highlight. I was so excited that the class was clearly engaged in the process. Next, we did a short class, using all the muscles we covered, plus a few more. It was a light-hearted, fun time. Thank you, Sunny, for the invitation, and thank you, students for the warm reception.

A few highlights:

-singers should remember to keep their cervical (neck) spine in line with the rest of their spine, not only while singing, but also while driving, or carrying the heavy books around campus.

-relaxing the muscles in the front of the neck can have a long-term impact on the vocal cords

-yogic 3-part breath (inhale chest, then ribs, then belly…then reverse for the exhale) will help strengthen and stretch the intercostal muscles, which lie between the ribs.

-pranayama, or yogic breath practice is very helpful, and is easily practiced on-the-go

Cranio-Sacral Therapy

Last week, I had the greatest therapy experience!  I went to Barbara Dray at East Tennessee Medical Massage, just up the hill from the yoga studio.  Despite (or maybe because of) the many classes I teach, my hips have been rotated for months, which causes some pain to my low back.  Barb, who also does a great massage, tried CranioSacral therapy on me. 
I was not very familiar with CST, so she sent me some info from the Upledger Institute.  In the late seventies, Dr. John E. Upledger, an osteopathic physician, developed a system where the practitioner uses a gentle hand pressure to help release restrictions in the craniosacral system, and thereby improving the function of the central nervous system.  CST is used in many applications, and to treat many diseases.
As for my experience:  Barbara used a very gentle touch, primarily on my left hip.  My job was to relax and breathe.  The first time she did CST on me, I felt, very clearly, one of my hip adductor muscles release.  Amazing.  The second time, I believe the treatment allowed my hips to come out of their rotation.  They aren't perfect, but much, much better than before.
If you are interested in CranioSacral therapy, you can contact Barbara Dray at http://www.dreamweaverha.com/
Have a great week!
Jennifer

Shopper's Recovery

Shopper's Recovery

Viparita Karani

If you went shopping this morning, you probably need a little recovery time.  I've got the perfect pose for you:  Legs-Up-the-Wall!  This is a wonderful, restorative pose for any time you need a little recovery.  This pose is called Viparita Karani in Sanscrit, roughly, "reversed action".  Sounds good, doesn't it?
Legs-Up-the-Wall relieves your legs, povides a gentle stretch to your legs, low back and neck, and even calms the mind.  This is a great pose to practice during menstruation, as it seems to ease cramping.  Please avoid this pose if you have serious eye problems, such as glaucoma.

To begin, find a section of wall at your house that you can scoot up close to.  Sit very close to the wall, with your left hip touching the baseboard.  Gently swing both legs up, while lying your toso down on the floor.  If you're like me, you slid away from the wall already.  So just use your arms to help you scoot a little closer, until your backside is on the baseboard, or until your legs are as stretched as you like.  If your feet start to tingle, just hug your knees into your chest for a few breaths, and try again.  When you're ready to come out of this pose, just roll slowly to your right side, and rest there for a minute before using your arms to press your way back up to sitting.

Use the time in this pose to breathe deeply into your belly and to meditate.  Allow your stress to melt away...

Psoas Release

The psoas muscle is often a buzz-word in yoga circles, but where is it and how do I release it?

The psoas and its counterpart, the iliacus (often referred to as one unit, the "iliopsoas") is located deep in your mid-section.  It attaches to the lower spine, runs through the pelvis & attaches to the femur, the large bone in your thigh.  These muscles act to flex the hip joint, advancing the thigh in walking-type movements.  Typically, I find that students with a tight psoas have low back pain, coupled with an excessive arch to their lower spine (lordosis).  They also may complain of tight hips, inflexible hip flexors, and sore quadricep muscles.

Engaging your low belly, and finding neutral pelvis while standing and engaging in yoga asana is a great way to strengthen the psoas muscle.  We will deal with neutral pelvis in another posting.

It's relatively easy, however, to allow the psoas muscle to release and relax.  Begin by lying on your back, with both knees bent, feet flat on the floor.  Now just breathe.  Meditate, or listen to music, but stay here and breathe.  As you begin to relax, notice how your low back seems to 'melt' into the mat.  Feel free to adjust your pose to accomodate this elongation of your psoas muscle.  Don't expect your psoas to release in 30 seconds, or even a few minutes.  For many people, especially those who don't have a regular yoga practice, this process can take as long as 20 minutes.  Give yourself time and enjoy the journey.

We'll address the psoas again, but for now, enjoy lengthening this very important hip-mover!