Bodywise PT & Pilates Rehab

10/29/2019

04/03/2018

S I T T I N G - S P I N E - R O T A T I O N
This exercise seems really appropriate for the start of April, helping you to foster renewal and connection in this glorious spring month.
Let’s CONNECT & RENEW.
Rotations have a huge detox effect in our bodies, including squeeeezing toxins out of our organs and decompressing the spine. A good rotation will help you unlock parts of your body that have likely been holding tension for a long time.
✨Awesome for:✨
👉🏽Back pain
👉🏽Shoulder pain/tension
👉🏽Chest tightness —> CLIMBERS, I’m looking 👀 at you
1️⃣Sit with one foot touching the opposite thigh (as pictured)
2️⃣ Place fingers behind your ears. Anchor your hips into the floor.
3️⃣ Mindfully stack your ribs on top of your pelvis, shoulders on top of your ribs and head on top of your shoulders.
4️⃣ Imagine a light on your chest bone and shine the beam parallel to the floor in front of you to begin.
4️⃣ Trace the light around your body as if you are drawing an imaginary circle around your body.
5️⃣ Hold the rotation x 15-20 seconds, for 5 repetitions and repeat on the opposite side.
🤔I have been contemplating some longer format videos because I feel like some of my message is lost in these 60 second shorty’s. What do you think? Would you be interested in longer educational videos as well as some 20 minute movement health classes?
I’m happy to be moving with y’all

03/30/2018

M O V E M E N T M A I N T E N A N C E | Spinal Stability
FRIDAY! Hello weekend!
Has the stress of the week got your back wrecked? 🌪Well here is the good news: a few days of recharge is coming your way. Start with this little number that is sure to give your spine the stability it needs to reduce any back pain you may be experiencing.💃
✨GOOD FOR:✨
👉🏽Low back pain
👉🏽Neck pain
👉🏽Mid back pain
👉🏽Hip pain
👉🏽Shoulder pain
1️⃣Pelvic Tilts: tilt your pelvis back and forth x 10 repetitions
2️⃣Leg lifts: keep your pelvis in a neutral position while you allow your legs to float up towards your chest x 5 repetitions each leg
3️⃣Arm raises: keep your chest and ribs heavy as you raise your arms above your head, feeling a stretch in your armpit area x 5 repetitions each arm
4️⃣Bridges: starting at your tailbone, lift one vertebrae at a time, making sure to roll your way up and down x 5 repetitions
5️⃣Partial curl up: tuck your chin and curl up, one vertebrae at a time, feeling a stretch in your neck, be sure to keep your pelvis neutral
🌟Do it daily for some real low back pain relief!!
Happy Easter 🐣 if thats your thang, otherwise happy weekend!!

03/29/2018

K N E E L I N G - H I P - S T R E T C H || Hip flexor, quadriceps and shin stretch
This is a really great active stretch for the hip flexors, quads and shins. You will learn how to stretch these tissues together and your body will learn how to integrate these healthy patterns to move your legs. Let’s get it.
This stretch is good if you are suffering from:
👉🏽Hip pain
👉🏽Low back pain
👉🏽Knee pain
👉🏽Ankle pain
1️⃣Get into a kneeling position, with your left foot forward.
2️⃣Stack your pelvis upright, with your thigh bones rotated OUT.
3️⃣Lean forward from the tailbone, feel a stretch in your hip and quad
4️⃣Shift your weight back as if you are sitting on your heel and push your toes into the floor to feel a stretch in the shin. Try to maintain level hips as you shift back.
Feel the glory of hip, knee and ankle mobility!

03/27/2018

S I T T I N G - S I D E - B E N D
This exercise pairs nicely with a glass of rośe on the porch while watching the sunset. 🌅
Seriously though, it is a great follow-up to the SITTING HIP FLEXOR STRETCH from last week. 👈🏽 Check it out, do them back to back, feel how your body can listen, grow and learn. 🌱
Too often I see people suffer from a lack of mobility in their mid back. Stiffness in your mid back can cause:
👉🏽Low back pain
👉🏽shoulder pain
👉🏽Neck pain
👉🏽Costochondritis (pain/tension between the rib and sternum)
👉🏽A rib to “go out”
🌟Do this exercise, do it often, do 3-5 repetitions each time.🌟
1️⃣Sit with one foot touching the opposite thigh (as pictured)- Position your trunk so that your shoulders are centered with your front foot
2️⃣ Stay here, stacking your head on your shoulders, your shoulders on your ribs and your ribs on your hips. Let the front of your thighs go and your hips sink towards the ground.
3️⃣ Place your left hand on the ground next to your front thigh and right fingers behind your ear as you lean towards the left hand.
4️⃣ Hold x 15-20 seconds
✨KEY POINTS: ✨
🧠think about your ribs opening up, pulling away from one another, fanning out.
🧠Imagine that your chest bone is fixed and rotate around it, keeping it still and feel your spine open along the side to form a candy cane like shape
Y’ALL! let’s dance.💃💃

03/26/2018

L E G - A L I G N M E N T
How energy travels up from the ground into your body is determined by how you align your feet and legs. Muscles will contract according to how your bones are positioned so alignment is key for balanced movement!
PELVIS
Imagine your pelvis is a bowl and position it so that the rim is upright towards your head, not allowing anything to spill out forwards or backwards.
KNEES
Kneecaps should point forward with relaxed quads and hamstrings.
FEET
2nd toe should be facing forward and feet should be about 2.5-3 inches apart.
ALL activities which involve being on your feet should following a similar pattern to this one. So, to transfer it to a wide leg squat stance, you would keep your pelvis upright and in line with your head while your thighs, knees and feet turn out so that they are aligned. More on that later!
💡This is one of the most profound things I teach my patients. Many people are blown away at how “off’ they are from this stance and how their brain 🧠receives a lot of input when they align this way initially. ✨REMEMBER✨: it takes time to re-wire your nervous system and you will have more input initially, and maybe even feel like the alignment is exaggerated. Totally normal.
Embrace how intelligent your body is!

03/23/2018

M O V E M E N T M A I N T E N A N C E | Spine
Wondering what these Friday diddy’s are all about? Well, they are about getting your ninja face on and learning those swift moves.
Serious talk: they are here for you to practice moving in all planes, with control of your body and with attention to alignment. Please don’t underestimate how much you need this time y’all. IT IS NOT ABOUT PERFECTION. These are about ease and rhythm and enjoyment, so GO—> ENJOY.
Today’s Movement Maintenance is about the spine:
The spine is our FOUNDATION. When you have a crumbling foundation, the walls are eventually coming down too. As our foundation, it needs mobility in all directions to stay healthy and stable. So go ahead, practice moving it, in flexion, in extension, all the ways and it will love you forever.
✨Good for:✨
👉🏽People who sit at a desk for work
👉🏽People with aches and pains :)
👉🏽Neck, Mid or Low back pain
👉🏽Shoulder, hip or foot pain
👉🏽All the pains
**video is sped up 3x**
1️⃣Arm raises: 5x: maintain a connection between your feet, hips and chest, allowing them to stay grounded while your arms raise and lower
2️⃣Rolldowns: 3x: keep your feet firmly planted as you roll down and up one vertebrae at a time
3️⃣Segmental Cat/Cow: 5x: imagine a light on your chest and allow this to lead you into this motion, avoiding the extremes of “cat” and “cow”
4️⃣Lunge Cat/Cow 3x each side: Assume a yoga lunge with hands on the floor and resume the cat/cow with hips square and level.
😁Finish with a smile
Do you practice moving? What is your preferred maintenance? Let’s start a discussion in the comments👇🏽
Sending y’all all the love on this beautiful Friday!

03/22/2018

S C A R E C R O W || shoulder stability and mid back mobility
This exercise is one of my favorites! It is so yummy 😋 for gaining some extra length in your mid back and opening up your shoulders!
✨Good if you have:✨
👉🏽Forward hunching shoulders and head
👉🏽Pinching sensation on the front of your shoulders
👉🏽Pain in your elbows (on either side)
👉🏽Knots between your shoulder blade and spine
👉🏽That pesky knot at the top of your shoulder blade
👉🏽Forearm tightness
🌟Helps you gain:🌟
💥Mobility in the mid back
💥Upper extremity disassociation (teaches your arms to move independently of your spine)
💥Mobility in the shoulders
💥Better movement of the arm bone in the socket
1️⃣Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat, arms in ‘goalpost’ like position.
2️⃣Inhale to prepare, exhale as you let your arms straighten out above your head- only go as far as you can continue touching the ground with the whole of the back of the arm.
3️⃣Let your arm bones feel like they are rotating backwards as you straighten them out
4️⃣Drop your ribs towards your pelvis as your arms straighten, keeping your spine in contact with the surface beneath you
5️⃣Bring them back to the starting position on the inhale
6️⃣Repeat x 10 repetitions
☄️BONUS: extend your arms as far as you can without letting any part of the arm lift off the floor, stay there and flip the palms so they are on the ground, hold x 3-5 minutes for extra forearm stretch. It’s SO good, I promise.
Get up and feel the rush of shoulder mobility 🕺🏽and length! You might even feel taller! go ahead, get you some of this right away. I’ll be right here waiting to hear back about how cat like your moves get after this one. 🐆
Guys, I love this stuff 🤓 I hope you do too

03/20/2018

S I T T I N G - H I P - F L E X O R - S T R E T C H
Let’s talk about the PSOAS muscle. Together with the Iliacus, the Iliopsoas muscle pulls the knee towards the chest (or the chest towards the knee) and externally rotates the hip.
If we sit with poor posture for too many hours, on too many days, year after year, it will dominate your movements. ALL your movements. Seriously, it can wreak havoc if it is unbalanced and not lengthening when and how it should.
It starts way up at the ribs and ends down at the hip near the SITS bones. It is deep and can therefore can act as a mover or a stabilizer.
**An important note about the iliopsoas muscle** It is one of the muscles in our bodies that has sympathetic as well as parasympathetic nerves running through it. This means, IT IS HIGHLY RESPONSIVE TO STRESS. 🌪
Tightness here can cause:
👉🏽Low Back Pain
👉🏽Hip Pain
👉🏽Deep abdominal pain
👉🏽Lower rib pain
Before doing this stretch, get into a mindset of letting your body go where it wants, no perfection, just stretch. 🌈Think about scooping out any excess tension/stress/activity out of your hips.🍨
1️⃣Sit with one foot touching the opposite thigh (as pictured)- Bring your front knee around so it is centered with your trunk
2️⃣Stay here, stacking your head on your shoulders, your shoulders on your ribs and your ribs on your hips. Let the front of your thighs go and your hips sink towards the ground.
3️⃣Rotating your ribs around your spine, place your hands flat on the ground next to you and feel the stretch in your hip flexor.
4️⃣Continue to let your back thigh rotate inwards as you sink into the ground and hold for 5-10 breaths
5️⃣Repeat on the opposite side
This is real cleansing stretch that requires patience and care. Take your time with it, it will come.🙏🏽
👂🏽Let your body do its thing, listen to what it has to say.

03/19/2018

R I B - & - C H E S T - A L I G N M E N T
Alignment of the chest and ribs is more than half of the posture equation!
Imagine you have a lightbulb on your chest bone and shine the beam parallel to the floor. This will allow your ribs to be soft and your shoulders to be neutral, preventing the “hinge” at the bottom of your mid back where many of us will experience pain.
Go ahead, get you some of that good posture!
Movement is the sure cure for Mondaze, friends

03/16/2018

M O V E M E N T M A I N T E N A N C E | Shoulders and Mid Back
Phew, finally Friday! It has been a whirlwind kind of week for me guys, I’m looking forward to sleeping and hopefully getting outside to climb this weekend before I have to take the GRE on Monday, which (I hope) is the last time EVER.
This little Friday flow targets your shoulders and mid back and will get you a little extra stretch in your forearms!
Good for:
👉🏽Mid-back pain
👉🏽Tight neck and shoulders
👉🏽Those pesky knots between your shoulder blade and spine
KEY POINTS:
🧠Stand with 2nd toes facing forward, feet 2-3” apart
🧠Let your ribs MELT down, FOCUS ON NOT ARCHING YOUR BACK as your arms go above your head
🧠Keep your shoulder blades HEAVY throughout all these movements
🧠Keep your p***s light and chest bone light pointed parallel to the floor (reference prior posts for instructions on this!)
THE MOVEMENT:
*note: video is sped up 2.5x*
💥ARM CIRCLES 5x forwards each arm
💥ARM RAISES: raise arms with palms facing backwards to 90 degrees and flip palms to face forward from 90-180 deg- 3 repetitions
💥EXTERNAL to INTERNAL rotations: start with palms up, externally rotate arms until fingers are pointing away from you, extend elbows, take arms above head, bring arms back to 90-90 or goal post position, then drop palms so they face behind you and internally rotate arms to bring them down by your side,- repeat 5x
💥SPINE ROTATIONS: arms out to your side, palms up, rotate ribs around spine- 2 reps to each side
💥SPINE LATERAL FLEXION: arms out to your side, palms up, keep weight even between feet and flex to each side 2 repetitions to each side.
Happy Friday y’all!

03/15/2018

G E T - Y O U R - B U T T - I N - G E A R || low back pain and glut strength
Have you been working on your gluteus muscles to address your low back or hip pain and coming up short?
When the hips are not fully mobile, (this means FULL or EVEN range of motion in all directions), it can cause low back and/or hip pain.
These types of pain will often be called:
Sciatica
Low back pain
Sacroiliac dysfunction
Iliotibial Band Syndrome (this may have symptomology at the knee, but generally stems from the hip)
And can cause pain in the:
Low Back
Mid Back
Hips
Tailbone
P***c Symphysis
Knees
Down the legs
WHY its hard to get results from simply “strengthening” the gluts:
When an imbalance occurs in the low back/hips, it can be caused from many many different things (old injury, too much sitting, poor posture, poor ergonomics, etc.). Whatever the cause, imbalances in the tissues and bones will lead to an alteration of the movement patterns. THIS CAUSES FRICTION BETWEEN THE STRUCTURES WHICH LEADS TO INFLAMMATION AND ULTIMATELY PAIN.
When the movement patterns are not balanced, some muscles will turn off while other, stronger ones take over. This changes how the bone is moving. The muscles that turn off get inhibited or shut down. When inhibition occurs, the tissue around the muscle will tighten and make it almost impossible to contract the muscle in functional movements (i.e. when it is called upon in a sequence as in walking). This is why it can be challenging to see results with strengthening the gluts in isolation.
Solution: PAY ATTENTION TO THE BONES. When you put your attention on the bone and its relationship to other bones, you will contract ALL the muscles required to accomplish a certain movement rather than targeting just one muscle.
What did you think of this new approach to movement? How did you feel after this exercise?
Have a lovely day!

03/14/2018

T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G Y O U R P A I N
What happens when you find yourself injured? Are you setting yourself into a cascade of protective patterning and long term injury?
Try these steps when the injury first happens to calm the pain and ready your body to heal. These work for older injuries as well!
1. DON’T FREAK OUT!
Stress releases a hormone called cortisol which readies the muscles to FIGHT or FLEE. This muscle tension is useful in situations where you need to run from a lion or take someone out, however most modern day situations do not require this and the tension just gets in the way of our muscles, tissues and bones from repairing.
2. TAKE A DEEP BREATH
Healthy breathing is like hitting the reset button on the way our muscles are contracting. This will help you reduce any spasms that may be caused by the injury.
Expand your trunk in 360 degrees while inhaling and on the exhale, contract the ribs and pelvic floor to push air out of your body.
3. MELT AWAY UNNECESSARY TENSION
See “don’t freak out” above. Tension = pain
Bring your attention to the area that is injured and think about the muscles spreading like water or being as heavy as possible.
4. ALIGN YOUR CHEST, PELVIS & FEET
Alignment of the bones allows the muscles to engage sequentially and in a balanced manner.
FEET: 2nd toe faces forward
CHEST: imagine a lamp on your chest bone, shine the beam parallel to the floor
PELVIS: Imagine a lamp on your p***s bone, shine the beam parallel to the floor
5. INTRODUCE GENTLE MOVEMENT
Gentle movement includes staying within your PAIN-FREE range of motion with no added resistance.
What injuries are you dealing with right now? What do you do to find relief?
Move well to live well.

03/13/2018

C H I L D ‘ S P O S E C O B R A
This is a different way to look at the cobra exercise which is good to help you MOBILIZE your MID BACK without causing injury to your low back.
GOOD FOR SUFFERERS OF:
Low back pain
Mid back pain
Neck pain
Shoulder pain
HELPS IMPROVE:
Spine Mobility
Spine Stability
Shoulder Mobility
Reduces compression in low back and neck
Assume a Childs pose position: sitting on heels with arms out in front, knees apart and toes together
Imagine a light on your CHEST bone or sternum.
In the start position, the light shines between your knees
To perform one repetition, lift the light to shine it between your elbows
Perform 15 repetitions, twice daily
Improving the relationship between your bones! Hooray!
How did this exercise go for you? Share your thoughts in the comments!!

03/12/2018

F O U N D A T I O N S || B R E A T H
Breath is the most fundamental movement that occurs in our bodies. when engaged prior to or as a part of activity, it ensures that muscles are contracted sequentially from the inside out. This creates a solid platform for stability and balance during movement.
Healthy breath creates expansion in the whole of our trunk, with movement front to back, left to right and top to bottom.
Notice if you hold tension anywhere in your trunk when you breath and LET IT GO. It is NOT serving you except to make you MORE PRONE TO INJURY. Imagine your trunk expanding and contracting like a ballon does when you push air into it, smooth and even.
Play with this breath during your workout today, see how it changes your strength and balance.
Happy moving, friends!

03/09/2018

M O V E M E N T M A I N T E N A N C E | standing hip mobility
Move yo’ body, shake it up! Movement maintenance is the key to healthy and happy joints!
Do this quick standing hip mobility routine with me, and feel free to laugh at my fumbles :)
ALWAYS: keep hips in neutral position: imagine a light on your p***s and shine the beam parallel to the floor
*Video is sped up 2.5x*
1️⃣ leg arcs x 5 repetitions, both legs
2️⃣ external rotation arcs x 5 repetitions, both legs
3️⃣ externally rotate thigh, extend knee, maintain external rotation of leg as you perform an arc around the body x 3 repetitions, both legs
4️⃣ Internally rotate thigh, extend knee, maintain internal rotation of leg as you perform an arc around the body x 3 repetitions, both legs
Revel in your new hip mobility. Go on, have some fun this weekend!
Happy Friday friends!

03/08/2018

S E G M E N T A L S P I N E R O L L D O W N
This exercise is great for ALL of us. It helps you find balance throughout your spine and feel more grounded.
This movement is particularly good to help you lengthen your SUPERFICIAL BACK LINE which is a line of tissue that starts on the top your toes, wraps around the soles of your feet, up your legs and back and ends on the front of your scalp.
1️⃣ Stand with your feet 2.5-3 inches apart
2️⃣ Balance your weight between your right and left feet
3️⃣ Tuck your chin and roll down ONE VERTEBRAE AT A TIME
4️⃣ Let your arms and head hang as you make your way into a forward fold.
5️⃣ Take 3 breaths at the bottom, thinking about lengthening the back of your body with each inhale
6️⃣ Tuck tail and return to standing, ONE VERTEBRAE AT A TIME, allowing arms and head to hang like a rag doll.
7️⃣ 3-5 repetitions total
If you find yourself STANDING at a desk all day, this is a great way to re-set how you are standing (1 per hour).

03/07/2018

L O W B A C K P A I N 1 0 1 | ALIGNMENT
Changing how you are holding your bones will help your muscles engage more evenly and from the INSIDE—> OUT.
The alignment of your pelvis is important for engagement of the inner stabilizing muscles or the CORE which is responsible for stability at your spine. When your pelvis is tilted too far forward or too far backwards, your muscles will not engage evenly, causing the sequence of muscle firing to be backwards, which creates compression in your spine and thus PAIN.
Change how you stand, walk, sit, lean, etc. by aligning your pelvis UPRIGHT.
Your body is brilliant, love its wisdom!

02/27/2018

Great article out of NPR on how to improve your spine health by sitting and bending with better biomechanics!

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/02/26/587735283/lost-art-of-bending-over-how-other-cultures-spare-their-spines

No, we're not talking about squatting. We're talking about a way to bend over that has nearly disappeared in our culture. And it could be one reason why back pain is so common in the U.S.

01/24/2018

Give yourself some spine love this lovely Wednesday!

The spine is the foundation for healthy movement in your body. With too much mobility in one area and not enough in another, our body becomes stagnant in its movement patterns and we leave ourselves vulnerable to injury. Mix it up with these mindful movements to nourish your spine:

https://www.mindful.org/mindful-movement-nourish-spine/

Awaken your spine and upper body with 3 minutes of mindful movement from Cara Bradley that will help you combat the winter blahs.

01/07/2018

01/07/2018

12/15/2017

I got a call about a month ago from NPR asking me to record a segment about posture based on some articles I have written in the past on my website and on mindbodygreen. I was so very honored to be able to go down to the K*T studio at the UT campus and record the segment a few days later. The piece aired on Here & Now yesterday morning and I am VERY excited to be able to share it here with you. Hope you enjoy it, happy friday!!

feeling grateful for new experiences & the ability to share my work with anyone willing to listen

Bad posture, which physical therapist Rupal Patel says "close to 100 percent" of Americans struggle with, can lead to health problems.

12/01/2017

Feeling so very grateful this morning for everything I learn from my patients and the inspiration you give me to be better at this life thing

An animation explores research into the impact of gratitude on mind and body.

11/03/2017

THE BEST. Happy Friday folks!

10/24/2017

Do you feel like your ability to stay attentive has suffered recently? Maybe you are easily distracted because of all the things on your to-do list? This 5 minute mindful breathing practice can help you enjoy life in a different way: https://www.mindful.org/5-minute-mindful-breathing-practice-restore-attention/

Returning to the breath, again and again, when the mind has wandered—that's how we train our attention.

10/18/2017

NEW BLOG POST: Why your poor posture is causing you to get injured!

http://www.bodywiseaustin.com/blog/2017/10/17/why-your-poor-posture-is-causing-you-to-get-injured

10/09/2017

great visual on how to correctly do a push-up!

08/29/2017

Friends, My heart bleeds for Houston right now

08/21/2017

Have you been thinking about starting a meditation practice to help ease your stress, or to simply explore the benefits for your life? Here are some great tips to help you ease any aches and pains that may arise!

https://www.mindful.org/find-right-meditation-posture-body/?utm_content=bufferc0fee&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

There's no one-size-fits all approach. Explore these guidelines for basic seated meditation.