Kensho Body and Mind

01/14/2024

Have you heard about our online classes? - https://mailchi.mp/4e7f9d840d82/greetings-from-the-movement-explorer

04/07/2023

The very finest gym equipment!

01/07/2023

For locals to Minneapolis, free snowshoeing!!! It’s beauti out there after all the snow.

Next up in our winter recreation series is a Minnesota Valley classic: Snowshoeing! Snowshoes have existed for thousands of years in some form, and Native Americans perfected their design using natural materials such as wood and animal leather.

Snowshoes are now available to lend for free at the Bloomington Education and Visitor Center. Available Thursdays-Sundays from 10 AM - 3:30 PM, excluding federal holidays and as temperatures and snowfall allow.

Keep an eye out for pop-up snowshoe lending availability at our Rapids Lake visitor center in Carver, like this weekend!



📷 Person snowshoeing beneath snow-coated trees by Becky Picha/USFWS

04/19/2022

Years ago I posted this photo, likening wearing stiff shoes while walking around to binding our hands before typing. Re-sharing it now because April is National Foot Health Awareness month and the visual is still impactful.

Last week I was on the radio and they asked me why I have written two books on feet. My answer went something like this:

1) Most movements we need and want to do with our body—not only for exercise but just activities of daily living—pass through our feet. Our feet bear the weight of our entire body whenever we go to move.

2) We've got a major foot pain/poor foot health problem. Data varies but adult foot pain prevalence is close to 1 in 4 (more in older adult women, fewer in men, both groups show increases in foot pain with age) and foot issues are a risk factor for locomotion disabilities, poor balance and falling, loss of agency/independency and quality of life.

3) We rarely exercise our feet; instead we use external foot support (SHOES, MAN) which can only get us so far (and by “far” I mean both in terms of accumulated distance and accumulated age). Our most often loaded body part is the least conditioned.

SO, I’ve written books to give people information about simple ways they can control where they are placing their weight upon the foot as well as how to strengthen their feet to better withstand load. This is to reduce pain (hooray) but also so they can get more movement. GET IT???

April is so both my new audiobook 'Simple Steps to Foot Pain Relief' and the award-winning 'Whole Body Barefoot' audiobook are 25% off through the end of the month on my website: nutritiousmovement.com/audiobooks

12/25/2021

Posted • Day 24: The “That’s A Wrap” Twist

Todays move is idea #9 from this article on how to celebrate your holidays dynamically: npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/12/18/1064671395/holidays-celebrate-outside (linked in bio):

“Stretch while you wrap
There's a lot of sitting to be found in daily life, but there's nothing saying it all has to be done in a chair. If you're going to spend an hour or two gift wrapping, set yourself up on the floor (add a folded blanket or cushions as needed) and move through a variety of active positions as you're working. Sitting with your legs crossed, in a V-shape, or stretched out in front of you is a simple way to care for tight leg muscles and stiff joints. Just holding up your own torso instead of resting it on the back of a chair works your core muscles more and uses more energy, too.”

Here I’m modeling one of my favorites: a spinal twist. Whatever task you’re working on, see if you can lower it to the floor (or to a couple stacked cushions or blankets) and sneak a little body nourishment into something else you’re doing anyway. A nutrient-dense life is what we’re after here!

12/23/2021

Posted • Day 23: 12 Vertebrae-A-Stretching
After you’ve stretched the thoracic spine as a whole, you can work on getting a little more movement by working on the extension between each vertebra.

Lie back on a rolled towel, half or full foam roller (pic 1). The most important piece is to keep the bottom of the ribcage from lifting as you lower a supported head over the other side (see slide 2—keep ribs down!)

The point isn’t to get the head to the floor (it might get closer) but if you’re keeping the ribcage in place, each vertebra can only move a little bit. Start at the top of the spine and scoot down a few inches at a time and repeat the move, so you're loading between each vertebrae. Breathe!

12/23/2021

Posted • Day 22: One Spine-A-Bending
There is a direct relationship between the curve of your upper (thoracic) spine and the ability to breathe well. This is one of the reasons we want to be aware of and deal with hyperkyphosis–excessive curvature in the upper back. Our lungs need all the space we can get, and the greater the curve of the spine, the more it encroaches on thoracic cavity space.

You’ve already been working on this a bit (see the move from Day 3: Thoracic Stretch on the Wall) but today we deepen the extension by relaxing backward over something supportive. I’m using a ball but you could also do this over the arm of a couch or a rolled sleeping bag.

Reach your arms overhead to get more shoulder and thoracic spine movement, and yes, keep your ribcage down! (And yes, peeps, you can do this, but is your focus!) Have fun!

12/22/2021

Posted • Day 21: Get Down To Get Up
Here’s another movement to get your breathing parts moving by increasing your body’s demand for oxygen.

We don’t have a lot of furniture in our house on purpose: we wanted to make space for movement in the place we spend the bulk of our time. We also have a variety of exercise equipment as you can see (my kid is talking on the phone, but it doesn’t mean he has to stop moving), but the most important piece we have—and the one you have too—is the floor.

A simple way to get your breath rate up (no matter the temperature outside) is to get down to the floor and back up 10 times (or however many times you can) in a row. Again, the point with these is to pay attention to how your breathing changes with whole-body movement. I think many have forgotten how movements of the heart and lungs relate to movements we do with our whole person. This is a chance to tune back in: the only way the heart and lungs get the movement THEY REQUIRE is by moving the rest of your body.

12/20/2021

Posted • Day 20: Another Huff and Puff
A strong EXHALE is key to a big inhale, so training your exhale muscles are key. Howling/singing was one way of making that outgoing breath stronger and today’s move is another: work on blowing out a candle–starting close(ish) and then moving it farther and farther away until you can’t. If you can blow it out while a couple feet away, you’ll start to notice those same “singing” core muscles coming in to assist. The inner intercostals, diaphragm, abdominals, and pelvic floor are breathing muscles too, but they’re coordinated better when you challenge your breath. Being at rest most of the day leaves this team of levers and pulleys seriously under-moved which means the LUNGS THEMSELVES are under-moved in the sense that they are rarely pulled through their full range of motion.

12/19/2021

Posted • Day 19: Legs on the Wall
Home stretch, peeps. Literally.

Today we’re pairing a leg move that can be challenging with the art of breathing through it.

Start by sitting sideways to a wall, then turn to lie on your back and bring the legs up the wall. You can back your butt away from the wall if your hamstrings need you to. Then, drop them open as you can.

Reach your arms overhead on the ground or out to the side and take slow deep breaths until you need to take a leg-break.

Repeat 2-10 times depending on how much time you have. And, if you’re reading or spending time scrolling you can do that while you do this move as well, right?

12/19/2021

Posted • Day 18: Howl at the Moon
Singing, talking, any vocalizations are just super-directed exhales (our breathing muscles aren’t only breathing muscles–they also have other things they do). Exercise is one way to move your breathing parts, but so is vocalization.

Whether you’ll be howling at the moon or singing carols, setting aside time to sing loudly for a few minutes or just belt out a long sustained note is really good for these parts.

If you really go for it – the howl, that is – you’ll find your core muscles (abdominals, pelvic floor, diaphragm) will get involved reactively to help you move the last bit of the smooth muscle of the lungs.

This is one you really don’t want to miss. If you’re embarrassed you can sing or howl into a pillow, but please, give it a try. You might even ENJOY it (and if you have a dog they’ll really enjoy it too. Finally, their people SAY something)! OOOOoooooooooooooooooooo.

12/19/2021

December News - https://mailchi.mp/476e51f7195c/kxav7kkq8o-9388081

12/17/2021

Posted • Day 17: Log Angels

How many hours do you spend with your arms in front of you? How many minutes with them behind you? Well, here’s a few more minutes you can log. GET IT?

Floor Angles are one of our vintage moves. Key to this move is propping your chest up on something narrow enough to let your arms fall behind you. If you don’t have a log or thin bench, a bolster, folded towels, or sleeping bag can do the trick.

On a log, lie on your back or, on your back with your bolstering beneath your head and upper ribcage—not under your lower ribcage though; it needs to be able to move toward the floor—let your arms stretch out to the right and left, palm up, dropping behind your torso as possible.

TAKE A MILLION DEEP BREATHS, YOU ARE ON DAY 17!

Here’s the angel part: Sweep your arms towards the top of the head and back down toward the hips, i.e. a “snow angel” motion. TAKE ANOTHER MILLION DEEP BREATHS, YOU GOT YOUR ARMS BEHIND YOU!

12/16/2021

Posted • Day 16: Ribcage Hug

Start by putting down the phone (you're welcome). Then, give yourself a hug, working your hands as far behind you on your back as you can.

Relax the head forward and take 5-6 slow breaths. Work to make your ribcage circumference get larger as you inhale, smaller on the exhale.

Next, lift your head and lift your elbows (keep the ribcage down) and breathe 5-6times in this position a few times, again focusing on ribcage movement. focusing on ribcage movement.

Repeat, crossing the other arm on top!

12/15/2021

Posted • Day 15: The Walk and Carry
We’ve been working on exercises that make our breathing parts more mobile, so they can hinge or rotate as they need to as we do things that increase our oxygen demand. Now we need movement that increases our oxygen demand so these parts can be moved in response. Get it?

Walking is a foundational movement, and can gently increase our demand for oxygen, which is why it’s recommended again and again and again. The heavier a body is, the more oxygen is needed to move it. After walking regularly, our anatomy adjusts (more capillaries!) so we can feed our parts more oxygen all the time, so movement gets easier, i.e. less “huff and puff.”

How do you make walking harder, i.e. make you breathe harder? You can add hills (see Day 2 Step Ups) or you can add weight by CARRYING something. Adding a load is a simple way to make your standard walking routine MOVE YOU MORE.

The weight can be anything: a backpack, a bag of groceries or books, a kid, a kettlebell, etc. The more you —that is to hold your weight in different ways as you walk—the more parts you’ll involve in your walk. Find a challenging load you can walk with and head out, paying attention to how it moves your breath differently than without the load.

12/15/2021

Posted • Day 14: Hanging Knee-ups
We’re taking yesterday’s exercise and going vertical.

Source a bar or branch to hang from.

As you did yesterday, pay attention to keeping your ribs down and breathing fluid as you lift both knees up toward your chest. They don’t have to come up high, but the knees should squeeze together as you lift.

Notes: You can do this one leg at a time (just keep the knee on the midline). If you don’t have a bar, you can do this using a corner counter if you have one!

12/14/2021

Posted • Day 13: “Knee Ups” on the Floor
We’re coming back to some abdominal moves. Specifically the test here is to be able to breathe smoothly throughout the move, no holding your breath at any point. If you find yourself having to valsalva or gasp air, then reduce the load by not doing two legs, but one at a time. And if doing one leg at a time is too much, don’t straighten it all the way, or straighten it all the way but not so low to the ground.

Start on your back, knees drawn toward the chest, arms overhead and ribs down. Note: If you have any pressure-related issues ( , pelvic floor, hernias) then bolster your head and shoulders a bit to ensure your ribcage is down. Read more on that in Diastasis Recti!

Test your ability to stabilize by lengthening one leg—keep it close to the floor but avoid touching the floor if you can. Do this on both legs 10-20 times (alternating is fine) focusing on BREATH staying smooth. Go slowly so you have to breathe a couple times as you straighten a leg, and a couple times as you bring it back in.

Then, it’s time to try both legs at the same time! Again, ribcage staying down and your breath staying even is the goal. If one leg at a time is challenging enough, stay there. If you can do it with both legs, you can either extend them partially or lift them at an angle to the floor (vs. directly along it).