I’ve been wondering for a long time why the most requested pose - by far -in my yoga classes is the hip opener. I think I finally figured out why.There are physical, mental and spiritual reasons behind it. For example, we are more sedentary than ever and many people sit all day at work. Taking care of a baby or toddler can also be a cause of back pain. Aging has no mercy on our bodies either, and once seniors experience arthritis and their muscles become atrophied, it can cause tightness in the hips and weakness in the muscles that will lead to new pain.It also seems that we store emotions and trauma in our bodies especially in our hips. That’s why when we practice healing modalities such as yoga and meditation we feel lighter after the session.Knowing all this, I had two questions in my head:1. Why do we store emotions and trauma in the hip area, especially in the psoas?2. What’s the relations between back pain, trauma and tightness in the hips?The psoas muscle connects the torso to the legs and brings stability to your body. It helps you walk, sit, stand up, fold forward, take the stairs and bike. It is also connected to your diaphragm which is the main breathing muscle. It is also connected to your reptilian brain, via the spine, that is primitive and the oldest part of the brain. This is where the amygdala is located and it is responsible for our fight or flight response and decision making.It is also connected to our sympathetic nervous system and spinal cord. We depend on it to survive. Hence when we get stressed out, our sympathetic nervous system gets activated and this specific muscle gets tight and contracted as a defence mechanism. Tightness in this muscle can lead to some pain in your shoulders, in your spine including upper, middle or lower back. Now that you know what’s happening behind the scenes, I hope you understand theimportance of working on your hips. Try it and if you feel the difference, share the video with one person you think might benefit from it.
Yoga For Grandmas in Farsi
My own grandmother, who is well into her 80s, has traveled all around the world, to spend time with her newborn great grandchildren. The problem is that at that age, being on a plane and transiting through airports, sometimes for more than 24 hours straight, is not easy on the body. Mine - and other - dedicated elders often suffer for it, complaining about back and knee pain after long flights, and nowhere to properly rest between them. I recorded this video in Farsi for my own grandma, after she came to see my newborn son a couple summers ago and decided to share it with all the Persian grandmas for whom travel is a challenge, as I’ve received many requests for a slow and gentle yoga class in Farsi for seniors. English version to come soon. Enjoy.
Shoulder, Neck & Hip Mobility Sequence
At the beginning of the class, I always ask the participants how they feel in their bodies, to see if they are experiencing any pain or muscle tightness. Asking targeted questions and continuous observation always helps yoga instructors teach better and allow them to address students’ requests more effectively. Repeatedly asking that very question at the beginning of every class in my 11 years of teaching led me to create this video in high park on a summer day. It focuses on neck, shoulder and hip mobility because everyone asks for it. These areas of our bodies need lots of attention due to prolonged hours of being seated, chronic tightness and mild pain. Here is a little bit of information about the anatomy of your neck: The cervical spine (neck) consists of 7 vertebrae. It protects your spine and supports your head. It brings rotation, flexion and extension to your head. It’s important to take care of the neck by bringing attention to our posture during the day as well as sleeping on an appropriate pillow. In future videos we’ll be working on your abs, because once your abs get stronger your neck will feel much better. This is a longer video comparing to the previous ones. Feel free to practice with it whenever you have 45 minutes or so and as always, don’t forget to send me your questions and comments..
How To Alleviate Back Pain At The Office, In Under 5 Minutes.
In the course of teaching many corporate classes for office workers, I noticed that a lot of people who sit at work for long periods of time often suffer from back pain. Back pain, particularly in the lumbar spine (lower back), is extremely common in desk jobs. If taking a hour-long yoga class isn’t possible for you, there are some simple stretches that you can do in your office without using a mat. You just need to stretch your Lats, QL and Gluteus and hold the stretches up to 5 to 10 breaths. It’s as simple as that! Try this short video, your back will thank you :) And don’t forget to leave all your questions in the comments.
Shoulder Release
Do you sit for long periods of time? Are you slouching through the spine? Do your shoulders need a little bit of attention? If you answered yes to any of the above, read on. Shoulder (or glenohumeral) joints are the most flexible and have the largest range of motion of all the joints in the human body, and include the following movements: abduction, adduction, flexion, extension, internal and external rotation. Your shoulders’ health is critical, because without them you wouldn’t be able to perform actions as simple as washing and brushing your hair, throwing a ball, playing tennis, practicing yoga, reaching for something in the cabinet, etc. Making shoulders a very important joint for a life well lived, free of impediments. Taking good care of your shoulders now will pay dividends later in life, as you’ll be able to maintain flexibility, range of motion and avoid many of the aches and pains related to aging or injuries. The most important muscle around the shoulder joint is the rotator cuff. You need to warm it up before your workout routine or your yoga practice by mobilizing them. Once warmed up, be sure to stretch and strengthen it during your workout or exercise routine. There are very simple exercises that you can do if your shoulders are tired or sore, which will help you find proper alignment. The exercises in this video will teach you to be aware of your shoulders, you will also learn how to mobilize and strengthen them. Try it and let me know if you have any questions.
How to strengthen your Hip flexors and Quadriceps in 10 minutes
What are the hip flexors, and more important, what do we need them for? There are two important muscles in your hip flexors: one that runs from the spine to the thigh bone that is called the Psoas (pronounced “so-as”) and the other that runs from the pelvic bone to the thigh bone, called the Iliacus. Your hip flexors are critical to perform movements like bending the knee, bringing it close to the chest or stepping forward and walking. They play an important role in your daily activities and that’s why it's important to strengthen and stretch them so you can move uninhibited, pain free and smoothly. Furthermore, because the Psoas is connected to our lumbar spine (lower back), it is common for it to be the source of lower back pain, when it is too weak. In this short video (10m), you will learn how to strengthen your hip flexors and get rid of the pain in your lumbar spine
Back pain? Here is how to fix it in 12 minutes
One of the best ways to manage your back pain is to strengthen your abs and gluteus. But the problem is sometimes you get so busy with life, family and work that you forget to take care of it.
When your six pack/rectus abdominis muscles are weak or separated, it can cause lower back pain because they are not able to support the spine very well. Also weakness in the gluteus muscles can lead to a bad posture, slouching, less hip mobility and back pain. Once the pain appears, it reminds us to take care of it.
Remember that your body is your temple, without a healthy body you won’t be able to live life fully.
Here is a short 12 minute video based on the requests I received from my readers!
Try it and let me know in the comments if it helps or send me requests for future videos.
Back pain? Stretch your QL
Quadratus Lumborum or QL muscle is located at the back, on the right and left sides of posterior abdominal wall. It’s interesting to know that QL is the deepest muscle of our abs and it connects the spine to the pelvis. The origin of it is the iliac crest and the top part of it is connected to our 12th/the bottom rib.
But why is it important to pay attention to this muscle? the main reason is because sometimes we experience back pain due to a prolonged seated position, muscle fatigue, tightness and lack of enough blood flow in specific muscles including QL. We also need to be aware that the weakness in our gluteus and abdominal muscles and kyphosis can increase the pain significantly.
Stretching our QL muscle will release some of the pain so here is a short video for you to learn how to work on it properly.
You can practice this exercise anywhere even if you are in your office!
Give it a try and let me know if you have any questions.
Back pain? Strengthen your calves
Today we focus on the calf muscles: where they are located, their function and how to take care of them.
Did you know that your back pain has a close relationship with your hamstrings and calves?
The body is a spiral (please refer to the second video to understand the meaning of a spiral in our physical bodies) and if you have lower back pain you need to investigate its cause: Is it weakness in the abdominal muscles and gluteus, is it related to your sciatic nerve or a herniated disc?
For example, if its related to your sciatic nerve, you need to stretch and strengthen your hamstrings, calves and gluteus.
Location:
Calf muscles are located in the back (posterior) of your lower leg, behind your shinbone or tibia. It starts below your knee and extends to your ankle. It consists of 3 different muscles: gastrocnemius (it connects your knee joint to your ankle joint), soleus (it connects your tibia to fibula) and plantaris (it is between gastrocnemius and soleus).
Function:
We need our calves to be able to stand up straight, walk, run and jump also to rotate, flex and point the ankle.
How to take care of it?
You need to learn to strengthen, stretch and massage it, you also need to drink enough water daily because dehydration can lead to cramps in the calves.
Here is a short video for you to strengthen your calves:
Instruction:
Start in mountain pose with your feet hip distance apart, arms by your side or hands to your waist, take your heels up and down slowly with control.
Try this exercise and let me know if you have any questions.
Back pain? Try cat and cow
Cat and Cow is very simple exercise but its very beneficial for all of us. We are seated all the time and our spine needs some attention. Its a great way to start the class before doing other yoga poses or pilates exercises, physiotherapists recommend it too especially to the ones with back pain.
But do we really know how to practice it correctly? What I see in most classes is that teachers and practitioners either skip it or do it robotically without paying extra attention to it. Hence we need to understand the anatomy of our spine to be able to practice and teach it correctly.
Our spine is made up of 3 segments: cervical (neck area), thoracic (middle back) and lumbar spine (lower back). It is composed of 33 vertebrates: cervical has 7, thoracic has 12 and lumbar has 5 vertebrates. There are 5 vertebrates in the sacral and 4 in the coccygeal region as well.
Practitioners are more connected to their lower back rather than their middle back and that causes some problems. You need to bring some life to your cervical and thoracic spine because if you want to improve your posture and balance and learn the intermediate back bending yoga poses you need to first understand how to practice cat and cow.
Here is a short video for you. Try it and let me know if you have any questions.