LYT

Category: Podcasts

  • 5. The Truth About Text Neck

    5. The Truth About Text Neck

     

    Have you heard of Text Neck?

    It’s a 21st century ailment that’s spreading globally and rapidly, and it’s something that I’m asked about daily!

    I also see Text Neck daily and, honestly, it makes my heart hurt.

    If you’re not familiar, Text Neck is a condition in which your posture is stuck in the position that you assume when you’re looking down at a cell phone, tablet, or other wireless device.

    This happens to people when – you guessed it – they look down at a device too frequently or for too long.

    I’ve been working in physical therapy for decades, and we didn’t have these kinds of devices when I started. People would have neck pain, of course, but not nearly as many people – and not nearly as many young people, in particular.

    This is a real issue when you’re younger because your body will try to adapt, leading to early onset arthritis and connective tissue dysfunction. Your connective tissue will literally get and feel thicker, and if you feel this happening then you need to start changing your habits now before it’s irreversible.

    So how can we treat and/or prevent Text Neck?

    • Keep your cell phone, laptop screen, and other devices at eye level as much as possible.
    • Don’t be on your device so much! Trust me, I get it and I am using my phone a lot for my business and personal life too. But you don’t need it 24/7, so turn it off sometimes and take a break!
    • Be mindful of your posture. Put a note somewhere you will see it to remind you and use a wall for tactile feedback while you try to elongate your cervical spine.
    • Spend some time strengthening your core, because if you’re stronger in your core then you’ll naturally give your neck more support.
    • If you already feel a lot of tightness and thickening, you probably need to go get some manual therapy. Specifically look for someone who offers myofascial work, like someone who has studied Rolfing or John Barnes.

    To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: lytyoga.com/blog/category/podcasts/

    Connect with LYT Yoga and Lara Heimann:

    Instagram Lara Heimann – https://www.instagram.com/lara.heimann/

    Facebook Lara Heimann – https://www.facebook.com/lara.f.heimann

    Instagram LYT Yoga – https://www.instagram.com/lytyogamethod/

    Facebook LYT Yoga – https://www.facebook.com/lytyogamethod

     

  • 4. Finding What Fuels You with Kristen Fletcher

    4. Finding What Fuels You with Kristen Fletcher

     

    Today I am joined by my dear friend and business partner, Kristen Fletcher, the COO of Movement by Lara!

    We talk about all of the things that inspired my journey into movement and she asks me questions about venturing into yoga, becoming an entrepreneur, discovering my mission, and how to find what fuels you.

    How did Lara get into yoga?

    I took my first yoga class (at a running club of all things) back in 1995. My teacher was a practitioner of ashtanga yoga, which she was calling power yoga. It reminded me of how I felt as a dancer combined with moving through spaces as a runner, and I was immediately hooked!

    However, when I went home, I couldn’t find anyone offering yoga near me. So I started reading books, buying VHS tapes, and developing a practice of my own. And over time, it’s only grown on me!

    Eventually I wanted to show this amazing practice to other people so I started teaching.

    When did Lara start combining physical therapy with yoga?

    I was learning advanced physical therapy techniques and developing my yoga practice simultaneously, but at first they were pretty much in two different boxes.

    But as I started to introduce basic yoga poses to my PT clients and seeing how those two worlds fit together, my mission started to take form. I want people to join me in peel back all of the external BS that we place upon our existence so that we can answer some simple but often overlooked questions: How do we want to impact the world around us? How can we be better in our daily lives? How can we feel better? How can we serve others?

    I always like to say, “If you want to get out of your own way, be of service!”

    What tips does Lara have for someone who wants to invite more discipline into their lives?

    Discipline is a muscle – you have to practice it to strengthen it!

    And part of that practice has to be movement. If you want anything to change in your life, you have to move! It’s non-negotiable.

    However, you don’t have to force yourself to do something that feels like a chore. If you despise walking but love biking, ride a bike. Make movement joyful!

    If that feels overwhelming, just know you don’t have to go from 0 to 60 in one day. Break it up and smart small.

     

    To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: lytyoga.com/blog/category/podcasts/

    Connect with LYT Yoga and Lara Heimann:

    Instagram Lara Heimann – https://www.instagram.com/lara.heimann/

    Facebook Lara Heimann – https://www.facebook.com/lara.f.heimann

    Instagram LYT Yoga – https://www.instagram.com/lytyogamethod/

    Facebook LYT Yoga – https://www.facebook.com/lytyogamethod

     

  • 3. Evolution of a Yoga Practice with John Frank, PT

    3. Evolution of a Yoga Practice with John Frank, PT

    I want to introduce all of you to an exceptional physical therapist, a movement specialist (yoga), and a biomechanical, anatomical wonder: my brother John Frank (who is just one of my brothers because we’re triplets)!

    Physical therapy is a satisfying vocation because they get to spend a lot of time with the people we help and their main function is to educate – which also means they have to be constantly educating themselves.

    And if there’s one person I’ve learned the most from, it’s definitely John!

    Since people often send me questions about yoga, today I ask John these questions so we can get a physical therapist’s perspective on various aspects of yoga and movement. And if you have any questions, feel free to send me a DM on Instagram (@lara.heimann).

    What’s up with deep forward folds?

    John says, “It’s a mechanism for herniating your disc.”

    I don’t teach them in my practice and I suggest you avoid them, especially while sitting. Plus, they’re boring! If you think it feels good, that’s because you’re stretching out other stuff, like your fascia, and there are healthier ways to do that. As John says, “A temporary feel good doesn’t necessarily mean good for you.”

    How do you get more improved body awareness, other than yoga?

    “It’s very tricky,” John says. Your posture adapts to how you move (or don’t) and it starts to feel normal. But for the most part, external cues are better than internal cues. “If you overthink what’s happening in your body … your body is not good at getting those cues.”

    So if you’re running, for instance, don’t focus on what you want your body to be doing. Instead, let your nervous system do most of the work and, if you have to focus on something, listen for a noise when your foot hits the ground and adjust until it’s not a loud thud.

    It can even be as easy as putting a sticky note at your desk reminding you to straighten your posture. The goal is to just bring awareness without overthinking things!

    Besides running, what movements does John enjoy? What would he suggest for himself or other people?

    “A variety of movement is good, but everyone should be doing their equivalent of a deep squat … because everyone squats, whether you know it or not!”

    There’s also walking – “an underrated activity.” We were born to walk, plus it’s just a pleasant thing to do!

    And it’s a little bit of a cop-out, but he’s my brother so I’ll allow it: incorporate a variety of movement. Have fun, play games, whatever. Just do different activities!

     

    To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: lytyoga.com/blog/category/podcasts/

     

    Connect with LYT Yoga and Lara Heimann:

    Instagram Lara Heimann – https://www.instagram.com/lara.heimann/

    Facebook Lara Heimann – https://www.facebook.com/lara.f.heimann

    Instagram LYT Yoga – https://www.instagram.com/lytyogamethod/

    Facebook LYT Yoga – https://www.facebook.com/lytyogamethod

     

  • 2. The Anatomy of Buoyancy

    2. The Anatomy of Buoyancy

     

    Today is my birthday, and my wish is to feel as buoyant as possible today and for many years to come – and my wish for you is that you feel a sense of buoyancy in your life, too!

    Buoyancy is such a beautiful concept: the power to float or rise in fluid, or the power of supporting a body so that it floats upwards; relative lightness; or a lightness or resilience of spirit (in a sense, cheerfulness). It’s this third definition I really want to focus on today, exploring how we can bring it into our yoga practices and our lives.

    To get a feeling of why buoyancy is so precious, I suggest saying the word out loud: buoyancy (ˈboiənsē). It’s almost like sensational onomatopoeia – when you say it, you feel it!

    Imagine floating in water, when you can truly feel the sensation of buoyancy. It’s a return to our birth body, the uterus swimming pool we used to be swimming in, and this is a state that most of us strive to return to through our spiritual and physical practices.

    In yoga, we often talk about how we have everything we need; we are essentially this beautiful essence, then life happens to us and hardening happens to us so we adapt in good and bad ways to different situations and different movement patterns.

    And when we can return to this essence of who we are, this sense of true buoyancy, through movement, it allows us to embody that delightful cheerfulness!

    So how do we do this?

    • I always say the body work that we do is the easiest, most successful gateway to changing how we feel both physically and emotionally – and so if we return to a more balanced body, we will feel more buoyant. That means we have to get up and move!
    • There’s an element of stick-to-it-ness, or in other words, persistence. We have to be willing to stay on the path to getting more buoyant… because it won’t always be as easy or fun as the destination!
    • To cultivate more buoyancy in your life, you need to spend some time trimming back the weeds. What or who in your life is dragging you down and anchoring you so that you don’t feel freedom and you don’t feel that buoyancy?
    • Another tool you can use is music! You can make a playlist with fun, joyful, pleasurable, buoyant music to help get you there. Your brain is so persuadable that when you start to hear it, you will feel lighter. It’s actually that easy!

     

    To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: lytyoga.com/blog/category/podcasts/

     

    Connect with LYT Yoga and Lara Heimann:

    Instagram Lara Heimann – https://www.instagram.com/lara.heimann/

    Facebook Lara Heimann – https://www.facebook.com/lara.f.heimann

    Instagram LYT Yoga – https://www.instagram.com/lytyogamethod/

    Facebook LYT Yoga – https://www.facebook.com/lytyogamethod

  • 1. Redefining Yoga for Our Modern Lives

    1. Redefining Yoga for Our Modern Lives

     

    Good movement, everyone! Welcome to Redefining Yoga, a podcast designed to investigate all aspects of the modern evolution of yoga. My name is Lara Heimann and I am a movement specialist, yoga studio owner, loving mother of two, proud vegan, and your host!

    My mission is to help everyone listening find freedom through smarter and safer movement patterns so that, together, we can be uplifted, benefitting all beings around us.

    To start our journey into movement, I want to share more about who I am, why I feel compelled to bring movement to the masses through Movement by Lara, and how we’ll be redefining yoga throughout this show. 

    I want to be clear – I’m not trying to change yoga at all! Yoga is and always has been wonderful, and the essence of it always remains the same: raising consciousness. I just want to examine the box we’re putting yoga into and explore ways to change or improve the way we’re living. 

    Because when you look critically at some of the movements in yoga, you’ll see they’re actually not great for the human body. This is why I really believe in teaching Smart Yoga, in which we always ask the question, “Does this feel right for what our modern culture needs?”

    So are you ready to join me in exploring, on our mats and in our lives, different ways of moving better, feeling better, and making our movement count?

    To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: lytyoga.com/blog/category/podcasts/

    Connect with LYT Yoga and Lara Heimann:

    Instagram Lara Heimann – https://www.instagram.com/lara.heimann/

    Facebook Lara Heimann – https://www.facebook.com/lara.f.heimann

    Instagram LYT Yoga – https://www.instagram.com/lytyogamethod/

    Facebook LYT Yoga – https://www.facebook.com/lytyogamethod