LYT

Tag: energy

  • 717. Wednesday Q&A: Hip & Low Back Pain During Pregnancy, Cervical Spine Arthritis, & Misconceptions About Exercise & Movement Practices

    717. Wednesday Q&A: Hip & Low Back Pain During Pregnancy, Cervical Spine Arthritis, & Misconceptions About Exercise & Movement Practices

     

    Welcome to Wednesday Q&A, where you ask questions and we answer them!

     

    In this Wednesday Q&A, we answer your questions about hip and low back pain during pregnancy, cervical spine arthritis, and misconceptions about exercise and movement practices.

     

    Your questions:

    • Any suggestions for hip and low back pain during pregnancy? I’m in my 4th month and the pain gets worse from sitting for too long but also from working out. I’m keeping my exercise routine light and easy but the pain flares up, specifically on one side. Yoga, stretching, and even walking doesn’t feel as good as pre-pregnancy because I lost my body and movement awareness. Thanks!
    • A long-term yogi & friend (mid-60s) has recently been diagnosed with arthritis in her cervical spine, C2-C5. She has a fair bit of pain & is careful what she does in our LYT classes. In your opinion is there anything that I can do to help her?
    • What are some common misconceptions about exercise and movement practices?

     

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

     

    Do you have a question?

     

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  • 17 | Working the Wrists & Why Weight-Bearing Can Help Heal Them

    17 | Working the Wrists & Why Weight-Bearing Can Help Heal Them

    Today’s topic is all about the wrists. I tend to hear a lot of complaints about the wrist in yoga, though I’m sure it’s across the board. Wrists are actually in the top 5 of complaints and injuries in yoga practice! We are using our hands in repetitive motions (think: cell phones) a lot more than we have in the past, so I thought it would be a great subject to talk about with you today. In this episode, you will hear why I teach a more weight-bearing class, and tips and exercises so that you too can create stronger, more adaptable wrists.

    What?

    When you look at the wrist joint, it may seem small, but it’s a relatively complicated joint. If you look at your arm, you’ll see two parallel bones. These bones meet up at your wrist, and where they meet up is what allows for the different movements the wrist is capable of.

    Why?

    The benefits of working the wrist and forearms are numerous. Practicing warm-up exercises can actually help prevent injury, and can strengthen your wrist, allowing more flexibility for you. If you want stronger shoulders, you need optimize your strength in your hands, wrists, and forearms. There is an energy exchange within your body as well, and having strong wrists will only charge that energetic current more to reach other parts of your body.

    How?

    In a seated position, rest your hands on your lap, palms up. Take your right hand and grand your left arm, right below the elbow. Begin to gently squeeze the forearm, from the elbow down to the wrist and back. This will help identify areas of tightness.

    Now grab the two sides of the bones at the crease of your wrist. Move the bones just a little to see if you can stabilize the bones, then move the forearm around. Squeeze and roll at the same time.

    Take your hand and make a first, and then open up the hand as wide as you can. Continue this for sixty seconds. Notice how this feels. Are your fingers getting tired? Hold your hands open, bend your elbows, and turn your palms upward as if you are holding a tray. Use your right hand to grab your left fingers, and gently pull them downward. Repeat on the opposite side, then straighten your elbow and repeat.

    When?

    You should be doing this daily in order to strengthen your wrists.

  • 13 | More Core

    13 | More Core

    Today we are going to be talking about one of my favorite phrases: more core. What does it mean, why is it so important, especially right now in this holiday season? The core is important for controlling, harnessing, and moving energy within the body, and the holiday season is one of the most important times to maintain your inner energy.

    What is the core?

    While most assume it’s just the abdominals, the core is truly a channel and conduit of renewable energy. It is the area of our body which houses our life. The core is important for controlling, harnessing, and moving energy within the body.

    Why is the core important?

    The core will allow you to move and breathe with ease and depth of breath, and without recognizing this, we do a disservice to most all functional and fitness practices. A stronger core also helps keep your stress levels lower–think about it, when you pay more attention to your breath, your cortisol levels are more controlled.

    What do you do?

    If possible, lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Feel the imprint you are making on the floor. Take a few breathes in, and place your hands on the tops of your pelvis, with your fingers angling toward the pubic bone, and your thumbs near your navel. Pull all of this together as you exhale. When you have no breath left, pull that feeling down towards your back. Can you feel that sense of energy spreading?

    Deepen by pushing into your feet and pulling your body up into a low bend.

    Try this:

    Put your hands on your hips and imagine you are holding a basin filled with water. Tip your pelvis forward, and notice what is happening in your back body and your front. Repeat and tip your pelvis backwards. When you tip forward, your abdominals should become softer while your back muscles tighten, and the opposite should happen when you tip your basin back.

    This is to give you an idea of the relationship between your lower back and abdominals. Neither should be chronically tight or weak.

    Resources:

     

  • 6. How a Handstand Can Transform Your Life

    6. How a Handstand Can Transform Your Life

     

    Today I want to share why I love handstands – and how a handstand can change your life!

    People think of handstands as being this super advanced pose, which it is, but it’s so much more and I’ve seen firsthand how it’s transformed people’s’ lives. Beyond the physical movement of getting your weight onto your hands, it moves energy in the body and potential in your spirit and your belief in yourself.

    If you’ve never even kinda done a handstand in your life, don’t worry – I was right there with you! I thought I’d never do a handstand in my life, and by the time I was 36, I still hadn’t. But then I started working with neurologically impaired patients.

    I saw how they were able to remap their brains to do incredible things no one expected them to be able to do, so I thought, why can’t I remap my brain too?

    So if you want to see some of these incredible benefits – stronger core, stronger arms, better alignment, enhanced awareness, and spiritual and emotional work – I suggest being patient and starting small. Learning how to handstand can be a wonderful antidote to our Western mentality of quick fixes or instant gratification.

    You can start with something as simple as getting on all fours, putting your weight on your hands, and lifting your knees. Once you start building up your confidence and seeing you CAN do this, you can move on from there.

    To learn more about starting your handstand practice (and therapy!), check out the article I wrote for mindbodygreen article called “How Anyone Can Learn To Do a Handstand.”

    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

    Read: “How Anyone Can Learn To Do a Handstand”