LYT

Tag: health

  • PT Concepts You’ll Learn in the LYT Method Level 1 (200-Hour) Teacher Training

    PT Concepts You’ll Learn in the LYT Method Level 1 (200-Hour) Teacher Training

    PT Concepts You’ll Learn in the LYT Method Level 1 (200-Hour) Teacher Training

     

    One of the major benefits of the LYT Method Level 1 (200-Hour) Teacher Training is that you have the opportunity to learn a number of key physical therapy concepts. Because this method is designed by physical therapist Lara Heimann and the movements are filtered through the physical therapy lens the intelligence of physical therapy and its viewpoint on how to move your body well is seamlessly interwoven throughout. This teacher training allows you to incorporate these concepts into your knowledge and personal practice to better understand and communicate how your body is meant to move in order to be and feel at its best. This is a very empowering process that has a practical impact on your life and the lives of anyone you might work with. 

     

    Below is a list of some of the main physical-therapy-derived concepts that are an essential part of the LYT Method and that you will have the opportunity to learn and explore during the training. This is not a comprehensive list, but it’s a great starting point.

     

    Neutral Pelvis & Spine – Being able to understand what it feels like to have your pelvis and spine in a neutral position is a foundational concept to good movement. Although it may seem straightforward on its surface, this concept has a lot of nuance, and being able to find neutral in dynamic movement is not easy, but doable and worth the effort. Learning what neutral means and how to find it in your body and then intentionally move in and out of it when necessary will hold you in good stead for the rest of your life. 

     

    Deep-dive into anatomy – Understanding your own anatomy is an important aspect of developing a deeper connection to ourselves and to humanity writ large. This teacher training provides you with the anatomy and anatomical concepts that you need to be able to appreciate what is happening on a much deeper level on the inside while you move around your mat. 

     

    What is the core? – In common parlance, when we say “core” we are typically referring to our abs. But, from a physical therapy standpoint, the core includes everything from the outer shoulders to the base of the pelvis, your entire torso. Learning everything that is involved in your core and how to best utilize its engagement to your advantage in movement, is another key concept you’ll be exposed to. 

     

    Functional Training – We hear a lot about functional training in the fitness and movement industry these days. But what does that mean? Functional training is training for life, it is training for optimally performing the types of movements you do on a daily basis so that when you go to do them you do them in a way that doesn’t hurt you and that promotes the long-term health and well-being of your body. In the LYT Method, functional training is woven into everything we do. We all deserve this kind of training so that we can stay healthy and strong for as long as possible. 

     

    Neurodevelopmental Sequence – In every LYT Method class we start with “the reset” which incorporates the neurodevelopmental sequence to help us reset our body back to a more neutral starting point, so we can begin to layer on more complex movements. This sequence is based on the normal movement progression that babies follow as they learn to roll, sit, crawl, stand, and then walk. It is used in clinical settings to help patients learn proper movement strategies and it allows you to establish these strategies as the foundation of your movement practice so that you can move successfully in any number of ways. 

     

    Neural Mapping – You’ll explore the concept of neural mapping or brain mapping. Over time, our brains wire to fire a certain way and we end up doing movements in the way that we’ve habitually done them. But these movement patterns aren’t always optimal. In the LYT Method, we create opportunities for you to refine your movement patterns and then rewire your brain map through repetition throughout the class, through a process called neuro-muscular rewiring. This process is how you change your movement patterns to better support you over the long haul. 

     

    Mobility, Stability, & Adaptability – LYT Method movement will allow you to achieve mobility, stability, and adaptability in all of your movements and across all of your body. To have a resilient body, you want to have all three of these components present. The LYT Method sets you up to be mobile where you need it, strong when you need it, and to adapt to whatever comes your way with aplomb. 

     

    Find out more about our upcoming LYT Method Level 1 Teacher Training here! Registration opens Sunday, August 13, 2023 and the course starts Sunday, September 17, 2023.

  • 682. Exploring Wholistic Wellness with Scott van Niekerk

    682. Exploring Wholistic Wellness with Scott van Niekerk

     

    Join Lara for a conversation with physical therapist Scott van Niekerk. Originally from Zimbabwe, Scott is the founder, owner, and PT Director of Wholistic Physical Therapy in Brewster, New York, a facility with the goal of treating the entire human being.

     

    With a background in manual therapy, including being mentored by John Barnes, founder of the Myofascial Release approach to Physical Therapy, and a passion for holistic healing, Scott van Niekerk helps individuals achieve a pain-free active lifestyle. His approach encompasses physical therapy, nutrition, and a whole person perspective, providing a safe and balanced environment for healing and restoring overall well-being.

     

    In this episode, you’ll learn about:

    • Scott’s background and how he transitioned from a physical therapist in Zimbabwe to one in the United States. 
    • The importance of a whole food diet in healing and recovery.
    • What is a wholistic approach to healing and how can it be achieved. 
    • Lifestyle advice for wholistic health. 

     

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

     

    Guest Resources:

     

    Connect with Lara Heimann, The Redefining Yoga Podcast, and LYT Yoga:

     

    Sponsors: 

     

    Follow the podcast:

  • 647. Essential Aromatherapy Knowledge with Amy Anthony

    647. Essential Aromatherapy Knowledge with Amy Anthony

     

    Join Lara for a fascinating conversation with The Aromatic Gardner, Amy Anthony.

    Amy is a certified clinical Aromatherapist and Aromatic Gardner, aromatherapy educator, herbalist, certified master composter, artisanal distiller, and host of the Essential Aromatica podcast. She is listed as one of America’s most influential aromatherapists.

     

    In this episode, listen in as we discuss:

    • what is aromatherapy
    • the critical, genuine, and authentic role essential oils may play in supporting overall health and recovery
    • how essential oils can support our health, connect us with nature, enhance mental clarity, and help us cope with life’s overall challenges
    • key essential oils for supporting wellness and vitality

     

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

     

    Guest Resources:

     

    Connect with Lara Heimann, The Redefining Yoga Podcast, and LYT Yoga

     

    Sponsors:

    • Visit almondcow.co/shop and use code LARA for a discount off your purchase!
    • Shop my favorite 100% Science-Backed Amino Acid Supplements. Enter code “LYT” to save 30%. aminoco.com/LYT
  • Balance Implications For Health and Aging

    Balance Implications For Health and Aging

    by Sarah Apple Kingsley, pt, dpt

     

    Scientists, physical therapists, and physicians have always known balance to be an important aspect of health. Falls and fall-related injuries, incidences, and hospitalizations account for a major portion of our healthcare expenses. There is now new information that actually confirms that balance is a key proponent of good health and longevity. In a recent study published in the British Journal of Medicine Longevity scientists administered a ten-second balance test to 1,792 people aged 51 to 75.1

     

    They coined it the “flamingo test,” with each person asked to stand barefoot on one leg while keeping their other leg lifted in the air. Importantly, they were required to keep their head upright and their arms straight at their sides for ten seconds. This is very similar to tree pose and the knee-to-chest postures we practice in LYT yoga. 

     

    Twenty percent of the participants wobbled and could not complete the test, especially at the top end of the age bracket. For the 20% of participants who failed the test, there was a higher correlation with being overweight, having heart disease, high blood pressure, poor lipid panels, and these individuals were twice as likely to have Type-2 Diabetes.  

     

    Subsequent findings that the researchers discovered after checking back in with the participants 7 years later were even more compelling. After accounting for age, gender, and underlying health conditions, the inability to pass the flamingo test was linked to an 84% higher risk of all-cause death* over that seven-year period. In addition to longevity, these researchers contend that balance is necessary for overall health, well-being, and independence.

    * What is all-cause death? Death by multiple causes, or by any cause.

     

    Balance and its role in optimum health

     

    When my patients tell me they don’t need to be able to stand on one leg, I quickly respond “Oh yes you do!” We regularly need a one-legged posture to move out of a car or to climb or descend a step or stairs. Simply walking without an assistive device requires a portion of the gait cycle to be in a single-limb stance.

     

    To lack this ability or have fear of standing on one leg can lead to a loss of autonomy and consequently, less exercise, less movement, and a worsening of various health conditions. Many physical therapists and experts feel balance should be included when checking vital signs. Walking speed has been considered the 6th vital sign, but we should give serious consideration to adding the flamingo test as well!

     

    If you want to stay active it is paramount that you maintain your physical well-being. When it comes to balance there is definitely some truth in the saying “if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.” Healthy physical well-being includes strength, flexibility, balance, and effectively using your senses—vision, hearing, feeling physical sensation, etc.

     

    Balance can be affected by a variety of factors including age, spinal stenosis, pinched nerves, and inner ear issues. If you don’t have any of these issues but still consider yourself to have had poor balance your entire life, THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!

     

    Easy ways to improve your balance

     

    The Harvard Medical School newsletter offers some simple advice for improving your balance, including:2

     

    • Sign up for a balance-focused class (such as tai chi) at your local YMCA or senior center.
    • Walking, biking, and stair climbing all strengthen key balance muscles in the lower body.
    • Stretching loosens tight muscles which can otherwise negatively impact posture and balance.
    • Yoga strengthens and stretches tight muscles while challenging static and dynamic balance.

     

    The LYT yoga method specifically retrains our core musculature and balance centers, challenging our single-limb stance and causing our bodies to get in touch with new neuromotor pathways that were previously unattainable. Each day with the LYT method is a small improvement toward healthier aging!

     

    You can also incorporate balance moves into your everyday life. Try standing on one leg while brushing your teeth or getting up from a chair without using your hands. It’s worth the extra effort because the research strongly suggests that better balance now means better quality of life and healthier aging later.

     

    References:

    1 http://press.psprings.co.uk/bjsm/june/bjsm105360.pdf
    2 https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/easy-ways-to-improve-your-balance

     

     

  • 8 | What The Health | with Eunice Wong

    8 | What The Health | with Eunice Wong

    Today I am joined by my dear friend, Eunice Wong, who is also a yoga teacher at my studio. Eunice is just brilliant, and today we discuss her path into veganism and yoga, among other great topics.

    Eunice is also the author of What The Health, a book that deep dives into what we eat in our modern day lifestyle, and a compliment to the documentary. She is also known for her acting, was trained at Juilliard, and has appeared in various films and on multiple stages. I personally can’t wait for you to hear this great conversation that Eunice and I have. She truly is an incredible woman!

    How did Eunice discover yoga and how has it impacted her?

    “I had been interested in movement for a very long time.”

    Eunice had a difficult time getting out of her own head, but once she discovered that movement was her way of doing so, she couldn’t stop. Ashtanga was the first class that Eunice took, and is what she continued to do for almost 15 years prior to being introduced to any other style. Eunice believes that yoga has allowed her to remember different life experiences that she may have forgotten, or that her body has since stored away. On top of that, she appreciates that a yoga practice has helped remind her of the importance of the breath.

    How did yoga help you deepen your connection to your inner self?

    Nonviolence is the number one foundational bedrock of a true yoga practice, and Eunice learned this through taking teacher training with me. Eunice says, “You invited us to look deeper,” in food, society, what we put in to our lives. Eunice believes that this depth of a basic yogic principle truly changed the way she looked at all things, but mainly her love of all things environmental. Once this opened up in her inner self, Eunice hit the ground running with writing books and doing research on all that intrigued her, from agriculture to global warming.

    What do you say to people who bring up “humanely raised” animals?

    There’s no regulation on the labels like “free range” or “all natural” and Eunice can’t stress the importance of this enough. She says, “The labels are there to make consumers feel better about buying that product.” Eunice goes on to describe that “grass fed” meat is actually worse for the environment than you know. She shares a book she read, Never Let Me Go, that she believes is a fabulous analogy to raising animals today. There are so many marketing projects supported by the government to push the sales of animal consumption, creating this symbiotic relationship, which in turn protects the companies and industries.

    What does true health look like to you?

    “I think true health is being your most vibrant and your strongest self without any obstructions or limitations.”

    Resources: