Common Cause of Knee & Ankle Pain

TIGHT TOES! Take a little walk—long enough to get your stride and pace going and notice if you feel your ankle roll out to the side just a little bit as you push off. You may even feel a twinge of pain in your ankle or knee. Another option is to get someone to video you (maybe even in slow motion) and see if you can watch yourself doing it. It will look like a little ankle whip around as you propel forward as in the picture below.

How would the toes get tight?

The top two reasons from my experience with clients are shoe selection and not breathing fully. Any shoe that encourages a toe scrunch would create a situation where your body would start tighten when walking instead of being wide and open (I refer to this preferred state as ‘Frodo Feet’). This isn’t just the easy scapegoat of high heels and pointy shoes, flip flops or any shoe that is so loose that your toes have to work to keep them on would create tight toes. Wearing shoes that are too small or lacing shoes too tightly would cause similar footing.

Next, hold your breath and feel how your feet tighten up a bit (all your muscles, really). We all have a tendency to shallow breathe when we feel stressed, so being under prolonged stress or if you’re in a job/school environment where you heavily focus day-to-day, usually means that you’re holding your breath. I often see that if someone grew up in an environment where they were often afraid or anxious (this could also translate into present-tense adulthood) the toes also scrunch as a response to that fear factor. I call it the Bird-on-a-Wire grip whereas that Frodo Foot is grounded and open…calm.

How should I walk?

This goes with a bit of an * in that we’re all shaped differently and have varied movement/injury backgrounds so there isn’t one for sure right way. That said, the first two toes (big toe and second toe) should more or less line up with your shin bone and thigh bone. This may be difficult if you have flat arches or have had other lower leg injuries. These bones are considered your weight-bearing bones so your body weight is centered over the mid-line of your body. Your weight centered here would naturally allow your core and posture muscles to support you as you walk or run. Lack of weight-centering can cause weight to shift to the outer or lateral lines of the body in walking, which could be a factor in a tight IT band, lower back pain, knee pain and ankle issues.

As you take a step forward, the foot should roll through the mid arch to push off with the ball of foot and then the toes. If you have a tight first or second toe and/or a bunion, you are likely not pushing off of that foot correctly and you may be rolling to the outside of the foot as shown in the picture above.

An exercise to stretch your toes and allow for proper toe push off.

This simple stretch can be done with a rolled up towel or a tennis/lacrosse ball against a wall. In the video, my model is demonstrating it with one of my favorite foot stretching and release tools, the Yamuna Foot Savers. Here’s another way they can be used to release foot tension and help with plantar fasciitis. You can easily purchase them online through Amazon and they last forever. Take them with you when you travel because they take up virtually space and really help loosen the feet after sitting in a car or being in a plane for long periods of time. If you do have a bunion and this stretch feels uncomfortable, you can stretch your big toe off to the side and focus on your second toe. No need to do more than about 10ish repetitions on any given toe and only about once per day at most.

Happy, grounded feet=better balance and core stability!

Core Strength: More Than the Abs

How strong is your core? Did you just suffer a flashback of sit-ups combined with an internal sigh of how you should do more of them? I have great news for you....you don't need to do crunches to strengthen your core! There is an overemphasis in popular culture that a strong core=strong abs, but this is an outdated view.

What is the core?

I see the core as much more than abs--it's all of the muscles that keep us upright. As we're typically seated, hunched over a screen or steering wheel in the 21st century, the back muscles, pelvic floor (including the butt muscles) and diaphragm are aspects of the core we need to focus on. These other areas help support our spine, encourage good posture as well as give us full breath.

A fascial approach to the core.

When I'm assessing what areas need attention in a client's body, I'm always thinking about fascial, or connective tissue, lines. This means that an area where you feel tension could actually be originating from another spot in the body on a particular fascial line. So it's not always about muscle strength or weakness, but rather, what areas of the body are locked short and which areas are locked long. In other words, what areas need more length and which need more tone? If we take this global apporach to posture, most adults are locked short in the front from being hunched over and locked long, fascially, in the back. So why would we do a ton of sit-ups or flexion-based exercises thinking we're strengthening our core?!

Pilates and the core.

I love Pilates, otherwise I wouldn't have been certified to teach it, yet I feel like the method overemphasizes working the core in spinal flexion (the spine is bent over in a "C" shape). Moreover, much of Pilates is done while laying down, which is great for feeling core connections, yet there needs to be a functional application since we don't go about our day lying down. Joseph Pilates created his method several generations ago when our day-to-day lives were very different. I think an updated approach to his program means building back strength first, which passively stretches that front fascial line, making us straighter. Then, we can look at an abdominal or front-body approach to the core once those muscle tissues are not locked short and scrunched.

A unique approach to core strength.

I have my clients do a lot of work that hones in on the diaphragm and pelvic floor as a part of building their core. We also do a lot with the upper back muscles to pull the shoulders out of kyphosis (being rounded forward). I do this with some unique props that force you to balance while working your core and a piece of equipment that incorporates standing movmements so you're learning how your core supports you while upright and walking. This approach is not only more functional, it's more fun!

For the month of January I'm offering a special package for new clients. If you know you need to build core strength but don't know how or want to experience something new, you can learn more here.

Why I Hate Kegels

Pilates squats on the reformer for lower body alignment and pelvic floor strength.

Just about every woman out there has had her doctor prescribe Kegel exercises--hold your urine flow for a few seconds to strengthen your pelvic floor. I see Kegels as a constipation view to strengthening the pelvic floor because they encourage bracing and holding in an area that is often too tight. Plus, Kegels are more often emphasized for women over men when we all need strong and flexible pelvic muscles. More about that here. If we all think pelvic floor health=Kegels, we lose the sense of how these muscles are connected to other movement in everyday life. To me, the pelvic floor is more than just your elimination muscles, it includes all the muscles of your pelvis that support your torso and posture--this includes your rear.

One of my favorite pelvic floor exercises is a squat because it works the pelvic floor in a large range-of-motion. This way, you're getting stretching on the way down and strengthening on the way up. Think of squats as coming from the bones of your pelvis to kick these muscles into gear. 

Don't feel like you need to go all the way down into a full squat if it doesn't feel good in your body. Many folks can't because of knee or hip pain. Try holding onto something, or putting something underneath your heels, and you may find you can get lower to the floor. As you descend, these muscles are stretching and opening like an umbrella. When you stand up, they contract and come closer together like the closing of an umbrella.

If you think about it, we squat every time we sit down. With a bit of mindfulness and maybe some props, you can reconnect with your pelvic floor and use it to sit down and stand up. No more plopping on the couch!

Pilates is a great modality to strengthen the pelvis for everyday movement. This includes strengthening your inner and outer thighs, which are critical for balance.  I love working with clients to rehab their pelvic floors because it's an area of much importance, and for many of us, an area of much trauma. If you've had any abuse in your past, sexual or otherwise, regardless of gender...it may be difficult for you to feel these muscles (read more about this here). This is why I love working one-on-one with clients. In a private session, you're in an environment where it is safe to go here, to connect and to heal, bringing a true sense of self. It brings me to tears when I get to witness this transformation and see my clients discover how much power they have. Love the pelvic floor!!!!

Why is my body tight?

Full body, active Ki Hara stretching! Soooo yummy!

This is a question I'm often asked and believe that we have to look at more than just range-of-motion or trigger points for a good explanation. Some clients immediately tell me that their body is tight because it runs in their family, like they have an inflexiblity gene and traditional stretching just doesn't work for them. I see body tightness that runs in families as a cultural way that the family deals with stress and how we then handle stress as adults. Are things shoved under the rug or not acknowledged? Or, are things discussed and worked through together? Do you feel overwhelmed and overburdened by responsibility? Or, are you able to shift your perspective and carve out some self-care time?

The nervous system automatically charges up to help when we're stressed (sympathetic nervous system). One result when it kicks in is that the muscles tighten to prepare for action--we can see this in animals. When they perceive a threat, the breath cycle shortens, their whole body tightens and is ready to pounce. When we, as humans, hold in this way everyday, it leads to chronic body tightness and fatigue.

To offset this stress from a movement perspective, we most often think exercise. Yet, how many of us hold our breath when we try to burn off some steam? Muscles can't relax if they're being starved of oxygen. As someone who is also prone to this, I've started doing some diaphragm releases to connect with my breath before I intentionally move. This is my favorite diaphragm release to do pre-workout.

Ki Hara active stretching unwinds tension from the body, creating space for more breath. Clients always stand up at the end of a session saying they feel more alive, relaxed and have more blood flowing through their body. We target the areas you personally hold tension and dynamically release muscle tension there. Full body stretching like in the photo above, allows for the body to have a feeling of flow over bracing. To learn more, click here.  

Tips to Improve Forward Head Posture

Forward head posture is pretty ubiquitous in the 21st century. There's plenty of resources online about how to fix it from a purely physical approach, but I think the long-term solution is much more of a personal one.

Some common suggestions for correcting forward head posture include simply moving the head backward, which I feel does more immediate harm than good. If the head is forward, the shoulders are usually rounded as well (aka kyphosis). So, shifting the head back with this type of body shape collapses the breath by cutting off air flow through the throat. Another 'fix' is bringing the shoulder blades together, which most people find by arching their mid back in a way that the spine is not shaped, generating a lot of unnecessary tension and/or pain in their back and neck. I find that apporaching alignment from an energetic perspective brings faster change without ticking off another part of the body.

How does forward head posture have an energetic connection?

As the head drops forward, there's also a fold at the diaphragm or solar plexus (where the rib cage splits). From an Eastern perspective, this is where the third chakra is located. This area represents our personal power and autonomy, our sense that we have volition and agency in our life.

What causes restriction at the third chakra?

Pretty much anything that compromises our ability to truly be ourselves and love ourselves. This can be events in our past and it can also be aspects of our present life. You may have not have grown up in a family culture of complete love and acceptance for your true self. Maybe you now feel burdened by responsibility and you're unhappy in your job/relationship/life. If this rings true, you may not feel like you have personal power or ability to change the parts of your life you're dissastisfied with.

Shame shuts off flow through the third chakra and limits our ability to fully embody our power. It wasn't until coming across Brene Brown's work several years ago that I realized how much shame I've held onto--I don't think I fully understood what that word meant before reading her book. Shame=all of the ways you don't feel like you're enough. For me this came in sneaky ways....maybe I didn't say 'I'm not attractive,' when looking in the mirror, but I did hold myself to a super high standard and compared myself to my percpetion of others. Shame lies on the other side of all of that because I could never be or do enough. Finding self-love has been a beautiful thing!

Some of us self-sabotage as a part of being constricted in this area. Maybe we put too many things on our plate and have a tough time saying 'no' to commitments. Others procrastinate and feel shame for doing so. Regardless of our personal habits, we can find ourselves in the midst of a big ol' shame snowball.

So how does all this connect to posture again?

Basically, forward head posture, just like everything else in the body, is more than just you looking at your phone too much. It's also a relfection of feeling burdened and not enough.

What helps?

The third chakra is located at the diaphragm, so doing more things to connect with your breath and lift through that space will help. Here's a video to help explain that in a seated position.

In addition to connecting with your breath, start noticing how you treat yourself. Do you belittle yourself or have a harsh inner critic? Do you take on more than you can reasonably accomplish without feeling stressed? How do you approach your responsibilities? Is there a way to visualize the best possible outcome over feeling overwhelmed?

Allow yourself to feel more over thinking. We value thought over feeling as a culture and that contributes to the head falling forward--we decapitate ourselves from the rest of the body. Taking a moment to feel and appreciate something in your day can show you how much power you already have.

And that's always a good place to start. :)