High heels and back pain

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Why are high heels so terrible?

In a nutshell it puts our foot into an unnatural position from a bony structure and the muscles and ligaments have to work and change to support that. This means your calf muscles and Achilles tendon are tight and shortened and the muscles on the top of your foot/ankle are over stretched. Because of this you are much more prone to injury in the ankles but also in other parts of your body from the compensating your body has to do. So over time wearing high heels can cause Low Back Pain, knee and hip pain, and bunions.

So for those of us who like to wear high heels what’s the solution? Do we have to get rid of all our cute heels?

I of course like to educate people about why wearing heels a lot is not the best thing for you and can cause a stream of physical problems, but realistically I know that you’re probably not going to stop wearing heels because I tell you they’re not great for you unless you happen to be in a lot of pain!

Tips and exercise that can help counter the effects of wearing high heels.

  1. Take your shoes off at work if you can!! Just taking your shoes off and letting your muscles lengthen out when you are sitting at your desk will make a big difference!
  2. Anything to stretch your calves.   The easiest way to do this might be with a small ball.
  3. Stretch, strengthen and lengthen the muscles and fascia on the bottom of your feet with a small ball.
  4. Spread your toes. When we wear high heels our toes often get cramped into a small space and just spreading your toes apart 6- 8 times can stretch and strengthen the muscles you need to create proper support in your foot.
  5. Core strength is important as well so you can balance if you do get off balance -standing balance exercises are great
  6. Regular massage can be a great tool as well to keep the muscles and tissues healthy and lengthened as well (and it usually feels great!) spouse!!

Carey was on Fox28 in the Morning to talk about these exercises.

Practice What you Teach: Something is always better than nothing…..

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I was chatting with my Mom the other night and catching up on her day, which quite frankly was a crazy, busy stressful day that would have exhausted anybody!  She mentioned how she loved my blog announcing I was going to be blogging about my daily Pilates practice all year long(she’s always my biggest supporter so this was no surprise!!). She mentioned it was her goal to start doing her Pilates everyday too and how it just didn’t happen today.  She was going to watch and workout with a DVD in the morning but started working on other things that needed to get done and the day got away from her (we can all relate to that!).   This conversation is exactly why I’ll be sharing my personal Pilates practice all year long….

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Today’s blog inspired by Mom!

I want to change the way my Mom and you think about movement!  Sure it’s great to go to the studio and take a class or put a 30 minute DVD on and workout, but it’s not always realistic!  On those days, instead of beating yourself up because you didn’t do anything I want you to start thinking of how you can incorporate your Pilates movement throughout your day.  Can you do 10 squats standing in your kitchen after you loaded the dishwasher?  Could you lay on the floor and take 2 minutes and do your Hundreds exercise?  How about just doing some stretches while you are watching the news?

Could you take 7 minutes to do a mini Pilates workout? ( you probably don’t even need to change clothes…)  The video below is me teaching my favorite mini Pilates Mat workout.  It’s really just the first sequence of a classical Pilates Mat routine.  I make a daily deal with myself to always do something even if it’s just the Hundreds( and yes some days it’s just the Hundreds!!).   Many days though I continue on and do the workout below or some version of the Pilates Mat sequence.  Once I get started it feels good and I enjoy it.

[tweetthis]Adding Pilates to your life is easier than you think! #beinspired #practicewhatyouteach [/tweetthis]

If you are creating a Pilates practice at home you might find our little YouTube videos are much more convenient than a DVD.  You can easily put the YouTube app on your phone or tablet and bring up the Rivercity Pilates Channel so you can watch them anywhere, anytime.

I don’t know about you but just the thought of finding the DVD, getting the TV set up to watch it, and finding the time to watch it when I won’t be distracted is enough to make me not watch it or put it off to another day.  On the other hand I don’t mind starting to watch a YouTube video on my phone when I have a few minutes as it’s portable and I can sneak into a clear room and follow along and if I don’t get through the whole thing I know I can continue with it another time.

I’m super excited to share my Pilates practice journey this year and even more excited to hear from you and how you are incorporating your Pilates practice in your life!  Be sure to comment below or on social media and share your story!

 

 

Couch Potato Pilates for Beginners

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CP1 (1)Has it been awhile since you’ve worked out? Are you feeling uncomfortable in your body and ready to make some steps toward getting your health back? Does the thought of joining a gym or a group fitness class scare you? Our 6 week Couch Potato Pilates Series for Beginners is designed for you!!

This 6 week series of classes will introduce you to the Pilates Method of exercise in a very un-intimidating small group atmosphere. Each class will only have 6 clients maximum and everyone will be starting fresh like you! Movements and exercises will be introduced with detailed explanations of what to do and why we do it and there will be lots of variations for every body type. There will be plenty of time for questions throughout the sessions.

Clients will be introduced to basic Pilates movements and we will be using the Pilates Tower system to introduce movement ideas and concepts. The Pilates Tower equipment is designed to help Pilates instructors give clients a “support system” to move at their appropriate level so they can move safely and efficiently and continue to progress in their Pilates practice.

Ready to get started? We are offering 2 session options starting in February.  You can choose 8 am Saturday morning starting February 6th or 11:00 am on Mondays starting February 1st.  We suggest scheduling a complimentary private session with your instructor before starting the series so you can get introduced to the studio and learn more about the 6 week series!

Couch Potato Pilates (3)

Can you touch your toe to your forehead?

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First of all let me start this blog by saying never will you come to a Pilates session and get asked to touch your toe to your forehead!  It’s not something we ever do or even try to do.  That being said I have a story about how trying to touch my toe to my forehead gave me some new goals for my 2016 Pilates practice!

During a semi-private session one of my clients said to the other something like, “I can’t believe you can’t touch your toe to your forehead!”  She then grabbed her foot and put her big Toe on her forehead.  We all laughed and I mentioned how impressed I was!  She said,  “You can do this right?”.   Hmmmmm….I didn’t think sooo and surely wasn’t going to try it right then.   But of course after I got home that evening I had to try it.

I was sitting reading with my kids and asked them if they could do it.  They easily grabbed their foot and put it on their forehead( not surprising really).  I grabbed my foot and tried really hard to getIMG_5784 it to my forehead…….it did not go easily but I was close.  So I curled my spine toward my foot a little bit more and I could get it there( although for merely a second!) My abdominal muscles were working so hard to curl my spine forward that they started getting a cramping like sensation!! Maybe I needed to try the other foot.  I should have know that I naturally grabbed my less tight leg/hip to try it the first time and there was no way my right foot was getting to my forehead.

I’m a little bit competitive (especially with myself) and really don’t like to not be able to do things. So immediately my brain went to, ” Why is this so hard for me and why is it soo much harder for me on my right side?”.  A quick scan of my body and I knew that it was hard because of tightness in my legs and hips and imbalances between the two sides.  I know my right side is my tighter side and when I am thinking of it or focusing on it I do try to find ways to balance it out (but maybe I need to do that more often?).

Soo what’s a Pilates instructor to do?  I have a new goal for 2016….. lengthen, stretch and balance so that maybe I can touch my right toe to my forehead.  Helping others create balance in their bodies through movement is what I do on a daily basis, so how fun and fitting that one of my own goals is to balance out my body!!  I snapped a picture of my toe touching forehead attempts, again not because I want to impress you or want you to try this, but because I want to use this as a small marker of how I’m doing at creating balance in my body as the year progresses.

Why you should learn Pilates so you never have to go to a studio!

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One of the things I love most about my own Pilates practice is that I can do it anywhere (and I do)!  I love that whether I have 40 minutes or 5 minutes I can find some movement sequence to do that makes me feel better and energizes me.  I don’t need to rely on going to class, watching a video or anybody else.  Of course I also love to go to class and get instruction but I don’t need to.

I always love it when I see this phenomena happening in my clients because I feel like it means I’m doing my job well.  I get excited when I hear things like,” I didn’t make it to class this week but I did my Hundreds at home everyday.  OK…not a lot of people tell me this one….but I can pretend!  More likely is, “I did my rolling like a ball and shoulder bridge in the living room during the Big Bang Theory!

To me, this is what having a movement practice is all about! The reason to take sessions with a knowledgable instructor is so that you can learn about your body and learn how to create a movement practice not just in the studio but in your life.  There will always be times in your life when you can’t make it to a studio to take a class or get your private session in but that doesn’t mean you can’t get some movement in!

As you progress in your Pilates practice you’ll find yourself thinking about movement in a whole different way! You’ll start seeing movement as a way to feel better in your body and you’ll probably crave it!  You’ll start paying attention to your posture at work and maybe sneaking in some of your favorite exercises during the commercials of your favorite TV shows!  As a bonus, you won’t feel bad when you can’t make it into the studio for your session or class!  You’ll feel comfortable knowing that you can practice your favorite Pilates exercises on your own and still get a great work out!

Your neck shouldn’t hurt during Pilates!

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One of the first things I tell new clients when they are starting Pilates is,” Pilates should not hurt!”.  If something hurts then we need to adjust the exercise in your body in a way that it can be effective and help you create balance and strength so you can continue to progress without pain.

upperabcurlOne of the most common places people find their neck hurting is while doing any exercise called an upper ab curl.  This movement specifically involves lifting your head off of the mat and curling toward your body as you roll to approximately the tips of your shoulder blades.  This movement is fundamental in many traditional Pilates exercises, although can be modified as needed for individual bodies.

If someone is brand new to Pilates and they jump into a large group class without any specific training on how to do this movement properly in their body, they end up feeling like they are straining their neck and not feeling the work of the movement throughout the rest of the body.

[tweetthis]Does your neck hurt during upper ab curls? STOP and read this![/tweetthis]

Since Pilates movements are designed to integrate the whole body, figuring out where you need to work more or less so you are not in pain is often not as easy as simply changing an exercise to an “easier” version.  Often times just changing how you think about an exercises or what you focus on can change completely how an exercise feels in your body and make it more effective.  This is where working one on one with a trained instructor can be highly beneficial.  An instructor can help you try different variations or even just change your focus on an exercise and this can completely change how you do an exercise.

If you’ve tried Pilates and have experienced pain consider working one on one with an experienced instructor.  Often times just one or two sessions can give you enough insight into how to improve your body movements that you’ll be able to continue your practice without pain and with a better knowledge of your own body and how to adjust it.