Before we reveal how our bear crawl differs from others, first, a quick anatomy lesson. The body has eight load-bearing joints—the shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles. When those load-bearing joints are in alignment both vertically and horizontally, the body is symmetrical and functions the way it was designed to. However, when one of those joints gets out of alignment, the body begins to compensate in other areas, leading to postural dysfunction. This can lead to many unwanted consequences, including a limited range of motion in your other joints. Most bodies become out of alignment largely because of our sedentary lifestyles. I won’t claim sitting is the new smoking, but I do see it as a sport that we need to train our bodies for. (If you prepare for the chair, sitting can burn calories and create energy. Here’s how!)

One very common unwanted consequence of a compromised posture is pelvic dysfunction, and this has an unfortunate effect on the psoas muscle. The psoas is a major, complex set of three muscles that extend from the lower middle spine down to the top of the thighs, or femurs, and includes something commonly called the hip flexor. In its original design, the body uses the psoas and hip flexor for a great number of activities, including walking, running, standing up, and sitting down. But for many of us, that hip flexor—and the psoas in general—has gone long underused, and the pelvis has grown so accustomed to never having to engage the hip flexor that, in many instances, it simply doesn’t anymore.

Related: The Muscle You’ve Never Heard of But Need to Know

That’s amazing, right? I never cease to marvel at how incredible the human body is in its ability to work for us even when it’s not functioning properly. That said, we are healthier when it is fully functional.

Now, back to the bear crawl. When most people do the bear crawl, they do so with the pelvis up higher than the head and in trunk flexion, which means the back is humped up. I will refer to this as the traditional bear crawl, and it looks like this:

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Our modified version of the bear crawl in Elev8d Fitness anticipates and counteracts pelvic dysfunction. The move starts in the same position as the traditional bear crawl on your hands and feet. Next, focus on keeping your hips on the same plane as your head so that your back resembles a table top—flat and un-arching. Lastly, drag the hips back to your heels, creating a straight line through the shoulders, hips, and knees. It looks like this:

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In this position, the psoas is engaged, and that has major benefits: It causes the big posture muscles in the front and back of your body to activate the eight load joints throughout this exercise in a range that they’re designed to achieve. Thus, it becomes a total-body exercise so that you are getting twice the workout in half the time. You are now maximizing the efficiency of the exercise.

What’s more, when done correctly, our bear crawl is fatiguing, and in a good way. You emerge from doing it feeling more energized, and that’s neither an illusion nor a fluke. Engaging the entire body—especially parts that have been long dormant like the psoas—facilitates a utilization of glucose through all of your cells and promotes a huge upsurge in blood oxygen. In other words, the Elev8d bear crawl gives you a natural sugar high and oxygen high.

While most people perform this exercise in only one direction, Elev8d challenges you to move backward and sideways too, kicking one leg out wide and using the hands to move you to that leg before you bring the other along. Aim to pinch your shoulder blades together throughout the movement to achieve the best form.

By doing Elev8d’s bear crawl correctly in all directions, you are overcoming any inherent postural dysfunction, engaging the psoas, and compelling your joints and limbs to have full range of motion as the body was intended to move. The exercise, then, is an unbelievably demanding total-body activity. As you’ll see in our Elev8d Fitness workouts, it is incorporated with other exercises in a very specific sequence to help align your body and maximize your effort in minimal time. But don’t wait. Start practicing Elev8d bear crawls now—in your living room or at your gym—and start reaping the rewards of this game-changer.

Photography by Hailey Wist

Discover how efficient and effective Elev8d Fitness workouts are! Try the 8-Minute Weight-Loss Workout Series and the Total-Body At-Home Workout Series.

The post Master the Bear Crawl, Change Your Body appeared first on Sonima.

When most people exercise, they are not utilizing a full range of motion. For example, when you go for a run, walk, or bike ride, your hips move in only one direction (forward), while your shoulders generally don’t move at all. Or at the gym, you may do an array of exercises and a multitude of reps, yet how often do you lift your arms above your head or rotate your torso in either direction or move your body sideways?

If you are not using a full range of motion when you exercise, your body will work in a compensatory fashion: Rather than recruiting the major muscles originally designed to do the work, it will call upon only the smaller muscles that don’t require as much energy to function. For instance, when most people perform push-ups, they rely on their biceps and forearms to do the work. However, when you’re properly aligned, push-ups are a great total-body exercise that engages larger muscles, especially your abs, which in turn expends much more energy.

Having more than 40 years of experience in the fitness world (much of it working with some of the world’s top athletes), I also know that how you work out impacts what you eat and how much you drink. When you put those bigger muscles to work, you alter the body’s cravings for fuel. Your muscles need protein, nutrients found in fruits and vegetables, and water to recover. So if you find yourself wanting more lean meats and salads and less chips and soda when you move more, that’s why.

Related: Why a Dehydrated Person Might Not Get Thirsty

The Fun, Quick, and Effective Workout You Need

I want everyone to achieve optimal fitness in less time. So I’m excited to announce that I teamed up with Sonima to create Elev8d Fitness. This program is for everyone, including the super busy and non-busy, those with aches and without, and longtime fitness junkies as well as folks just starting out with exercise or coming back after a long hiatus.

Elev8d is based on eight core movements that compel a full range of motion. The exercises in the eight-, 16-, and 24-minute workouts are arranged in a very specific order, which helps align your body. These short, fun routines will improve your fitness, no matter your current level, and they can be used as a warm-up to other activity.

The only requirement is that you do an Elev8d routine at least four times a week. That might sound like a lot, but remember, each workout is short, and a body responds to the stimulus it’s provided. If the body is going to respond effectively to a new routine that involves a full range of motion, then that routine needs to happen regularly, thereby, convincing the body that there’s a change to the daily stimulus pattern it receives.

Elev8d is also based on fun. I have long said that two essential ingredients to fitness are full range of motion and fun. I am extremely excited about the advent of Elev8d Fitness and hope you are too. Fitness really can be more enjoyable and less time-consuming than we’ve come to think. Just wait and see!

Transform your body in less time with these popular Elev8d Fitness workouts and programs!

8-Minute Sculpted Butt and Hips Workout
16-Minute Core Stability and Strength Workout
8-Minute Strength Workout Series
Flat Belly Workout Series
Total-Body At-Home Workout Series

The post Your Workouts Really Don’t Need to Be That Long appeared first on Sonima.

If you start from a place of self-judgment, then you carry it with you everywhere you go, including to the gym. It’s nearly impossible to truly get healthy if you live under the cloud of criticism. It is fear-based and, simply, not good for you, mentally or physically. To live in fear is to crush your spirit, and a crushed spirit will not sustain you over the long haul toward improved fitness.

Fear is also bad for you physically. It is harmful to your body’s natural supply of melatonin, which is vital for the regulation of sleep patterns and serotonin, which is a brain chemical that plays a crucial role in many of your bodily functions. Fear can make it difficult to do something as instinctive as breathing. Ever seen those professional athletes who, early in a game or match, cannot catch their breath? These athletes are in phenomenal shape; it’s way too early for them to be that tired. It’s fear that is making them struggle for oxygen.

Related: Are You Subconsciously Holding Your Breath?

Granted, the fear that informs self-judgment may not be as acute as the fear we feel when performing in front of 40,000 fans, but the general rule still applies: Fear is bad for the body and the soul, and it’s a horrible impetus to improve health. You simply cannot hold onto the energy of judgment for protracted amounts of time. That’s why people, who go to the gym motivated by fear, stop going a few months, or even weeks, later. Or that’s one reason, at least. A key one.

Resolutions work better when they come from a place of stimulation and wonder. For instance, rather than begin the New Year by saying, “I’m not very smart, so I am going to commit to reading 50 books this year,” instead say, “I know a lot of terrific things, but this year I want to commit to learning more about sharks, the Founding Fathers, and film noir because those topics fascinate me.” It may seem like a trick with words, but the difference in the underlying attitudes makes sustained success possible.

It’s the same with nutrition. Rather than resolving, “I eat terribly, and I need to eat better this year,” which is an attitude of negative and harsh judgment, try a resolution like this instead: “I’m going to pick some different foods to try this year, things that I’ve been curious about for a while.” That resolution could include anything at all—main courses, side dishes, exotic breakfast sandwiches, juices, even desserts. The result will be that you stimulate the palate, leading you to eat a wider variety of foods. It will make the act of eating a more conscious and joyful experience, and, ultimately, more satisfying, which will be better for your body and better for you.

Regarding your fitness goals, try not to make a resolution that suggests you aren’t good enough (because you already are, really). Instead, make a resolution to do something this year that could be fun. Replace “I have to go to the gym three times a week,” with “I want to learn how to play squash.” It doesn’t even have to be that complex. It could be, “This year, whenever I drive past a terrific hill, I’m going to stop the car and run down it.” Or maybe resolve to climb trees again, just like you did when you were a kid. Or go outside and dance around every time it rains hard. That kind of stuff actually improves your fitness.

Or maybe just resolve to implement more fun movements into your life this year. Instead of promising to lose 20 pounds or to run six miles every other day, both of which require large commitments, decide to get down on the ground and exercise on your hands and knees a few times each week, like you did as a child, or that you’re going to jump up and down more, simply, because it’s so fun.

I know it sounds too simple to be effective, but think about it: How many times did you jump this past year? Probably not much at all for many of you. Do you really think it won’t be fantastic for your body to jump a lot more often this year? Or get up and down off of the ground more frequently? We know it’s a tiring and useful exercise because we see so many drills for professional athletes that include it. So do you really think it won’t make a difference for you? Or moving sideways, either out on a walk with your dog or playing with your grandchildren or whenever.

Bottom line: It’s all about intention. When your intention is based on joy and fun, effort comes easily and naturally, but when your intention is based on self-judgment and fear, actions become a chore, a duty, a grind. Everybody who reads that sentence knows exactly what I’m talking about. You’ve all experienced it. So for this New Year’s resolution, don’t focus on changing yourself or your actions. Focus, instead, on changing your intentions to include more fun and joy. You’ll likely have far better results.

The post The Only Way to Achieve Your Fitness Goals in the New Year appeared first on Sonima.

Once an athlete pulls a hamstring, he or she can be knocked out of commission for anywhere from two weeks to two months, depending on the severity of the damage. That is why many athletes go to great lengths to avoid this injury, incorporating a detailed and protracted regimen of stretching. Unfortunately, no amount of stretching will prevent this problem for one simple reason: The crux of the matter lies in the hips, not the hamstrings.

I’ve said it thousands of times, but it bears repeating: barring recent trauma, such as a car accident, the source of the pain is never the source of the problem. Hamstring pulls are really the result of a dysfunctional posture and an imbalanced body. To prevent this injury, athletes must bring proper alignment to their postures so that their bodies can work as a unit.

First, let’s cover some anatomical specifics. What is commonly referred to as the hamstring is actually three muscle groups: 1) the semitendinosus muscle and tendon, 2) the semimembranosus muscle and tendon, and 3) the biceps femoris, short and long. Those muscles run from the pelvis to the knee and are attached by the tendon to the bone. When people pull their hamstrings, it’s often in one of the muscles, however, the more severe strains that take longer to heal occur in the tendon. Regardless of whether the pull is in a muscle or a tendon, the underlying problem is the inability of the tendons and muscles of the hamstring to work in a synchronized fashion.

Related: Taking the First Steps Toward Pain-Free Living

When we break into a sprint, the muscle spindles in our hamstrings contract. In a properly aligned, fully functioning body that contraction is flawless. The tendons at the knee and hip work simultaneously to allow that muscle to correctly engage. However, if the hamstring tendons at the hip don’t work in synchronicity with those at the knee, the body, in its wisdom, puts an immediate halt to the contraction in that hamstring muscle. While the body instinctively commands that muscle to stop, the rest of you doesn’t get the memo so you continue to full-on sprint. In that split second, you may experience a pulled hamstring. (Note: I am speaking here about the most overwhelmingly common cause of hamstring pulls.)

So, you can see, the problem is not the hamstring, but rather the inability of the tendons at the hip to work in concert with the tendons at the knee and in accordance with the muscle. Pain is the body’s way of communicating to you that something is wrong. A common misconception is that you can stretch that muscle back into alignment. But the truth is, stretching or isolating it by intensely strengthening the muscles around it will not remedy the underlying issue. Yes, the hamstring will eventually feel better, but that’s the result of time allowing the body to heal itself.

Moving the hip back to the appropriate position is what will best prevent hamstring pulls. No one is more aware of this than Elliot Williams, the director of Functional Performance for the San Francisco 49ers. Elliot was recently hired by my old friend, John Lynch, the new General Manager for the 49ers. I have worked with John on his posture and fitness since he was a teenager, and because he is such a staunch supporter of postural alignment, he immediately brought on Elliot, an Egoscue Method-trained therapist, to work with the NFL team on their alignment, too. Given the prevalence of hamstring injuries among athletes, Elliot spends a great deal of time working to counter their occurrence.

“When it comes to hamstrings,” Elliot says, “the actual compensation is almost always upper-body driven. That is, if the hip isn’t in its proper place and working as it was intended, it’s something in the upper body that gives me that clue.” For instance, if a player is in the weight room, and he does a series of squats, Elliot looks at the position of his arms when he is finished.

“If those arms are spread wide and distant from their sides, as if he’d just worked his trap muscles, then I know there’s a big problem with the hips. Squats are a hip-driven exercise. But if that hip-driven exercise caused his arms to move out as if he’d just done a back-driven exercise, that means the back did actually do too much work, and that’s because the hips couldn’t. The back was compensating for a hip that’s so dysfunctional, it’s in danger of not being able to work properly for a sprint.”

The upper body is always a dead-giveaway if there’s a misalignment that could hurt the hamstrings, Elliot continues. For example, when a player sprints, his arms will move freely back and forth if the hip is properly aligned. But when the player’s hands don’t move very far from the body mid-sprint, then that’s a sign the shoulders aren’t enabling the arms to swing. In this case, the shoulders are working too hard to compensate for a hip not doing its job to allow the body to run. Sometimes, the compensation will be so extreme that the hands actually chug sideways, crossing perpendicular across the center line of the spine. That’s another sign of someone who is about to pop his hamstring.

Elliott also pays attention to the legs. “If I see someone’s stride has noticeably shortened, that’s a sign of a compromised hip.”

The bottom line: The body is a unit, and all of its many elements work in complete concert. You cannot isolate any one part from the rest. Too many people are pulling their hamstrings these days, and it’s causing untold hours of pain as well as disappointment on multiple levels. When a professional baseball player pulls his hamstring, the team loses his services for any number of weeks, perhaps diminishing the team’s chances of winning and certainly reducing the return on the owner’s investment. And when amateur athletes pull their hamstrings, they lose their ability to play that game of tennis or golf over the weekend, take that jog with their dog, or go for that moderately difficult hike with their kids.

Hamstring pulls can be prevented by aligning the body so that it is balanced and the hips are functional. Full postural alignment with a trained therapist is always best, but if that’s not immediately accessible to you, try this 15-minute exercise sequence to realign your hips so that they can help your hamstrings out when needed.

The post Why Hips Are Hurting Hamstrings appeared first on Sonima.

Our world has become all about measurement and data. Much to our detriment, many have come to believe that everything can be measured and, therefore, should be. Fitness has not escaped that trend, and working out has become an issue of external measurements. It’s about your body mass index. Or your heart rate. Or how many crunches you can do in two minutes. Or what weight you’re maxing out at on the bench press. Or how many steps you took today.

It’s as if going out for a terrific run doesn’t matter unless we achieve a pinpoint goal of how long we ran or how far we ran and how quickly we ran it. Or playing for an hour with your kids on the jungle gym doesn’t really matter because there’s really no way to measure the physical impact of that play.

There’s an even more insidious measurement of our fitness, and that’s our appearance. We do more and more sit-ups because we want those six-pack abs. We pound more and more miles on that treadmill because we’re trying to lose those flabby saddlebags at the base of our buttocks. We bike more and more miles to shed those love handles and get those chiseled calves. We don’t play soccer with our kids or friends because, well, we’re just not sure how many calories that will burn, and we know exactly the minimum of calories we need to burn each day if we want to look a certain way, so we do intervals around the track instead while they play on the field within.

It is this focus on these external measurements, the numbers and the appearance, that’s leading to our fitness fatigue. Let me explain.

First, the numbers game. Part of the reason it’s impossible to judge fitness by numbers is that the numbers keep changing. The rules are never the same. To make my point, I turn first to nutrition. Some of you are old enough to remember the time that butter was bad for you, so we all ate margarine. Now, turns out, both butter and margarine have their pros and cons, or at least that’s the story this year. Then all fats were bad for you, except now there’s actually a good kind of fat. Or fruits are fine, but just don’t eat them in the morning or too much since they’re high in sugar. Or red meat is off-limits. No, wait, Paleo dieters love it, so actually it’s good. Frankly, I forget what it is these days.

It’s the same with all the numbers around fitness. We should all be walking 10,000 steps (just under 5 miles) per day, and we’ve even got little devices to count those steps. Once we hit 10,000, it was a good day for our body. Or we should all be doing 30 minutes of aerobic exercise four days a week, and if we do, we reduce our chances of a heart attack by 50 percent. Or was it 150 minutes of exercise per week, which is a half-hour five days a week, not four? No matter, next year, on New Year’s Day, when we get all those articles about fitness that coincide with the annual resolution to push for a new you, the standard of measurement will have changed. See what I mean by this madness of numbers? It’s very difficult to feel like you’re winning any game where the rules keep changing.

True fitness requires peace of mind, and if you’re entire routine of fitness is based on discipline, rigor, doing more and doing it harder, then you cannot achieve peace of mind as it relates to your fitness.

As for appearance, well, let’s start with the abs, which is a very common measure of looks. If you are going to the gym to achieve a washboard stomach, it’s safe to say you are unhappy with your appearance. If that’s the case, then it becomes almost impossible ever to be happy, no matter how taut and ripped those abs become. That level of self-judgment makes it almost unrealistic to ever approve of yourself in any form. We’ve all seen these people in the gyms and in our lives. Working out is about achieving perfection, and perfection is an unfeasible standard in everything, including fitness. What’s more, bodily perfection is driven by ego, and feeding the ego is like feeding any addiction: no matter how much you give it, it only wants more.

And so we keep going to the gym. And going to the gym. And going to the gym. Or we switch and start pedaling the bike. And pedaling the bike. And pedaling the bike. Or now we do routines with kettle bells, and more routines and more routines. But when does it end? When are you satisfied with your numbers or your appearance? For too many people, that satisfaction is an unattainable holy grail. But they keep going and going and going, and is it any wonder they’re fitness fatigued? We keep physically active to achieve goals that are either arbitrary or impracticable, and I believe much of the fatigue is borne of the subconscious knowledge that what we’re doing isn’t really working and isn’t any fun.

To avoid fitness fatigue, we need a new measurement for what it is to be fit, and for me, that measurement is internal. True fitness requires peace of mind, and if you’re entire routine of fitness is based on discipline, rigor, doing more and doing it harder, then you cannot achieve peace of mind as it relates to your fitness. Fitness is a calm sense of well-being. Now, that’s not to suggest that there are no physical components to fitness. Clearly, someone who is 70 pounds overweight is not fit, but then I have never met anyone who is obese or who thinks he’s overweight who exudes peace of mind. By the same token, I have met absolute physical specimens with nary an ounce of fat who live their lives in a state of agitation because those perfect bodies still aren’t what they want them to be. They are just as agitated as the person 70 pounds overweight.

The main remedy for fitness fatigue is fun. It’s spontaneous application of movement. It’s approaching your exercise not with the answer why, but the question, “Why not?” This way of thinking is the operative ethic behind Patch Fitness workouts. Yes, they compel the body to move in different directions across different planes to achieve a full range of motion for all joints, and there is definitely a physical benefit to that, but they also get your body on the ground and over logs and on top of benches and moving backwards or sideways and walking on all fours because it’s fun. When you get lost in the fun of a workout, you no longer care about numbers or specific goals. You just play. And the body reaps the benefits.

Related: The Most Important Element Missing From Your Workout

Believe me, I know many of the lords of fitness in today’s world are scoffing at what I’m saying here, but for a minute, just tune out all that they’ve said and listen to your heart on these questions: If the existing fitness industry were really offering you a viable solution to your fitness needs, why are there so many fitness fads? If you’re not having fun with that gym workout, how long do you really think you’re going to continue doing it? And how good is it for your body when you’ve essentially quit all forms of fitness because it became drudgery?

I don’t care who’s telling you how many steps you need to take today. If you’d rather spend the afternoon gardening, you should spend the afternoon gardening, and you’ll be more fit because of it. I don’t care what elevated heartrate you may achieve with a cardio workout, if you’d rather spend the next hour all over the playground with your child, then you should go to the playground, and you’ll actually be more fit because of it.

One more thing: If you’re tired today, skip that run and take a nap instead. It’s what your body is asking for. We have become so enamored with measuring things that we’ve come to believe that if something can’t be measured, it has no value. Therefore, we’ve come to believe that the only fitness that is worthwhile is that which can be measured externally. The fitness that matters most is gauged internally, where things can’t be measured.

The post Are You Suffering from Fitness Fatigue? appeared first on Sonima.

Pete Egoscue, alignment expert and author of the Pain Free book series, reveals several 60-second workouts that can be done anywhere and with minimal equipment required. From “rope abs” to “flutter kicks,” these moves are a great way to get a total-body workout and maintain your fitness. “The more in a workout you can engage your entire body, the more stability and strength you will have, the more effective the exercise becomes,” says Egoscue. These creative and simple workouts may only be a minute long, but there’s no doubt they will make you break a sweat!

The post The 60-Second Cardio Workout appeared first on Sonima.

What Causes Vertigo?

Sometimes, vertigo is disease or illness-based, the result of a virus or a tumor, but doctors can quickly determine those cases. Most often vertigo is idiopathic, which is a medical term meaning no known cause or origin. In my experience, though, I’ve found most of those idiopathic versions of vertigo actually have a very specific cause—the position of the head. In other words, vertigo is usually about posture.

Related: How Your Feet Reveal Why You’re in Pain

Humans are gravity machines; like the entire operating system of our universe, we rely on gravity to function, and because the body knows just how important our relation to gravity is, it offers redundant systems to make sure we have an accurate reading on our gravity field, i.e., the ground.

One of those systems is something called proprioception, which is defined as, “The unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation arising from stimuli within the body itself.” In other words, your body knows where it is because it just does, and it’s constantly, instinctively, letting your brain know where the body is in relation to the ground. You have an inner sense of the ground on which you walk, and that’s why you don’t have to watch the ground when you walk.

Another system to modulate our relationship to the ground is the semicircular canals, which are three interconnected tubes in the deepest recesses of the inner ear. (Many of you probably remember this from high school biology). Those canals are filled with a fluid called endolymph, and that fluid flows freely when we are in proper relation to our field of gravity, thereby enabling us to function without losing our balance or getting dizzy. The final system is good old-fashioned eyesight. You can see the ground, and that helps you keep your balance. It’s much harder to walk with your eyes closed, and not simply because you’re worried about running into something.

Still, even with those redundant systems, many of us encounter vertigo, and that’s because of the position of our heads. When the body is properly aligned, the load-bearing joints of the shoulders, hips, knees and ankles are perfectly balanced from side to side and rest directly on top of each other; that enables the spine to maintain its designed “S” shape which in turn enables the head to rest directly on top of that spine, level so that the ears are directly perpendicular to the ground. When one of those joints deviates from its designed position, which is common in our sedentary lives, the body begins to compensate, usually resulting in a spine that morphs from an “S” to a “C” and a head that loses its proper relationship to its field of gravity—those ears are now angled.

When a head is out of balance, either leaning to one side or jutting forward, the systems designed to maintain balance start having an argument; the proprioception instinctively knows where the body and the ground are so conveys the right message to the brain; the eyes can always see where the ground is so confirm the message that proprioception sent. But those inner ears cannot see; they can only register the field of gravity by the position of the head, so when that head is out of position, it sends a message to the brain that is completely at odds with the message the other two systems sent. Enter vertigo.

The body adjusts, though, which is yet another example of how amazing the human form is. It almost always adjusts to a new positioning of the head, which is why, untreated, vertigo often disappears on its own within a day or two. But the head’s position will only continue to get worse, triggering new bouts of vertigo in the future. What’s more, for some people, their head has been out of position for so long that that fluid in the inner ear thickens and even develops microscopic calcifications that affix to the cilia of the inner ear, and that’s what contributes to those long-term bouts of vertigo that can last weeks and even years.

The solution is to return the head to its proper position. I’ve included a brief menu of Egoscue-cises (e-cises) to begin the process of repositioning the head, and they are good for short-term relief from the dizziness that comes with a fresh bout of vertigo. But for long-term relief, you need to realign your entire body and return it to its designed position so that both ears are perfectly perpendicular to the ground, the head is directly over the shoulders, and the spine is that letter “S.”

4 Posture Exercises to Cure Vertigo

Sitting Knee Pillow Squeezes, 3 sets, 20 reps

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Shoulder Rolls, 3 sets, 10 reps each direction

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Known as the Father of Postural Therapy, Pete Egoscue has helped relieve thousands of people from their chronic pain, including many of the world’s leading athletes. For more information on Pete and any of his 25 clinics worldwide, go to egoscue.com.

The post What Causes Vertigo? How Posture Plays a Role appeared first on Sonima.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not dazzled by human ingenuity and what we accomplish because of our inquisitive minds. It’s those traits that lead to our incessant innovations, but in the medical field, it’s those innovations that have, in part, led us to where we are performing these useless surgeries. With cat scans and MRIs and other tools, we are able to see things we’d not been able to see before. We can see the herniated disc, the torn meniscus, the damaged vertebra. But the ability to see on such a microscopic level has led to a myopia in which we do not look past that source of pain. As a result, we treat that source of pain, but barring recent trauma, such as an accident, the source of the pain is never the source of the problem. And the latest research continues to pile on in confirmation.

Related: A Simple Daily Routine to Eliminate Knee Pain

Let me be clear: the problem is not the surgeons. They are doing a great job. With each surgery, they are doing exactly what they intend to do, and they are doing so with a rare and incredible skill. The problem is the surgeries themselves, which should never be performed. If the lower spine is damaged, it’s not because of dysfunction on the part of the lower spine. It’s because of a misaligned body that has adjusted the form and function of the spine, putting more demand on the lower spine than it was designed to withstand. Similarly, if a meniscus is torn, it’s not because the knee is malfunctioning. It’s because there is an imbalance elsewhere in the body that has led to a series of anatomical compromises that have put too much stress on the knee.

Again, when we see a symptom such as a ruptured disc, we’ve stopped asking why and are simply assuming the source and the cause of the pain are the same, which is why 99% of all tears or ruptures or similar maladies in our body are labeled idiopathic, which means no known cause. You will hear causes thrown rather casually about—it’s genetic, it’s aging, etc., but those are never said definitively or with conviction, and further investigation usually reduces them to the hollow explanations they are. One of my own favorites is that the pounding of jogging is causing that problem in the left knee. If that were true, why is it not causing the same problem in the right knee, which is running just as much as the left?

The Alternative to Surgery Most People Ignore

The body is an amazing machine. At the cellular level, it is in a constant state of birth, death, and renewal. Discs are alive. Cartilage is alive. We have lost our understanding of what a magnificent regenerative machine the body is, and if our meniscus or discs aren’t regenerating as they should, it’s not because they don’t want to, it’s because they can’t. In my experience, I have found they can’t because our body is out of balance, out of alignment, and when we restore our entire bodies to their proper alignment, those issues in the knees and lower back and everywhere else resolve themselves, making unnecessary any of those surgeries, which studies are confirming are useless anyway.

Related: Watch One Man’s Journey to Becoming Pain Free

Known as the Father of Postural Therapy, Pete Egoscue has helped relieve thousands of people from their chronic pain, including many of the world’s leading athletes. For more information on Pete and any of his 25 clinics worldwide, go to egoscue.com.

The post Why Are “Useless” Surgeries Still So Prevalent? appeared first on Sonima.

By the third trimester of pregnancy, typically the stomach will be quite large, and the sickness of first trimester feels like a distant memory. The goal of all activity in this trimester is to prepare the body for an easy and uneventful delivery. In this video, follow along as alignment expert Pete Egoscue walks you through a very simple yet highly effective workout, that is both low-impact and restorative. The activation of the inner thighs, the contraction of the gluteal and scapular muscles, along with the articulation of the spine, will help with posture, easeful sleep, and a strong, healthy body for the delivery process.

Related: A Pregnancy Workout for the Second Trimester

Photo by Lacy Kiernan

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For many of us, our imbalances elude us. We think we’re healthy, we think we’re aligned, but in fact, everything we do, all day, every day, contributes to our habitual patterns, which in turn affect our state of balance. So, for most of us, we’re perpetuating our misalignments simply by walking down the street. The way we walk, sit, and stand—key elements of daily life—can either hinder us or help us. When we learn to release tension, and distribute weight evenly in our feet and across sides, we are closer to finding center. As such, our walking, standing, and sitting can just as easily be our medicine as our poison.

This 20-minute cool-down, designed by alignment expert Pete Egoscue, will put your body in a neutral position by targeting common areas of weakness and tightness that lead to asymmetrical movement. Spending just a few minutes soothing tension in key areas such as the shoulders, neck, back and hips will allow the healing properties of walking to solidify their effects on the body. For best results, try this 15-minute warm-up sequence before you walk or exercise.

Related: An Alignment Sequence for Before and After Yoga

Follow along in the video above or download a PDF of these exercises below so you do this routine anywhere you go.

An Alignment Cool-DownFor After Walking

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Photo by Hailey Wist

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When you engage in any form of exercise you want your body to be as balanced as possible. When your body is in balance it can move evenly and symmetrically. Symmetrical movement ensures that your weight is distributed evenly and makes it less likely that you’ll become injured or plagued by pain. Balanced movement also makes you more efficient when you walk, meaning your energy is used optimally to get you from point A to point B, and you’ll reap the most physical benefits from your efforts.

While you may think your body is already in balance, the truth is that anyone who spends most of their time sitting at a desk or in a car is going to have some physical imbalances. This 15-minute warm-up is designed to put your body in a neutral position by targeting common areas of weakness and tightness that lead to asymmetrical movement. Spending just a few minutes creating openness and mobility in key areas such as the ankles, feet, and hips will allow you to make the most of your walk and enjoy yourself even more while you’re out there.

Related: An Alignment Sequence for Before and After Yoga

Follow along in the video above or download a PDF of these exercises below, with step-by-step directions so you do this routine anywhere you go.

An Active Alignment Warm-Upfor Before Walking

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As your little one continues to grow, it’s important for you to stay active and healthy in preparation for childbirth. “The pelvis has to open up and extend itself so that the baby can turn head down and get into the birthing canal,” says alignment expert Pete Egoscue, the founder of the Egoscue Method and world leader in non-medical pain relief. “Change in the structure of the body is necessary to give the baby room to grow and get themselves in position for birth.”

Fitness during pregnancy has many additional perks, including improving mood and energy levels, preventing excess weight gain, and decreasing the risk gestational diabetes, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Working out regularly may help you sleep better, too, reports a 2013 study published in The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association. Added bonus: A new animal study published in The FASEB Journal in March suggests that babies born to fit mommies may be more inclined to be physically active as adults compared to those who have sedentary parents.

Follow this simple 30-minute exercise program designed by Egoscue to reap these benefits while getting ready for the special delivery that’s well on its way.

Related: How to Approach Yoga During Your Pregnancy

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Anyone who drives several hours a day knows what all that time in the car does to the body. Nothing about driving promotes balance—your left foot is doing one thing, right’s doing another, you’re stuck sitting in a fixed position, and you may be stressed out from dealing with traffic. When your body is in balance, you’ll find that you’re more alert, responsive, relaxed, and better able to react in stressful situations. This sequence is designed to improve alignment before or after hours spent in the car.

The simple movements demonstrated in the video above, such as pillow squeezes, shoulder rolls, elbow curls, forward bend, arm circles, spinal twists, cats and dogs, and air bench, gently release tension in the body and improve posture. These exercises for drivers help open up the shoulders and hips and stretch the back, hamstrings, and upper body. Take 12 minutes before your next drive to do these posture exercises so you can retain a sense of balance while on the road and avoid pain after spending time spent driving.

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Baseball pitchers, football linemen, and swimmers know firsthand the importance of healthy shoulders. If any of the small muscles that work together to keep the joint in place and protected get hurt or misaligned, they could end up with a sidelining injury. Shoulder pain is less threatening to non-athletes, but can still throw off one’s day-to-day, especially if range of motion has been compromised. Suddenly, reaching for an item on the top shelf, putting on your jacket or picking up your toddler sends a wincing pinch to the area. This could be a sign that your rotator cuff, which consists of four muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis), might be out of whack.

To ease shoulder pain as well as reduce future aches, try this strengthening sequence from Sonima.com’s alignment expert Pete Egoscue, the creator of the Egoscue Method for pain-free living. Start with a static extension stretch to reposition your shoulder blades. From there, perform hand and leg lifts with a synchronized motion to help restore the body’s natural balance and range of motion. Ease into a counter stretch position and hang. Reset your spine with cats and dogs before continuing onto a series of arm circles. Next, perform a sitting floor twist on each side to remind your body how to rebalance itself. Lastly, complete three sets of hero squats , which are great for both your shoulders and (added bonus!) your abs.

Related: A Bridge Sequence to Open the Shoulders

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Eating out most, if not all, meals is one of the lures of travel whether you’re roaming the planet for business or pleasure. A 2012 survey from TripAdvisor of more than 1,400 U.S. travelers found that 65 percent were more likely to overindulge in food while on vacation, and another 49 percent are likely to binge-drink. Nearly a third claimed to always or often pack on pounds during a trip. Here’s where frequent fliers may have a leg-up on vacationers. Having most likely learned the hard way, they know how crucial is is to do some exercise while on the road to burn off extra calories before they end up with excess baggage (not kind that fits in the overhead bin).

Next time you’re away, try to sneak in a quick workout each morning or evening when you’re winding down from a long day. This is especially important if you’re enjoying feasts daily and not doing any form of activity, like hiking, biking, swimming, etc. Don’t worry, it doesn’t need to be an intense sweat-fest. This 20-minute workout video designed by Pete Egoscue, Sonima.com’s alignment expert and author of multiple books including Pain Free, features a series of easy and effective exercises you can do right in your hotel room—no gym equipment, workout clothes, or sneakers needed.

Related: Simple Airplane Stretches for a Long Flight

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