A dedicated Pilates practice can be a powerful tool to increase spinal health and flexibility, particularly when Pilates-method breathing is...
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Improve Your Diaphragmatic Breathing
The diaphragm is a large muscle that bisects our bodies at the base of the rib cage. When it is...
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How Breathing Affects Posture and Spinal Flexibility
As long as we are alive, we are breathing! So it is very useful to understand how breathing affects both...
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This Hip Flexor Can Contribute to Lower Back Pain: the Psoas
There is one hip flexor muscle that often contributes to lower back pain: the psoas. The psoas muscle is hard...
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Can Beginner Running Compliment Flexibility Training?
Everyone knows that running and flexibility exist in opposition to each other. Right? Ask any flexibility coach about cardio cross-training...
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What is your “Core Muscle” Group and How Does it Work?
What is your core muscle group and how does it work? Practically every fitness program known to humanity talks at...
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How to Have a Strong Flexible Psoas for Healthy Hips
A strong flexible psoas muscle is fundamental to a healthy back and mobile, balanced hips. The psoas attaches all along...
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How “Fixing Your Posture” Could be Causing Your Back Pain and What to Do About It
Earlier this year I made a post called 4 Tips to Get More Flexible Without Stretching, and the #1...
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Tight Hip Flexors? Try These Lunge Variations for Better Results
The humble lunge is a staple of flexibility training designed to target the front of the hips. With lunges, small...
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Hip Anatomy: Get to Know Your Hip Flexors to Diagnose Tight Hips
What is a "hip flexor"? The term "hip flexor" is often used as if it describes one muscle, when in...
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Step by Step Introduction to Back Bridge/Wheel Pose
Back Bridge, or Wheel Pose as it is called in yoga, is a beautiful foundational element of the back bender’s...
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4 Things You Can Do to Address Back Pain in Back Bends
Back bends can be a glorious part of your body’s movement practice. A healthy backbend feels great, benefits your spine,...
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Got a Bendy Back and Tight Hip Flexors? Try this Short Workout
Five years ago I wrote a blog post titled The Curse of the Bendy Lower Back that laid out many...
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Spinal Anatomy for Back Benders
Back bending is one of the most challenging areas of the flexibility arts. The spine is an extremely complex structure...
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Can My Body Be Strong and Flexible at the Same Time? Yes!
One of the most common misconceptions about training is that you cannot train to be strong and flexible at the...
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What’s the Difference Between Active and Passive Flexibility?
There are two different ways that we can measure our flexibility in any joint: active flexibility and passive flexibility. It...
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How to Get More Flexible: 4 Basic Tips for All Levels
When I tell humans out in the world what I do I’m often asked—usually after a glum confession to being...
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Stretch your Shoulders without Pain or Pinching
It is possible to stretch your shoulders without pain, pinching, or compromising the strength and integrity of the shoulder...
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Tight Shoulders? Try Stretching your Pecs!
Tight shoulders restrict athletic performance and our daily activities. A key aspect of upper body health is to have full...
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How to Find and Strengthen Your Rotator Cuff Muscles
When I received my MRI back from the doctor’s office it just said “rotator cuff tear”. What a tease! There...
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