Is your TECH Neck causing havoc in your life?

I hope this isn’t true, but I heard in a report that the average American spends more than 10 hours a day looking at some sort of screen. Anecdotally speaking, I can confirm there is a screen addition crisis, whether it’s our phones, tablets, computers, smart watches or TV’s.

Just the other day I witnessed a truck driver maneuvering a tight turn in one of those very narrow Brooklyn streets. I don’t know how an eighteen wheeler ended up in a neighborhood street, but alas, there it was and a young woman that was walking, hunched over her phone-turtle neck style, kept walking without any trepidation towards the rear end of the truck that missed her by less than 3 feet…OMG I get sweaty palms just typing this…she didn’t even know what was going on when I caught up with her to make sure she was OK.

Hunched over our screens hour after hour may result in a host of physical problems; perhaps the most common of these is what we’re now calling tech neck. The Spine Hospital blog (www.columbiaspine.org) defines the tech neck as basically what happens as a result of the downward tilt in our neck that we often take on when looking at our phones, TVs, and computers. A simple fifteen-degree downward tilt of the head is enough to put twenty to thirty pounds of extra pressure on the neck and spine. A sixty degrees tilt could make your head weight up to sixty pounds!!! Can you picture what that level of pressure is doing to your neck? Ouch.

The consensus among any of us dealing with bodies is laud and clear: spend a long time stuck in one position or repeating a movement and your fascia, or connective tissue, will get “stuck” into that position. The tech neck is the result of “stuck” tissues in the turtle neck or hunched position, which manifest in deep discomfort if not pain. AND I believe that this tech neck also causes stress, tension and negative energy to get stuck in the neck, which contributes to more mental and emotional discomfort.

The solution to tech neck: don’t hunch over your screens. OK, that is the short answer. The solution isn’t that complicated really, it begins with awareness of your posture. If you ears and shoulders aren’t stacked, you’re tilting forward, inviting the tech neck to find it’s home in your life. Whenever you feel yourself getting stuck in a hunch, it’s time to take a break from whatever you’re doing. Go outside. Got to a yoga class. Stretch out. Better yet, learn some fascia release technique like Bodymind Ballwork, keep a few balls by your desk or in your bag and “roll out” for a few minutes and restore your posture.

The Deal with Low Back and Sciatica

If you suffer from back pain, you know how debilitating and frustrating it can be.  Lower back pain is the biggest cause of disability worldwide and one of the most common reasons that employees miss work. Experts estimate that 80% of us will suffer from back pain at one point or another. WOW.

Lower back pain can result, as you would imagine, from injuries from accidents, but it can result from simple movements like bending over to pick something up or twisting too abruptly.  Other common triggers of back pain are obesity, stress, arthritis and bad posture, of course.  Situational circumstances like stress, prolonged sitting, wearing high heels or not sleeping on your bed can cause or aggravate back pain.  It’s complicated because the back is complicated.  This structure is made up of fascia, ligaments, muscles, bones, emotions and energy.

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AND then comes in “Sciatica”.  The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve that runs from the low back, passes the butt and goes down the back of the legs.  It branches into the thighs, calves, feet and even the toes.  Sciatica pain is caused when the nerve is injured, aggravated, squished or stuck by either scar tissue or congested fascia.  These congested tissue and/or injuries are the result of poor posture, mis-alignment of the pelvis, stress, trauma or fear.  Sciatica pain can also be the result of degenerative disc disease, vertebra slips/herniated, or narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back (stenosis).

How to tell the difference from just back pain and sciatica pain?  The sciatica pain usually starts in the low back and continues along the path of the long nerve, so it extends through the buttocks, possibly thighs, low leg and even foot (one or two legs).  It’s sharp, electric or numbing pain.  It often feels better when walking and worsens when standing or sitting. 

If you’re suffering intense lower back pain or sciatica, the best place to start is go to the doctor.  As I said, it’s complicated and you may need help figuring out what is the root cause.  Understanding how the problem was caused in the first place can help you with treatment options.  The options for treatment range from physical therapy, massage, Pilates, yoga, acupuncture, structural integration, medication or surgery, in extreme situations.   I’ve tried them all but surgery, and they all help depending on the root cause.

The best thing you can do to prevent back pain is to look after your back.In case you missed it, HERE are my 5 Easeful Ways to Prevent Back Pain.Prevention will be your biggest asset in avoiding back problems altogether.I’m very committed to instructing bringing prevention and management techniques to the low back in my Roll+Restore workshops.

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Breathing Better : roll and restore is back and we're aiming for deeper breathing

JANUARY 19TH, 2019 - 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM

ABHAYA YOGA - GOWANUS, BROOKLYN

Roll + Restore : breathing  focus (abdomen + ribs)

Do you feel restriction in your breathing? Do you want to feel connected to your center but there is some tightness in your chest muscles or back?  Releasing tension in your abdomen and ribs area can increase your sense of groundness and release emotional holdings.

Looking, feeling, and being your better self, requires far more than just working out and eating well.  Without embodied self-awareness, you’ll not only never enjoy the physical results you want, but you’ll also never experience the inner space that leads to peace and joy.  Roll+Restore combines my sixteen-plus years of practice in wellness, yoga and engineering to access this embodied self-awareness.  The workshop takes the best aspects of Biomechanical Alignment Principles, Therapeutic Yoga, Bodymind Ballwork© and Metaphysics to experience a unique and holistic approach to understanding your body.  Students who’ve attended this workshop leave feel empowered to access deep understanding of their physical, mental and emotional state. They leave feeling “taller,” “brighter,” “relaxed” and “younger” (yep, these are their words).

In this special Breathing edition of Roll+Restore you will learn techniques that involve therapeutic yoga postures and laying/moving on rubber balls to self-massage tight fascia around your upper back, abdomen, iliopsoas and ribs. You can incorporate these techniques in your fitness routine to open your spine and your breathing.  You will feel physically, emotionally and mentally better.

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*contraindications: this techniques aren’t recommended if you are pregnant, had a recent abdominal surgery, serious intestinal or pulmonary issues.  Please ask if you aren’t sure.

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Why is my waist feeling scrunched? Tight Fascia could be the culprit

“When the body begins to work appropriately, the force of gravity can flow through. Then, spontaneously, the body heals itself.” -  Ida P. Rolf, founder of the Rolfing technique and recognized as the first to understand the role of fascia in human health.

Do you ever feel scrunched and thick around the waistline?  There is more than fat to blame here.  The waistline gets a bad reputation: lower back pain, extra weight, bloating and thickness. Why?  Not an easy answer, like anything worth investigating. There is a plethora of factors that trouble your midsection such as poor diet, stress, hormonal imbalances, emotional eating, lack of adequate rest, and not moving our bodies enough. Additionally, the sides of the body tend to be ignored: we spend a lot of time sitting, slouching, driving, and working on computers (or texting). Essentially, we’re just accumulating tension and stress in that mindsection. 

Furthermore, our relationship with gravity, bad posture, poor weight management and upper body weight-distribution can cause the space between the ribs and the hips (your waistline) to get squished and compressed, which in turn leads to a shortening and thickening of the waist.  When our waistlines shorten, all the muscles, tissues, organs, skin, and fat start to bulge out to the sides making us look and feel thicker than we really are. To make matters worse, experts tells us that  this can also negatively influence digestion, metabolism, circulation, oxygenation, and organ and gland efficiency, leading to bloating, density, and inflammation.

These sounds like a complicated problem, and it is, but there is a magic solution that can shrink your waist and make it healthy: you need to create length and space to your fascia and core. Fascia is critical because it actually helps to create the shape of our bodies. Basically, fascia is like a very thin wet suit just under the skin that wraps around each individual muscle and keeps everything in place (including our organs).

Injuries, stress, bad posture, emotional behavioral patterns, and poor habits can cause fascia to get tight and thick (a.k.a. Trigger Points).  These causes restrict movement, mess with your alignment and trap toxins in the fascia, which leads to thicker tissue accumulation throughout the body—such as those that often form around the waist.

The good news is that fascia is malleable and can be repaired—which is the purpose of Roll+Restore: releasing all those unhealthy toxins from the fascia and helping to reduce thickness/inflammation in the body.  Schedule a private consultation or join my next workshop to experience additional techniques to lengthen and mold that fascia!

Self-Myofascial Release: move better, perform better and have less pain

If you have been to my yoga classes in the last few years you probably have experienced  some self-massaging using rubber balls.  Or perhaps you have seen other self- massage instruments such as foam rollers or massage sticks at your gym, physical therapist’s office or your friend’s apartment. So what is the deal with Self-Massage?

This practice of Self-Massage is also known as Self-Myofascial release.  Myofascia is the connective tissue network that runs through your body.  You can learn more about fascia on my previous post So what is Fascia Anyway? In summary, Myofascia wraps around your internal organs and muscles and holds it all in place. I like the definition “it's the organ of form.”  

When there is trauma or injury to any area of your body or your “form,” it can lead to weakness or adhesions in your myofascia. This may limit your range of motion and can even compress your muscles and nerves, leading to less hydration and blood flow to those areas. This can lead to pain and/or injury and can impact your performance.  To heal and recover from this “form-traumas” you simply roll your bodyweight onto massage balls, foam rollers and other devices available out there. Like any other alternative medicine technique you must use your judgment, learn some basic technique from a trusted source, figure out what works for you, consult your doctor, etc.

Since I started working with  Self-Myofascial release about 10 years ago, I do some form of self-massage every day for 10 to 15 minutes. I roll my muscles pre- and post-workout and often before meditation or bed.  Doing this I’ve experienced relief from my back pain, plantar fasciitis, and my mental and emotional states have received the benefits as well. 

I can't stress enough all the mental and emotional benefits of Self-Myofascial release but here are 5 of the main physical benefits of self-myofascial release as listed in Love Life Surf :

1.      Increases blood flow. Research has shown that self-myofascial release can increase vascular function. By getting rid of knots and tension in the fascia that may be restricting fluid flow in the area, self-myofascial release techniques helps to keep your muscles and connective tissue well hydrated. That means that you’ll recover and heal faster.

2.      Improves muscular range of motion. Studies have also shown that self-myofascial release can increase range of motion without decreasing muscle force or activation. By breaking up the adhesions in the fascia, your muscles and connective tissue can move more freely and you avoid muscle restrictions when you exercise.

3.      Reduce muscle soreness. With better circulation to your muscles and connective tissues, you’ll experience less muscle soreness.

4.      Maintains normal functional muscular length. Self-myofascial release relieves tension in the myofascia network and helps your muscles return to their normal length, improving muscle function.

5.      Encourages movement of your lymph – a major component of your immune system that helps to fight infection in the body. However, the lymph system relies on movement pressure to move the fluid. Self-myofascial release can encourage the flow of lymph back to the heart.

Ultimately, this means that you’ll move better, recover faster, perform better and have less pain so that you can continue to be active and do what you love to do.  I am more than happy to help you develop your own routine, just reach out to me.  

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So What is Fascia Anyway?

Chances are that if you have taken my yoga classes or come to my Roll+Restore workshops, you have experienced some form of self-massage techniques AND you have also heard me talk about fascia, myofascia or connective tissue.  So what is FASCIA anyway?

Way before I knew it as Fascia, I knew it as ‘energy.’ As soon as I began to teach Yoga, my eyes caught the whimsical forms that human bodies create. Individually and/or collectively my eyes were excited to find the fluidity and the rigidity of the student’s “form” and “space.” I had no way of explaining what I was looking at till I learned about Fascia. Fascia in a very simple way to put it is a thin layer of connective tissue that encases your body under the skin. Your myofascia (muscular tissue) forms a system of continuous, three-dimensional, body-suit-like tension that gives your body its shape or form. This system spreads without interruption through the entire body. It actually wraps itself around every muscle, joint, and organ.

Fascia, as I understand it, is the organ or system of form. Fascia tissue holds patterns of physical and/or emotional tension that if unchecked, or through accidents, becomes injuries (physical injuries or emotional ones!).   These injuries and/or scared tissue cause the layers of fascia to tighten and stick together creating restriction and muscular pain. So for example, when you have a stiff low back, often it isn’t damage to the muscle that is causing the pain, but a hardening or thickening of the fascia around the sacrum/lumbar region.  

Interestingly, in Ayurveda toxins or ama can accumulate through your Fascia and these toxins are the product of lifestyle choices or emotional baggage. 

The good news here in the west is that fascia is being recognized for its importance in maintaining a healthy, fit, toned, calm, and aligned body.   Through myofascial release techniques we can relax muscles and break “injuries" and/or release “toxins.” Releasing the stored tension in the fascia allows for cellular memories to be forgiven, relaxing your mind and allowing the body to enjoy better flexibility in every sense.