In my work with women's pelvic floor health, many people first inquire with me because of their peeing habits. Stress incontinence is that annoying, sneaky moment we leak a little when we sneeze, cough, laugh or run. An increased momentary demand on our body, called intra-abdominal pressure, sends contents out the bottom (we leak pee) instead of regulating that pressure through the top exit point (the exhale of a cough or sneeze out our mouths). Oops. Urge incontinence happens differently, although these two types of symptoms can co-exist, and often do. For example, when we have awareness of little stress leaks, we might alwayssssss stop and use the restroom before leaving a restaurant, before leaving the house, around every turn at the park before we drive home. We end up creating a … [Read more...]
What is the Franklin Method?
Imagine being able to practice anywhere, anytime, no yoga mat required. What if you knew exactly how your body was designed to function, what you need moment to moment, and you could be your own trainer, teacher, best coach? What if you felt confident and felt exactly how you wanted to in your body? Although this is possible for any practitioner willing to embody their chosen modality - The Franklin Method is THE modality that teaches you to yourself. It enhances running, yoga, pilates, dance, daily chores, your drive to work - everything. When you change your mind, you change everything. Franklin Method is a self-generated, embodied, experiential practice - a movement modality to enliven and refine whatever else you practice. What I love about it is the … [Read more...]
Before You Do Anything, Do This
I'm taking a stand today for what I call Uni-Tasking. The Yoga Sutras describe yoga as 'a training of the mind to focus and sustain that focus on one object'. When our mind behaves like an unruly monkey, our body often interprets that as a Stress Response. No Bueno for our health and happiness, and it reduces the quality of our work and relationships. Could you use a moment to slow down and regroup? I thought so. Monkey mind is common (bad news bears!) But more and more research is showing that we can indeed change our minds and rewire our brains for healthy, more resilient patterns. First step, though, is becoming aware enough to interrupt the old program so we can give ourselves an upgrade. More good news - we can create new neural patterns through neuroplasticity in as … [Read more...]
EPIC: release your hips and shoulders!
EPIC We all want an epic life, and you're probably here because you'd like to include having epic fitness, an epic mindset and epic health. Today I'm sharing some nuggets from the Franklin Method that have changed my life and improved the lives (and bodies, fitness, etc) of many of my students and clients. The secret weapon? The Franklin Method! In the Franklin Method, we use a 4 step process to break down how we can move from the current state of our body to a better state - like we may notice tension in our lower back and if we take a few minutes to check in and DO something about it, we can experience a loose, open, and relaxed lower back instead. We create a new norm by practicing with this kind of awareness and skill. EPIC stands … [Read more...]
Vagal Tone
"It’s very clear that the human is one entity: mind and body are one. It sounds logical but it’s not how we looked at it before. We didn’t have the science to agree with what may seem intuitive. Now we have new data and new insights." How can we use this information? Meditation, vigorous exercise, and emotional resilience all relate to vagal tone, heart rate variability and deep internal health. Vagal tone might be a hot ticket item right now for teachers and neuro-geeks, but it doesn't help our students if we don't know how it applies to how we practice and live life, right? Basically, we can't do what we've always done the way we've always done it and expect to be healthy, people. Change it up. Take a risk. Get outside more. And move your body, mind, and life in NEW … [Read more...]
The Difference Between Busy and Being
My work is increasingly bringing me into conversations with clients with long histories, stories of loss and grief, loneliness and dissociation, trauma, and now as adults - they deal with the ongoing complexity of things like pain, anxiety, insomnia, digestive issues, and more. And I love working with these people one on one, because the commitment and honesty I see from them is inspiring. To reconnect after years of neglect or pain, into the body, coming home to Self - It is often a rocky path that I'm glad to support. We celebrate a joyous homecoming. A new way of being with Self - which inevitably means a new way of being out in the world, and in relationship. Enter: Interoception, Embodiment and Body Intelligence Our bodies and brains are wildly intelligent - And we are wild … [Read more...]
Practice: Simple, not Easy.
About self-care and prioritizing your body and wellness goals: It's simple, not easy. A client of mine last week shared that she often thought to herself "Why is it so hard to commit to my meditation/yoga practice/workouts/cooking a meal?" And then she thought, "Why is it so easy to skip the activities I most desire like my meditation/yoga practice/workouts/cooking for myself?" And then, a revelation. "If it's that easy to skip it, maybe it's just as easy to DECIDE. To ACT." And just like that, she shifted her paradigm from it being hard (impossible to attain) to being easy (a simple choice she had the power to make). Humans are funny creatures, forgetting we hold the power to act, to change not only our behaviors but our fundamental beliefs, habits, energy. And we can … [Read more...]
Start Before You’re Ready
We can do all the prep, get all the tools lined up, hire support, take courses, arrange our calendars and communicate our goals to people around us - and all of this is well and good if it helps us TAKE ACTION. Otherwise, aren't we stalling? We can never fully know the risks and benefits involved with a journey, especially a deeply personal, transformative journey like one through practices like yoga, somatic inquiry and becoming embodied - uncovering more of what makes us US. We do our diligent work of getting ready, discerning what we want and which path we think we might benefit from - and then we must begin. Beginnings hold great genius. We can only reap the rewards and learn the lessons through ACTION. By 'living our way into the answers' as Rilke once said. Start … [Read more...]