What is Musculo-Skeletal Balance and Why Does it Matter?

In short musculo-skeletal balance is the relationship between the opposing muscle groups that work on each joint and the synergy between the major joint structures of the body. Ideally we want a dynamic balance between the agonist muscles, which contract to move a bone, and the opposing antagonist muscles, that stretch to allow movement. When these muscle groups are out of balance our posture begins to shift away from optimal alignment and can set us up for less than ideal body mechanics, discomfort, and injury.

Although there is an optimal blueprint to which all humans are designed, our individual musculo-skeletal balance is affected by many elements, including but not limited to: genetics, movement and behavior patterns, past illnesses, and injuries. Even our mood and thought patterns can shape our musculo-skeletal balance. To keep our bodies balanced and aligned well, it’s important that each muscle group has an ability to contract and to relax fully. It is possible for muscles to become over-contracted or over-stretched. When the opposing muscle groups are not balanced around a joint, that joint will slide out of optimal alignment and will affect the synergy of the body/mind.

Perhaps the element that has allowed humans to flourish most, is our ability to adapt. Because of this characteristic, many misalignments go unnoticed until wear and tear begins. However, we also have an amazing ability to heal. Once we get closer to ideal alignment and balance, circulation and synergy improves so that the body begins to function more harmoniously again. Because it’s hard to detect muscle imbalances internally and because it is difficult to change patterns, it does take some effort and strategy to get the body closer to it’s optimal alignment. Taking time to assess posture and body mechanics offers us insight into what specific types of exercise will benefit us as individuals. Once you know where your imbalances are, you can then begin to make small changes in your posture and in your movement and behavior patterns. You can then consciously select the exercises that will most support your body and the everyday actions of your lifestyle.

I'm gearing up to teach my workshop "A Body in Balance is a Body Built to Last" at Shine Yoga Center. I also incorporate musculo-skeletal rebalancing into my everyday Yoga Classes and offer private sessions. In a private session you receive posture and movement assessments to find your imbalances and then receive a set of quick and easy exercises that will help you feel your best. Small imbalances accumulate over time and may set you up for an achey body down the road. Just a little work to keep yourself in balance has tremendous pay-back. www.flourishunlimited.com

Yoga FOR Pregnancy: Round Ligamanet Pain

Teaching Yoga for Pregnancy is one of the happiest surprises of my life. It's not something I ever expected to do, but I've been teaching since I was pregnant with my first-born, which makes it over 9 years now. What began as a practice of modifying my own yoga practice to accommodate my big belly, has blossomed into a class that supports women during this most amazing, beautiful, and often uncomfortable period of their lives. Over the years, I have experienced and learned much; and the way I teach prenatal yoga has drastically changed. My focus now is on helping women cope with the common discomforts of pregnancy so that they can more fully enjoy this unique and sacred time of life as well as to prepare for the incredible births of their children. I am so pleased that what I do makes such a big impact on the moms-to-be and their children.

I've caught on to a little buzz about "round ligament pain" from some mommas who do not take my yoga classes so I wanted to do a little post for you.....

True "Round Ligament Pain" is a pain that you will feel as your belly starts to pull your round ligament up and forward. Normally this ligament lies vertical so as your belly makes the Round Ligament start to do a little backbend it hurts! This pain is felt in the front of your body in the area between your groin and  mid-belly. (There are lots of other pelvic pains that occur in different areas that occur from other body shifts. A short list includes: pubic symphisis dysfunction, s-i joint pain, normal pelvic widening and pressure, etc. Unless you are being guided by a professional, it's always important to check with your prenatal caregiver that exercise is safe for you.)

It's a great idea to check your posture throughout the day especially when you are pregnant. How much is your baby bump affecting your posture? If you lock your knees, allow your hips to lean forward, or if your low back arch is drastically increasing you will be more likely to suffer from round ligament pain. Small posture shifts can make a big difference throughout the day. When you can, remind yourself to soften your knees and "scoop" your tailbone down as you lift up through your heart and head. These little adjustments will release internal pressure. This is good for your round ligament and better for your back too.

Wearing a belly band or pelvic support band may also be helpful. Gently engaging your core muscles is also helpful. When you do a true Kegel exercise, it will pull your tailbone down, tone your pelvic floor, and tone the low belly creating your own custom designed "belly band." Really we can't say enough good things about those Kegel exercises. You just have to remind yourself to do them! I came across this cute blog post about the belly bands and round ligament pain that I'll post down below.

If you are continuing with a regular yoga practice or exercise program, it's important to pay attention to your body mechanics as you move. There are a lot of movements that put extra pressure on the round ligament. Make sure that as you move, you work to keep your hips back in the direction of your heels rather than forward over the toes ESPECIALLY in lunges or other standing poses.

There are quite a few exercises and "stretches" that are helpful to create stability in the pelvis which will help ease all pelvic pain. I teach these exercises regularly at my Yoga for Pregnancy Class at Shine Yoga Center in Hyde Park on Wednesday nights from 5:45 - 7 pm. I also teach rotating Saturdays from 12-1. (My next class Saturday class is October 22. I will also be teaching a specialty class from 1:15 - 2:30 on Positioning for a Positive Birth Experience.) For the "Westsiders" I can teach private or semi-private sessions at Balance Yoga Center on Westbourne Avenue. My contact info can be found on my website along with links to the studios I teach at www.flourishunlimited.com I'm also including just a few of the many testimonials from students of mine.

Student Testimonials

Thanks again for such an amazing class. I tell people all of the time that YOUR prenatal yoga is (was) my favorite part about being pregnant. Such great bonding with other moms as well as needed relief from the physical (and mental) stresses of pregnancy. Thanks again for everything, Jen 

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Not only did your prenatal class help with aches and pains of pregnancy, it helped me with positions and relaxation techniques that were useful during labor. It was also a great way to connect with other pregnant women. Thanks for all your help. ~ Chelsea

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Kate is deeply knowledgeable and articulate about the physical and emotional changes during pregnancy and she creates a very supportive atmosphere. Her classes reveal elements of alignment and posture and provide emotional support that you don't really find elsewhere. I always leave feeling great not just because my aches and discomforts are gone but also because I've had the chance to be with other women and learn from their experiences. •   Caitlin

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I want to thank you Kate for helping me build the strength to endure the labor process. With each week, your varied techniques and positivity influenced the way I approached the big day. Your class also gave me time to bond with my baby, which I had a hard time doing working full time and dealing with so many stresses. You are a wonderful guide, and I have recommended your classes to all my friends who are pregnant!  Big hug of appreciation, Julie

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Pregnancy Blog (round ligament pain and belly bands)... http://enlargingmarge.blogspot.com/2011/04/rlp-relief.html

Black Holes and Tumors

Sorry if I alarmed you with the title but this is what's been on my mind lately. No I don't have a tumor but my sweet dog Kaj'n does. I've been away from this blog for longer than I would have liked because I've been dealing with this and a half a dozen other things. This post tells the story. 

Thanks to tv, movies, and fictional books I have had a great misunderstanding that a Black Hole was some type of tunnel in outer-space that connected one dimension to another. Last week I followed a link from Facebook to NASA's Hubble Telescope Image Gallery and was transported to a whole new world of understanding. The images on the sight are amazing, humbling, and definitely worth checking out. http://hubblesite.org/gallery/ A Black Hole is really an area of condensed matter with a force of gravity so powerful that even light cannot shine out of it.

In a way a feel like I've been living in a little "black hole" of my own lately. It's not terrible here. Actually it's full of life, love, energy, and happiness. It's just that it's been hard for me to focus on anything but the core of my family lately. The implosion into home life began early this summer when my daughter underwent occulo-plastic surgery. The post-op directions for this delicate eye surgery were to keep her as calm, still, and quiet as possible. My daughter is one of the most dynamic, energetic and expressive persons I have ever met. Keeping her content on a couch was a very tall order and required me to pull all my strength, patience, and creativity to help her contain and constructively direct her energy so that she could heal without complications. In order to focus on my new role as "guardian of her eyes," I had to pull away from other areas. I scaled back at work, I had to limit time with friends, and much of the time I devote to healthy habits like exercise, yoga, and writing faded into the background.

After three weeks of confinement we were able to resume some activity but had many restrictions. We had to stay away from water, wind, dirt, and active play which cut out most of our regular activities. I was determined to make this a memorable summer not for the surgery or limitations but because of all the new adventures we would have. We did have a fun and memorable summer but if I'm being honest it was a little exhausting on my end. Willpower comes in handy when your physical and mental energy starts to wane. We sailed through the summer and were looking forward to back to school.

It's not pretty under that shirt
but she sure is.

Of course as life goes, one thing often leads to another. Here's the tumor part of the story. Our dog is almost 12. Even though her face is gray and her reflexes are slowing, she is doing great for her age - except for the tumors. The first one showed up three years ago when a small growth formed, burst, got infected, and needed to be removed. A year later another grew and was removed along with her spleen which also had a tumor. Another year, another tumor. With all the stress of the summer to remember, the question about what to do with the dog, changing seasons and changing rhythms; sickness settled in. From the second day of school until just this week, someone has been sick with something in our house.

This is life. My story is just my story and I'm sure you can relate in your own similar but unique way. Everyone has their own set of life challenges. Relatively, I know mine are small in comparison to what many people are dealing with. I'm grateful for the amount of ease there really is in my life right now. This doesn't mean that I discount what I'm going through. It's heart breaking to see what is happening to my beloved dog. She's my first dog.... my baby. She will not win a battle with cancer. It will take her. It started taking her three years ago. Just like a black hole, her tumors will consume everything in their vicinity; stealing light and energy from her body systems. We've now discovered that every time we cut one of the tumors out, the rest of them will just grow stronger. We take them out however because the alternative is to let her suffer with an infection when they burst. Of course there is the "put the dog to sleep argument" but there's still a lot of life in her and she makes it pretty clear that she wants to be here with us. To someone who hasn't loved a dog like I do it might seem like wasted effort and resources to keep her alive but in every other way she's healthy and happy. She is excited when we have visitors, she loves to be petted and groomed, she loves being treated, taking walks and car rides, and she is always happy to see us home.

I do experience pain walking this path with her. She is clearly in the last phases of her sweet life. Through it all she continues to teach me through example. She is showing me how to live and die with grace. Most of the day she rests. She rests so deeply that many times we come across her and think she's already passed. She's saving her precious energy though. She's saving it for the things she really loves in life. Even though she looks more like a small camel now and has a 14" scar along her side, she still carries her tail high as she trots down the wooded trails with her signature Golden Retriever smile.

Life is full of black holes and tumors. Every one of us experience loss and drains on our energy, focus, and resources. Although we can't always escape the gravity of life's challenges, we can make the most of them. We can nurture ourselves as best as possible and we can appreciate our efforts to hold it all together as we move through these cycles of life. Compassion, understanding, and patience are remarkable tools to help us not only endure the challenges we face but come out stronger, wiser, and more empathetic toward others. As hard as life's challenges are and as much as we wish life could just be easy, the challenges are precisely the things that have the potential to help us grow in an even more positive ways.

Lessons from Life on the Mat
You'll often hear Yoga Teachers say that you should take your practice "Off the Mat" into the world. This means that you take all the positive qualities you develop in a yoga practice into your everyday life. As a teacher, I flip this idea. I define my teaching style as "inspired by the poetry of everyday living." In aligning with this concept, we'll be working on "muscular energy" in classes this week. "Muscular Energy" is the second principle of Anusara Yoga. It's a force we cultivate to integrate ourselves more fully. As we engage all the muscles evenly in the body, we actually limit movement in certain areas so that the body can function as a more harmonic whole. This is a force that keeps you safe as you move into challenging positions and helps all the parts of yourself work better together.