October Movement Nerd Hangout: Help! I’m Swaybacked!

>>GO HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS FREE, SPINE NURTURING HANG OUT OCT 16 2020<<

This one’s for you if you’ve ever had lower back complaints related to LUMBAR HYPER-EXTENSION.

Do you get an achey, cranky, compressed lower back after a long day of standing, walking, sitting, or mountain unicycling?

This edition of the monthly free Movement Nerd Hangout is to give your compressed lumbar spine some room to breathe.

We’ll do a movement exploration to help you find strategies to re-organize the way you stand to get you out of that habitual, hyper-lordotic state.

Are you in?? GO HERE TO SIGN UP FOR FREE AND GIVE YOUR SPINE SOME LOVE 🙂

The deets:

When: Fri October 16th @ 11am EST (Toronto)

Where: Monika’s Zoom Movement Lair (online)

How to sign up: Go here (it’s free!)

Can’t make it live? No problem. Sign up anyway, and I’ll make sure to send you the link to watch the recording 🙂 BUT attend live for the chance to win some sweet give-aways and bonuses (info below…)

Not sure if this hangout is for you?

Not everyone’s lower back woes are due to hyper-extension (aka hyper-lordosis, aka “sway-back”). So how do you know if this session is for you?

You look a bit like this guy:

Or you stand like the unfortunate fellow on the right:

Or you have a lumbar curve that loves to show off how bendy it is:

And then when you go to deadlift you look kinda like this guy, and you wonder why your back gets flared up the next day:

Or have you had an official diagnosis of a spondy type situation?

Or, you are/were a dancer, gymnast, yogi, or athlete in which backbends were something you trained extensively, and now you feel a bit stuck that way…

My fellow movement pals, there are movement strategies you can use to help.

In this free 90 minute session I’ll share some anatomical concepts, self-assessments, and exercises that I personally use, both for my clients and for myself, to gently explore new movement options for your spine, to help it build better awareness of itself, and reorganize they way your spine can hold itself at rest.

Feel like you’re always standing sunk down into your lower back?

Mom always tells you to “hold your guts in”?

Feel disconnected from your lower abs, and traditional exercises like roll downs and planks feel impossible?

I’ve got some movement love to share 🙂

>>REGISTER HERE FOR THE FREE MOVEMENT NERD HANGOUT OCT 16th<<

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• What kind of swayback are you? Because no two spines are the same, and if we’re not assessing, we’re guessing.
• Introduction to how the spine moves in gait (walking), and how to use specific execises to make each footstep more nurturing for your spine instead of perpetuating the problem.
• How to use breathing to impact on spinal mobility. Can you use your diaphragm well? What effect does diaphragmatic breathing done well have on your spine’s health? We’ll go into that.
• Movement solutions to restore lumbar spine flexion<—- THIS IS KEY. Do you know how to execute spine mobility exercises well? The HOW is more important than the WHAT. I got ya 😉
• How hip mobility factors in to the equation, and how to work on it. It’s not JUST about stretching your tight hip flexors…
• Why core exercises are challenging for us sway-backed folks, and how to approach core training better (hint: it’s not about consciously squeezing your abs or sucking your belly in)
• What muscles should we be focusing on? What should we even feel stretching and strengthening? Should you be strengthening your butt? The answer might surprise you…
• And if we have time, we might even talk about your feet… Because did you know that how your feet move is linked with how your spine moves?

In this super-comprehensive session, we’ll cover it all. Most importantly, you’ll get to feel it in your body as I guide you through the assessments and exercises.

>>REGISTER HERE FOR THE FREE MOVEMENT NERD HANGOUT OCT 16th AND GIVE YOUR SPINE A NEW EXPERIENCE<<

Here’s the 5 step process we’ll use to help your spine feel happier

Step 1: Assess your spine’s movement potential to see where you specifically need to focus.

Step 2: Explore how to use the breath to mobilize the spine. Do you know if you’re breathing from your diaphragm? We’ll go through a simple exercise to show you how and unlock the natural spine wave diaphragmatic breathing creates.

Step 3: Balance out your spine’s curves and hinge points for better segmental articulation. What the heck does that mean? Most of us have stiff “chunks” of spine that don’t move, with only a few hinge points that take all the load. We’ll explore simple exercises to improve your spine’s articulation where you need it most.

Step 4: Explore how to improve hip mobility so that your spine can take a load off.

Step 5: Explore one of my favourite core exercises to build resiliency while working with your spine’s health and mobility needs. Core exercises shouldn’t hurt your back, nor “stabilize” you into your default posture.

You’ll finish the session feeling less compressed, more connected and aware of your spine’s movement, and more supported in your core. Most importantly, you’ll have a new toolkit of movements and exercises to add to your movement practice to continue nurturing your spine.

Ready to sign up?

>>Go here to register for the free hangout Oct 16th <<

Attend live and win free stuff

As always, for those who attend live, I do a real old-fashioned draw from a real hat. This month, a few amazing movement educators have donated their online offerings as prizes that you could win if you attend the hangout live.

Here’s what you could win this month:

A free spot in Jennifer Pilotti’s upcoming online workshop, Connecting to the Pelvis.

A free month of online yoga classes with Manduka Yoga (aka Wibbs).

Can’t attend live? No worries. Sign up anyway to receive the recording of the session. However, you won’t be entered in the draw to win the free movement love unless I see your face through the screen 😉

>>REGISTER HERE FOR THE FREE MOVEMENT NERD HANGOUT OCT 16th<<

Who am I and what do I know about spines?

Hey, I’m Monika.

I used to be a dancer until I got injured one time too many and had to quit.

My injuries were a blessing in disguise, leading me down a path I love: Learning about movement mechanics and sharing what I’ve learned to help people become their own best expert on moving better and getting out of pain, like I was able to do.

I embarked on what I call my “DIY journey to pain free living” (because I was too broke to afford a therapist, and had sabotaged my dance career, so the best hack seemed to be to start a new career in a field that forced me to learn to heal myself).

I like to say I’m a disciple of Gary Ward’s Anatomy in Motion (AiM). Disciple simply means disciplined to the task of life-long learning.

AiM is a framework for working with the body to enhance performance and releive strain on the body based on it’s original instructions for joint mechanics as we walk. What makes AiM so unique and effective as a context for movement learning is the particular attention paid to the relationship the mechanics of the feet have with everything up the chain.

In 2015 I wrote a book called Dance Stronger inspired by the AiM philosophy. My hopes was to help dancers learn how to strength train and practice self-care.

Through exploring the AiM model of gait mechanics (what all your body’s joints should be doing at the right times while you walk), we can see where your body might be missing the appropriate joint mechanics and help the body remember them with specific exercises.

It’s cool stuff. And it’s been the most effective thing I’ve found so far on my movement learning journey. And all my teachings, like this free hangout, are based on AiM philosophy and gait mechanics.

I’ve been learning and sharing this work with my clients in person in my bodywork and movement therapy practice, and recently, since COVID, online in my Liberated Body Workshop.

Want to hang out with me on the social medias? I have Instagram. I mostly post nerdy movement things and videos of me doing handstands.

>>REGISTER HERE FOR THE FREE MOVEMENT NERD HANGOUT OCT 16th<<

Important disclaimer: This session in NOT meant to replace receiving appropriate medical diagnosis and care. It is an informal, educational session intended to empower you to learn more about why your body might feel the way it does, and suggest strategies that may be useful. If you are unsure if this session is for you, or you are in acute pain that is severely affecting your quality of life, please consult with a trusted health care practitioner.