Note/Disclaimer: I’ve been debating writing this for a while.  I’ve been thinking that these are just opinions and that I’m not really qualified to give advice.  But then I realised that I am and it’s time I started to give myself credit for the years I’ve spent studying anatomy and movement and holistic body awareness.  I’m not a dr though, or a PT, so this is just advice.  If you have an ongoing or acute problem, please go and see a medical professional

Albert Park, St Kilda, Melbourne – home of the Melbourne Grand Prix
and where runners run

I watch people – I watch how they sit, how they stand, how they walk.  It’s an occupational hazard.  I’m obsessed with posture, anatomy, the way bones fit together.  Sometimes I see people’s posture and it makes me want to weep.  I want to stand up and slap people between the shoulderblades and tell them to stand up straight.  They’d thank me for it when they were 70 (after they’d slapped a restraining order on me)!

I watch runners too. I watch how they move, how they hold themselves and sometimes it’s a beautiful thing.  More often, sadly, I weep again (although, y’know every time someone starts up running a massage therapist/PT rubs their hands in glee! ).  Sydney was a city with more runners than I’ve ever seen in my life and some of them were doing such terrible things to their bodies.

I don’t run.  I have a weird knee, a dodgy pelvis, scoliosis and a relatively mild dose of ME.  It would be foolish to run.  I did a 5k once just to prove I could but honestly, I fast-walked most of it because that way my hip hurt less.  However, I see a lot of runners at the clinic and in yoga classes.  It’s a shame that most of them come to me once they’ve injured themselves. “How long til I can run again?” they cry.  They never like my answer.

The trick is, as with so many things, to put preventative measures into action before there’s an injury.  I get that not being able to run is, to a runner, like me not being able to get on my mat for whatever reason.  So let’s make sure you can run, right?

1.  Get a professionally fitted pair of running shoes, change them often and have your gait tested.  All of these things can be done at most good sports shops.

2.  Work on your posture and your core strength.  So many running injuries could be avoided with proper posture and cores of steel.  Get thee to a Pilates class, or work with a Balance Board.  Sit ups and crunches don’t really work on core strength.  You might want to see a Pilates teacher on a 1-2-1 basis, especially if they work with a Reformer Machine – nothing works the core and lengthens the limbs quite like the Reformer! (Londoners might like to try Moss Pilates for this – they are truly awesome.  Tell Carl I sent you!)

3.  Get a good sports or deep tissue massage regularly – fortnightly at least.  I’m not just saying this to bring trade to me and my fellow massage therapists, it really is important.  Muscles and bones need exercise and running is great.  But they also get very tight and lactic acid builds up inside them.  Massage helps muscles recover by releasing this and released muscle is far less likely to tear or pull than overly tight muscle.  As a side note, even if it’s just your legs giving you trouble, go for a full body massage.  Everything is connected and tightness in the legs can play havoc in the back!

3b. Learn how to ball massage and do this as often as you can between massage appointments. Most massage therapists and Pilates teachers will show you how.

4. Learn a bit about anatomy – especially your anatomy – how you work, why, what muscles are making you run, which ones need to be stronger?  You get the idea.  There are some great and easy to understand books and DVDs out there.  The thing is that if you understand exactly what bit of you does what, your brain will send the signals to exactly the right place and both your body and your central nervous system will work more efficiently.  Working with systems such as yoga, Pilates and the truly wonderful Franklin Method will give you a deeper understanding.

5. Stretch.  Then stretch again.  You may think you stretch but I can guarantee that you probably don’t do enough.  Once you’ve done your stretches, do them all over again.  Please never say you don’t have time to stretch.  Make stretching as much a part of your routine as the actual running bit.  Stretch when you get out of bed.  Stretch before you get into bed.  Stretch in your lunchbreak.  Stretch every time you go to the loo.  No, I am not kidding!!

Here, have a free yoga for runners routine to start you off!

OK I’m done.  Exercise is gooooood.  Running is good exercise.  Sadly running can have a detrimental effect on the body if we are not careful, so be careful and be willing to spend time and money on yourself.  You’re worth it.  You get one body.  Use it well.

Love + oms

I have an obsession with hips – well with the whole pelvis and sacro-iliac joint in general really.  It’s the most amazing structure, supporting the entire weight of the upper body, the spine and many of the organs.  It also contains the psoas (every yoga teacher’s favourite muscle) and the iliacus muscles which are the two muscles that move and support the femur (thighbone) so are responsible for all that walking, standing, running and cycling we do.

Then there’s the sacrum itself – a collection of five fused vertebrae joining the lumbar spine to the tail bone and the back to the pelvis.  So strong and powerful is this bone that it would not burn at all on the funeral pyres of our ancestors and it was thought to be the most sacred part of the body, maybe even housing the soul – it’s name is derived from the Latin sacer (sacred) directly translated from the Greek hieron.

It needs to be that strong.  It’s holding us together.

Is it any wonder so many of us have tight hips and sore lower backs?

From a more subtle perspective the pelvic girdle is a part of the body in which we can hold a huge amount of emotion – there is a lot of connective tissue in there it is thought by many bodyworkers (myself included) that connective tissue forms a web of forgotten memory and repressed emotion.  It is also the seat of Swadhisthana or Sacral Chakra – the energy centre associated with relationships, pleasure, sexuality and basic emotional needs.

Last Thursday I taught a hip opening class.  During the course of the lesson nearly every student in there experienced some form of released emotion – anger, frustration, exhaustion, fear, a fit of the giggles.  It all came up as we slowly worked into the hips to release completely into October’s asana of the month – Trikonasana (see here and here).

Hip openers are an essential part of our practices.  We spend too much time sitting, standing, walking, cycling without stretching properly. But work carefully with them, force  nothing, be aware of the power deep muscle release has on your body both physically and emotionally and be prepared for great things!

How do hip openers make you feel?

(image source)

Well thank you all for your lovely comments and emails on Suburban Yogini TV!  It will become a regular feature and hopefully we can make the film clips better and better.  I’m always open to suggestions for topics as well.

Back in July when I was on a yoga teachers’ conference, I did a whole morning of work on feet.  Our feet are so important to us.  As well as grounding us in our standing asana, they walk, run and pedal us hundreds and thousands of miles during our lifetime and we thank them by shoving them into shoes and boots and spending most of the winter forgetting about them.  So as winter approaches here are five little pampering tips for your feet.

*  I’ve semi-joked about monthly pedicures being a business expense for yoga teachers, but a quality pedicure is good for your feet as well as making them look nice.  I try to get one once a month all year round but if you have other priorities for your money make sure you moisturise your feet daily with a good hand cream and give them regular soaks and scrubs (see below).

*  Have regular footbaths with essential oils.  For tired or aching feet add 5 drops of Juniper oil, 3 drops of Lavender and 2 drops of Rosemary to a litre (2 pints) of warm water and let your feet soak until the water goes cold.  Massage damp feet with sea salt, rinse and moisturise.  For hot and sweaty feet try the same but with 3 drops of Clary Sage, 4 drops of Cypress and 3 drops of Lavender.**

*  A wise teacher once told me that foot squeezes – squeezing the foot into a “fist” by curling the toes under and releasing – done 60 times per day will straighten out crooked toes and relieve bunions.  I don’t know quite who has the time to do this 60 times a day but it is a great foot strengthener (especially before balancing postures!).

*  Give your feet a massage any time of day.  Applying pressure through the thumb make circles in the big toe mound, arch and heel.  Finish off by taking each toe between your thumb and forefinger and separating it from its neighbours!

*  Take your shoes off at your desk.  Keep a pair of slippers or ballet pumps in your desk drawer.  Wiggle your toes and circle your ankles at regular intervals throughout the day.

** Consult a qualified aromatherapist if you have not used these oils before or are pregnant.  Do not use Juniper during the first six months of pregnancy.