Tune Up Fitness® Self Care Blog

A long-practicing client of mine has chronic knee pain and been diagnosed with chondromalacia (for her that means inferior, medial and lateral patella pain). She’s adapted by padding up for kneeling poses, and we have worked together diligently to address tissue…

“My doctor couldn’t find anything on the MRI, so he suggested I try yoga. He’s heard it helps.” This has been a common refrain from new clients with old injuries who have come to work with me. They are in pain,…

For students with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, simply lying down and being told to “relax and breathe” can trigger Relaxation Induced Anxiety.  But deepening the breath is one of the best ways to calm the nervous system.  Marisa notes: “What’s helped me…

Marisa had been regularly attending my yoga classes for a few weeks before I realized how committed she was becoming to the practice.  As time passed I was increasingly aware of this timid woman in her late 30’s with scattered energy…

How to relax before your yoga practice There are a few quick ways that you can target the relaxation response in your body so that your poses emerge from a place of deep calm rather than a frenzied effort. Choose one…

Have you ever wondered what to prioritize when you are doing a yoga pose? What is the most important thing to focus on when doing Triangle? Or Downward Dog? Or Savasana? Ask 15 different yoga teachers from different yoga lineages and you…

There are at least two instances when we raise the gaze during a typical sun salute: (1) we look up at the hands as we lift them overhead, and (2) we look up again during the back-bending part of the sequence,…

Every morning, millions of North Americans step onto their yoga mats to salute the sun. The sun salutation, in all of its many forms, is a gorgeous moving ritual that effectively warms the body, lubricates and strengthens the joints, lengthens muscles,…

Maria had a bunion on one foot. She opted to go for surgery to remove the bunion about one year ago.   She is a professional and likes to wear high heels. She has a pair for every outfit.  Most foot problems…