January 2018 is here and there’s no better time to educate yourself on the ways of self-care fitness! It is our goal at Tune Up Fitness to empower you with simple tools and techniques to eradicate pain, improve your posture, and enhance your performance, so give these Top 10 Tips for a Pain-Free 2018 a try and let us know you feel!
Tip #1:
If your head tends to tip down towards your keyboard most of the day, then you’ll love this set of neck strengthening moves that helps bring the head back into proper spinal alignment. Click the link for this Yoga Tune Up® exercise from Jill Miller.
Tip #2: Do you tend to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders after working out or enduring a stressful day? Have a ball by lightening the load with this trapezius tamer movement that will help soften tension in your shoulders and neck.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BddSs2QBcCU/
Tip #3: Working our way down, your lower back is next on our list. Your lower back negotiates multiple pressures from several zones. It is a crossroads that transitions motion from upper and lower, right to left and inside out. Through a combination of self-massage, self-traction, and stabilization Jill Miller shows you how to give your low back some love with a few specialized moves and a Coregeous® ball.
Tip #4: We want you to breathe easier and that starts with your chest by releasing physical and emotional tension in your diaphragm. YTU teacher Alexandra Ellis shows you how to wind down with some Thoracic breathing on the Coregeous Ball.
Tip #5: Whether you suffer wrist pain from Downward Dog, sports, texting or life in general, these exercises will help strengthen and articulate the muscles of the forearm, wrists, and fingers.
Tip #6: If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands. Not so easy though if you’re suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, which can include mild to moderate symptoms such as tingling in your fingers, and numbness and pain in your wrists. Try these pain relief techniques to help bring hand happy joy back into your life.
Tip #7: Weak or inflexible core muscles can impair how well your arms and legs function. This “Abdominal-Free-For-All” exercises all the soft tissues that support the 70 joints of the spine and improves your spinal agility.
Tip #8: Did you know that you are constantly using your hip flexors when sitting? That’s right, those muscles are “stuck” in a contraction (and are thus “shortened”) and stretching is often not enough to make a difference in their length. Jill Miller takes you through a self care fitness exercise that will help lengthen and slacken your hip flexors so you perform better in sport and in life.
https://instagram.com/p/BdsxwLBhhri/
Tip #9: Moving to the back side of the leg, we find the hamstrings, and they too, are shortchanged by sitting all day. Using an Alpha Ball, Kelly Starrett and Jill Miller show you a cross-fiber technique to help you obtain better health and mobility in the hamstrings and its bony attachments.
https://instagram.com/p/BdvYBSEhJld/
Tip #10: We’ve arrived at the feet and to show our gratitude for joining us on the tour of the body, we’re gifting you with a “Toe-Ken of Appreciation.” Remember: A world of potential for movement resides in our feet. This technique will retain the foundation of your posture and keep your feet flexible, supple and strong.
Hope these 10 tips help prep your bod for all the moves you’ll be making this year.
Thanks for these great tips….I know I can definitely use some of them and address these small issues withe tune up balls and movement. Going to try the neck strengthening first. Thanks for a great article.
Thank you for the tips. I have an issue with wrist pain when I do downward dog.As we all know, we have a lot downward in the class. that means ongoing pain!!! I will apply your tip.
These tips are very helpful. I’d like to introduce them to my students, especially #1-4. Many of them are office workers, sitting most of the day in front of the computer and taking long commute with carrying heavy stuff.
Wow! There is so much great information in this post, head to toe! I especially like the trapezius tamer and breathe easier. I feel a shift in my body over all when I release tension in my shoulders and down regulate my nervous system by combining the Coregeous Ball with thoracic breathing. I am continually in awe of the level of relief that some targeted self care can bring. Thanks Jill and your entire team for all you bring to the world of self care.
Love things quick and dirty methods for today’s general population of stress and seated posture!
When I first brought my YTU Therapy balls to work, my office colleagues rolled their eyes… not anymore though! Now they ask me for tips and tricks on how to use the balls for pain relief! The Therapy balls should be a mandatory equipment in every office!
The trapezius tamer is so good. It is one of my favourites and gives me almost immediate relief if I’ve had an extra long day at work. The trapezius in my body seems to be an area of particular stress for me.
Thanks for this post, I will be using the tip of the hamstrings with one of my clients. I Look forward to practising the core exercise with the ball, even though Jill makes look very easy.
This list is incredible, I love that you included links and videos for every item on this list. Thank you! I’m definitely going after my hip flexors and wrists now.
Helpful tips for all parts of the body. I especially liked the creativity of the coreagous ball and abdominal work to create stability and new neural connections coupled with the breathing on the coregoeous ball.
Putting a bookmark on this post. If you could only do one thing for self care, just work your way through this list attending to as much as you can. It’s surprising how much work you might need in forgotten areas of your body.
Thank you for all the wonderful tips! I spend the majority of my day working in front a computer, so tips 1&2 resonated with me. I often catch myself worrying about poor spinal alignment as a result of working for so long in front of a computer. I’m glad to know I can strengthen my neck through simple exercises I can do from anywhere. The trapezius tamer movement feels absolutely amazing, pure bliss!
All are great tips! Thank you! #9 was esp helpful for me following a hamstring injury that seemed to be only very slow to heal! After I started rolling I noticed big improvements in a very short period of time!
All are great tips! Thank you! #9 has been esp. helpful for me after suffering from a hamstring injury that seemed to be very slow to heal. After I started rolling it took only a short period of time until I noticed major improvement!
That hip flexor roll really came in handy! I have been sitting all day doing HW.
A great list! I’m new to rolling so I can’t wait to give these a try!!!
This is a good reminder and good tools to add to the YTU tool belt! I will definitely keep these in mind!
Thank you for all of the wonderful sequences. I especially like the breath-work lying with the back on the corgeous ball. Opening up all those sticky intercostal muscles really helps open up the breathing.
Thank you for the great tips, especially for the wrist. I’ve suffered a bad injury and will definitely put them to use!
Just wanted to let you know I read your article on Monday and have been using too one all week – keeping my double chin going – have I ever noticed good results – thank you
Number 7!! This was my struggle through university. I had hip issues/injury. A large part of my physio was to strengthen my core. However, I knew how many core exercises we did EVERY day in our team lifts. I could not understand how my core was so weak. That is when I first understood the importance of isolating specific muscles. My core was hardly firing during all of the core exercises in our lifts. I had to (still have to) go through the steps of what should be firing and making sure I am feeling the contraction in the muscles I should be.
Awesome! My favourites are #8,9,10 – can’t believe how much you can learn about your body from two words: contraction and lengthen
I tend to spend a lot of time sitting and struggle with tightness in the muscles that support flexion in the hips. It’s great to see a new treatment option besides the standard runners lunge.
Deep Bow, Ji! My favorites are Numbers 1 &2 for all humans and in particular, my 11-Year-old who complained of cervical spine and trapezius pain to her pediatrician. Pediatrician recommended yoga. I am recommending Yoga Tune-Up. ??????????
I sit a lot for computer work and these tips are so useful. I have a yoga next to my computer while I work and I will take breaks and use the therapy balls to help with the tension and pain. It also restores my breath pattern after sitting at the computer constantly concentrating.