Too much extension of your extensor digitorum can lead to trigger points and muscle pain. “The bird bird bird, bird is the word,” is a very bad earworm of a song. However, in Western culture, “the finger” (as in giving someone…
Hi! I am your latissimus dorsi muscle, the broadest muscle in your entire back. My Latin name reveals my roots: latissimus meaning broadest, and dorsum meaning back. But, like most of my body builder friends, you can call me “lats” for…
Levator scapula. When I first heard of this muscle in massage school, 14 years ago, I felt a little “ah ha” moment course through me and it quickly became my favorite muscle. First of all, I thought the name was so…
Most of us have heard of the term rotator cuff before, but the truth is, there’s no actual cuff in any region of the shoulder. The “rotator cuff” is a group of four muscles that includes the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor…
Freeze. Are you jutting your head forward to read this text? If so, are you also slouching, a position that collapses the front of your rib cage and forces you into a belly breathing pattern? If so, your scalenes aren’t terribly…
The diaphragm is not an obscure muscle, but a central, totally essential muscle. The focus of this inquiry is the relationship of the diaphragm to the pelvic floor. The diaphragm moves in concert with the 16 muscles of the pelvic floor;…
The erector spinae play a significant role in the development of a stronger, healthier person. Your erector spinae are the layers of muscle that run along both sides of your spine from your lower back all the way to your head.…
As a pregnant woman, prenatal yoga teacher, and birth doula, I spend a lot more time than most people thinking about pelvic floors. Imagine my disappointment when I started to scour the internet for more information about one of the pelvic…
Whenever I hear The Boss’s song, Glory Days, I immediately start picturing my athlete yogis in my mind (perhaps not the most common reaction to a song, but it’s mine). Among them, there is a common thread: they all want to…
