Have you ever heard or been told you need to bend at your knees to save your back?

While it is not a complete myth it definitely overlooks a very large important joint that you need to bend or move through when bending, squatting, deadlifting, picking something up, etc., and that is the ability to move through your hip joint.

Let's take a look a how to or what it means to bend or move through your hip joint versus not moving through the hip joint.

In the next picture, you can see more from the anatomical perspective of what is happening to the spine with either version.

Note the difference between the two pictures above.

When we bend at the hip joint the entire spine, and pelvis move together around the hip joint.  Note where the tailbone is in either picture.  In the first picture, the tailbone is almost parallel to the floor.  In the second picture, the tailbone is pointing down towards the floor and you can see the bending in the spine as the pelvis has not moved...

We often receive the question, 'what is good posture'.  There is definitely a bit of a debate about it.  Last week we looked at the forward head position commonly today is known as 'tech neck'. 

Today we will work our way down the spine to the upper and midback, known as the thoracic area of the spine.  A common cue or directive you may have been given from a young age is to sit or stand up straight.  This may have included 'lift your chest', 'pull your shoulder down and back.'

These directions were well-meaning. No one wanted you to look like a slouch or develop a hump in your back.  The fact is, that often with repeated use of these cues over time we can start to change the natural posture of our spine.  If you look at the picture of the spine below the spine has gentle curves throughout.  The curve in the upper and middle back actually sways back creating what is called a kyphosis versus the low back which curves the opposite way into a...

Clients often say, "I'm not sure what we just did, but it was like magic my legs feel so much lighter or my neck is moving so much better".  Well, we are hardly magicians. We don't wear magic hats and pull rabbits from them.  

What we do is not magic, but the magic feeling happens in the details and you too can experience the magic.  

Getting your body to move and feel better through exercise requires three details:

1. Optimal alignment or close to it
2. Three-dimensional breathing
3. Using the right effort for the task at hand or known as control

As you know exercise comes in all forms.  If you feel a need to stretch during or after exercise you likely missed or compromised one of the above.

Compromise happens for many reasons, the weight was too heavy, fatigue, too much time, previous injuries, poor movement habits, poor exercise habits, pushing yourself beyond the point where your body can maintain the three details above.

None of this means you should not...