Big Changes Coming to Pain Free Posture MN & Pilates Integration Mind. Body. Spirit…… Stay Tuned.

Related articles

• How NOT To Workout on a Pilates Reformer (pilatesintegration.wordpress.com)
• Hello world! (pilatesintegration.wordpress.com)
• Deb Preachuk – Egoscue University Student Spotlight (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• East-West Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises (pilatesintegration.wordpress.com)
• Hello World! Pain Free Posture MN is on WordPress.com Blog (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• Benefits Of Pilates (pilatesintegration.wordpress.com)
• East-West Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• May 7th, 2011 is Pilates Day (pilatesintegration.wordpress.com)
• ‎FitSugar “15 Starlets Who Choose Pilates” – How has Pilates changed your body? (painfreeposturemnandpilatesintegration.wordpress.com)
• Why Exercise Barefoot? 6 Reasons to Train in Bare Feet (painfreeposturemnandpilatesintegration.wordpress.com)

06/06/2011

What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do.

The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things.

But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.

~ Mother Theresa

]]> http://painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com/2011/06/06/quote-of-the-week-3/feed/ 0 44.649687 -93.242720 44.649687 -93.242720 pilatesintegration Mother-Teresa http://painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/east-west-diaphragmatic-breathing-exercises/ http://painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/east-west-diaphragmatic-breathing-exercises/#comments Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:04:19 +0000 Deb Preachuk http://painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com/?p=306 Continue reading →]]> East-West Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises.

Effective East-West Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises

“Breathing is the first act of life.

Our very life depends on it.

Millions have never learned to master the art of correct breathing”.

~ Joseph H. Pilates

As both a Posture Alignment Specialist Certified through the Egoscue University and Comprehensive certified STOTT Pilatesinstructor, I am constantly educating my clients on the importance of East-West (diaphragmatic) breathing.

Poor breathing patterns causes stress in our tissues and can lead to neck, shoulder, and back pain.  And the reverse is true as well, poor posture with over/under use of the neck, shoulder and mid-back musculature can result in poor breathing patterns.

The majority of clients that walk into Pain Free Posture MN and it’s sister studio Pilates Integration Mind. Body. Spirit. arrive at the door with a nasty trifecta of poor posture, chronic pain and low energy.

The three horrible bedmates fuel one another into a continual downward spiral of poor-health, limited motion and often cumulate into a generalized negative outlook on life.  Which one comes first?  Often it’s hard to determine.

However, truth is, most individuals breath in a  shallow, ineffective manner irregardless of poor or excellent posture.  The  majority of  people in our westernized culture inhale and exhale air on a very superficial, shallow and un-productive level.

  Not breathing deeply does not harm us directly, however, over a long term, it has a very negative impact on our mind, body and spirit.

For example, did you know that our brain needs three times more oxygen than the rest of our organs in order to function properly?  

If the brain is not being oxygenated properly, our body design is so creative that it will try to supply the oxygen demand by drawing on the over-all allotment (oxygen supply to the over-all body systems).

We need to breathe in order to live and thank goodness we’re hardwired to continually breathe irregardless of conscious thought.

The problem however, is that the body in it’s wisdom will draw energy from the periphery in order to maintain life.  If we are not actively breathing diaphragmatically, fully expanding the lungs and oxygenating our system, the body is smart enough to get the nutrients and oxygen from alternative sources.  That means our muscles, tissues and other organs will be deprived in attempt at keeping the brain functioning fully.

It’s no surprise to me that the first order of business after evaluating a client’s posture is to educate them on how to breathe correctly.

Most individuals in chronic pain or with less than ideal posture are breathing into the upper part of the rib cage and neck.  This shallow, north to south breath patterning (paradoxical breath) tends to overwork the superficial breathing muscles.

The result?  We get tense.  Not a good thing if a person is already suffering from chronic neck, shoulder and upper back pain.  When we breathe paradoxically (in a shallow north to south pattern), the neck, shoulders and head all tighten up, often furthering a poor upper body posture, and ultimately contributing to more pain.  It’s a chicken vs. the egg scenario.  Which comes first?  The poor posture or the pain?

Hard to actually isolate, but point being… poor posture and poor breathing patterns are not mutually exclusive of one another.

Here’s the fundamental roblem.  

How do you even know if you’re breathing properly?

In my opinion, breathing well is a skill just like any other form of physical activity.  The diaphragm is a very important muscle and works in conjunction with many other deep intrinsic core musculature within the body.

Breathing well is not something that comes naturally, but must be learned and improved upon in one’s life experience.

I also believe that the ability to breath well improves and expands as one’s physical posture improves.  Often when we bring a consciousness to our breathing, the magic of correcting one’s posture and feeding the body the oxygen it craves begins to ignite the magic!

Three dimensional East-West Breathing does much more for us than just provide oxygen to our system.  This type of  breathing helps:

• keep our ribs and mid back mobile, which helps our entire spine function and the muscle that encapsulate it perform better
• relieve tension in tight chest, shoulder and neck muscles thus aids in reducing pain in the shoulders, mid-back, neck and head
• reduce anxiety
• aid in relieving long term respiratory difficulties like bronchitis and asthma by opening up the chest to make breathing easier
• increase blood circulation
• increase oxygen and nutrient supply to the body’s cells enabling the organs to function better
• enable the nervous system to calm down or become stimulated
• act as a massage to the internal organs of the digestive system
• aids the endocrine system by helping it move lymph throughout the body, which eliminates waste and strengthens the immune system
• benefits the urinary system by allowing fluids to be eliminated through the breath, and therefore reducing edema
• relieve stress put on the elimination organs due to improper breathing
• aid in relaxation, relieving overall muscular tension
• increases flexibility and joint strength
• help to recover faster from stress and exertion
• triggers a relaxation response
• slows down the rate of breathing, so less energy is consumed in breathing
• strengthens the lungs and diaphragm

Who wouldn’t want to breath better?  

Let’s begin with working on some East-WestDiaphragmatic Breathing Exercises.

What Is Three Dimensional East-West  Breathing?

It’s easiest to start training yourself how to breathe well by thinking of East-West Diaphragmatic Breathing as a three-dimensional type of breath.   The ribs will expand laterally (left and right) AND posteriorly into the back.

A three dimensional breath pattern ensures that enough oxygen is flowing to the muscles you are using, and helps prevent unnecessary tension. This type of breath also aids in focus and concentration on physical and mental tasks.

The east-west breath pattern requires the person to  expand the rib cage out to the sides (laterally) and back (posteriorly) without allowing the shoulders to lift upwards toward the ears (upper neck and shoulder tension).  This also helps to draw air into the lower part of your lungs where there is more efficient gas exchange.

The three dimensional breath pattern will help engage your deep abdominal muscles and stabilize your torso.  Here’s the basics.

• Inhale through the nose, feeling the sides and back of the rib cage expand as if your ribs were expanding like the bellows of an accordion.
• Exhale through pursed lips as if your were blowing into a straw, purposely knitting the rib cage back together.

Give it a try for yourself.  You may find this three-dimensional way of breathing difficult and challenging to do at first.  That’s very normal for a couple of reasons.

First, we’re not used to breathing into the lower lobes of the lungs where there is more efficient gas exchange.  Second, our posture and muscular system are in less than optimal working order to activate this pattern on a regular basis.  It requires concentration and control.

When I am in the studio working with clients at Pain Free Posture MN and Pilates Integration Mind. Body. Spirit. I recommend the three following breathing exercises to my clients.  They not only help aid in reducing tension, but assist in restoring correct function and posture.

These exercises are all performed in the Static Back position, or lying down on the floor with the knees bent, feet flat and aligned with the hips.

They are:

1. The Stimulating Breath
2. The 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise (also called the Relaxing Breath)
3. Breath Counting.

Try each and see how they affect your posture, overall sense of well-being, stress and anxiety levels.

Exercise #1: The Stimulating (Bellows) Breath

The goal of the Stimulating Breath is to increase alertness and vital energy.

• Inhale and exhale rapidly through your nose, keeping your mouth closed but relaxed. Your breaths in and out should be equal in duration, but as short as possible. This is a noisy breathing exercise.
• Try for three in-and-out breath cycles per second. This produces a quick movement of the diaphragm, suggesting a bellows. Breathe normally after each cycle.
• Do not do for more than 15 seconds on your first try. Each time you practice the Stimulating Breath, you can increase your time by five seconds or so, until you reach a full minute.

As you continue to practice the Bellows Breath (it will be challenging to do at first) you may feel invigorated, similar to the feelings of heightened awareness you feel after a productive exercise session.

You should feel the effort in the rib cage area, the diaphragm, the chest and the abdominals.

This breathing exercise is a great alternative to drinking coffee or buying sugary snacks the next time you need an energy boost.

Exercise #2: The 4-7-8 (or Relaxing Breath) Exercise

This exercise is very simple, takes almost no time, requires no equipment and can be done anywhere at anytime.  You can do the exercise in any position, but I recommend performing it in the Static Back position for the best possible results.

Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth, and keep it there through the entire exercise. You will be exhaling through your mouth around your tongue; try pursing your lips slightly if this seems awkward (as if you are blowing air into a straw)

• Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.
• Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.
• Hold your breath for a count of seven.
• Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight.
• This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.

Note that you always inhale quietly through your nose and exhale audibly through your mouth. The tip of your tongue stays in position the whole time. Exhalation takes twice as long as inhalation. The absolute time you spend on each phase is not important; the ratio of 4:7:8 is important. If you have trouble holding your breath, speed the exercise up but keep to the ratio of 4:7:8 for the three phases.

With practice you can slow it all down and get used to inhaling and exhaling more and more deeply.

This exercise is a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system. Unlike tranquilizing drugs, which are often effective when you first take them but then lose their power over time, this exercise is subtle when you first try it but gains in power with repetition and practice. You can start trying to do this breath patterning twice a day and building over time.  Start with 4 breaths and build up to 8.  It is normal to experience a little lightheadedness when you first practice this breathing techniques.  You’re body is not used to getting that much oxygen into the alveoli of the lungs.  It will pass.

Once you develop this technique by practicing it every day, it will a powerful tool that you’ll always have with you. You can teach it to others, use it whenever anything upsetting happens – before you react and is useful for whenever you are aware of internal tension. You can also use it to help you fall asleep.  I can’t recommend this breath pattern enough!

Exercise #3: Breath Counting

This exercise is very simple to perform yet deceptively challenging to perfect.  Best performed in the Static Back position, although you can do it sitting in a comfortable position with the spine straight and head aligned directly over the shoulder with the hips, knees and ankles all at ninety degrees to one another.

Begin by close your eyes and take a few deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth, thinking of inhaling long through the body, wide through the rib cage and deep into the depths of the back.   Then let the breath come naturally without trying to influence it. Ideally it will be quiet and slow, but depth and rhythm may vary.

• To begin the exercise, count “one” to yourself as you exhale.
• The next time you exhale, count “two,” and so on up to “five.”
• Then begin a new cycle, counting “one” on the next exhalation.

Never count higher than “five,” and count only when you exhale. You will know your attention has wandered when you find yourself up to “eight,” “12,” even “19.”
Try to work up to 10 minutes of this form of breath counting.

I’d love to hear from you about your experiences trying these exercises for yourself.  Enjoy!

Deb Preachuk, Eriko Grill & Tamara Jacobson @ University of Minnesota ZUMBA

Each month I post my Life Time Fitness group fitness teaching schedule and extra group fitness teaching I do throughout the Twin Cities.

Group Fitness is my fun time and passion!  I love to teach groups.  It’s the way I balance out my private practice hours at Pain Free Posture MN and Pilates Integration Mind. Body. Spirit.

June brings some big changes for me.  

First – I am dropping a couple of classes.  Now hang on, no freaking out!  This is actually fantastic news.

I’m happy to announce that my good friend and colleague Gary Werning is “back in the saddle” and ready to return to Monday Studio Ride and CORE class (click HERE for more info).

Second, there is a class format change.  Monday night Warrior Fusion (5:30pm in Studio One) is now changed to ZUMBA.

Third, there is a day of the week change.  Hot Yoga (was on Wednesday night at 6pm) MOVES to Tuesday night at 6:00pm

I’ll also be travelling to Winnipeg for a few days and will be guest teaching a Zumba class at St. James Hot Yoga.  I’m so excited at the opportunity to do what I love to do!  When I am in Winnipeg to visit family and friends, my home away from home is Kildonan Hot Yoga, St. James Hot Yoga‘s sister studio.  I think it is so important that teachers always remain a life long student, and Kildonan Hot Yoga is where I go to be a student.

Here’s my Group Fitness Teaching Schedule for June 2011.

Please be sure to bookmark this page as classes can change on a daily basis, and sometimes last minute.

I often pick up extra classes.  When that happens I will post any changes/additions on myTwitter, and Facebook accounts as well as on the Pain Free Posture MN & Pilates Integration Mind. Body. Spirit. Blog as they become available.

Please Note: Unless highlighted and hyper-linked, all of the classes listed below are at theLakeville Lifetime Fitness location.

• Saturday June 4th – 7:00am Hot Yoga
• Saturday June 4th – 11:30am LifePower Vinyasa 2 @ Eagan
• Sunday June 5th  – 10:15am Hatha Yoga

• Monday June 6th – 5:30pm ZUMBA
• Tuesday June 7th – 5:30am ZUMBA
• Tuesday June 7th – 6:000m Hot Yoga

* Wednesday June 15th – 8:00pm ZUMBA @ St. James Hot Yoga – Winnipeg, Manitoba

• Sunday June 19th – 6:00pm Multi Level Yoga
• Monday June 20th – 5:30pm ZUMBA
• Tuesday June 21st – 5:30am ZUMBA
• Tuesday June 21st – 6:00pm Hot Yoga
• Thursday June 23rd – 8:00pm Hatha
• Saturday June 25th – 7:00am Hot Yoga

• Monday June 27th – 5:30pm ZUMBA
• Tuesday June 27th – 5:30am ZUMBA
• Tuesday June 27th – 6:00pm Hot Yoga

Not a member of LifeTime Fitness? No problem. Just let me know and I’ll arrange to get you a guest pass to attend a class at your convenience.

Now make sure you make some plans to come and see me in the group fitness studio! Here’s to an amazing summer!

Related articles

• Deb Preachuk – Egoscue University Student Spotlight (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• Egoscue University Study Group: Survival Skills for Certified Posture Alignment Specialists with Deb Preachuk (painfreeposturemnandpilatesintegration.wordpress.com)
• Egoscue University Study Group: Survival Skills for Certified Posture Alignment Specialists with Deb Preachuk (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• Pilates & Flexibility (pilatesintegration.wordpress.com)
• Yoga for Cyclists Workshop (pilatesintegration.wordpress.com)
• Deb Preachuk – Group Fitness Teaching Schedule June 2011 (pilatesintegration.wordpress.com)
• Deb Preachuk – Group Fitness Teaching Schedule June 2011 (painfreeposturemnandpilatesintegration.wordpress.com)
• Yoga for Cyclists Workshop (painfreeposturemnandpilatesintegration.wordpress.com)

Egoscue University Study Groups

Join the Egoscue University for a great Study Group:

Survival Skills for Certified PAS:  

Practical Solutions to common problems and  issues we face

Survival Skills for Certified PAS is your chance to ask all those tough questions about the why and how of setting up a successful Posture Alignment Therapy practice outside of a clinic model.

Deb Preachuk has operated a successful mind/body practice for 9 years while raising a family and juggling the day to day realities of running an in-home client practice.

Now is your chance to get advice from an experienced mentor in the field.

We’ll discuss all the things crucial to operating a successful Posture Alignment therapy practice! We’ll tackle issues such as how to make your teaching healthier and more ergonomic for you, how to handle different types of clients, how to juggle the demands of being healer/helper/cashier/marketer, and much more…

Topic: Survival Skills for Certified PAS – Part 1

* Your PAS Philosophy

* Being a Certified Posture Alignment Specialist: What it takes, How we get it

* Marketing

• Date: June 22, 2011
• Time: 4:00pm Pacific Standard Time
• Cost:  $20

Related articles

• Deb Preachuk – Egoscue University Student Spotlight (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• Pete Egoscue’s Pain Free Convictions (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• The More Laws We Violate, The Faster We Age and Die (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• Hello world! (pilatesintegration.wordpress.com)
• Common Question about Starting Posture Alignment Therapy in The Egoscue Method (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• What is Posture Alignment Therapy in the Egoscue Method? (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• Contact Pain Free Posture MN (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)

I’d like to share my personal testimonial of how I became a Certified Posture Alignment Specialist of the Egoscue University.

In January 2010 I had the distinct privilege of being the Spotlight Student on the Egoscue University website.

Since it’s original post, I am thrilled to announce that I am also officially  certified as anAffiliate Instructor with the Egoscue University!  I traveled out to San Diego once more in February 2010 to make that dream come true.

Deb Preachuk – Egoscue University Affiliate Instructor & Certified Posture Alignment Specialist

It was a thrill to see my story in print, and I am very happy to share it with you all.

Enjoy!

Hello from beautiful Lakeville Minnesota Egoscue University! My name is Deb Preachuk. I am a Certified PAS-II Affiliate, and the owner and primary instructor of  Pain Free Posture MN andPilates Integration Mind. Body. Spirit.

My journey to the Egoscue Method ofPosture Alignment Therapy came from a chance encounter in the paradise town of Kailua, Oahu in May 2007.

After almost twenty years of teaching movement in the health and fitness field I had carved out a specialty niche for myself working with clients in chronic pain and postural dysfunction. I had great success in helping them overcome these issues all without knowing The Egoscue Method of Posture Alignment Therapy existed!. My education and teaching experience was quite eclectic ranging from a Bachelor’s in Physical Education, Group Fitness instruction, certifications in injuries and special populations and cumulated in the restorative work of STOTT Pilates.

Deb Preachuk – Pilates Integration Mind. Body. Spirit.

All of these modalities emphasized postural alignment and analysis, athletic therapy, anatomy, motor learning and biomechanics. I was very fortunate to be taught and mentored by some of the greatest minds in Athletic Therapy, Pilates and Physiotherapy along the way.

My methods were varied, but I thankfully had learned at the start of my career that bones will go where muscles allow them to. What I had going for me was that I was willing to put conventional and current movement teaching practices aside and truly look at a client’s posture in relationship to the plumb-line. And it was from this basic understanding that I approached dealing with chronic pain, postural dysfunction and teaching movement to others.

Pilates Training Center Hawaii – Kailua

In May of 2007 I had the privilege of travelling to the beautiful Island of Maui to teach Pilates for two weeks. My husband and I both thought that the purpose of my trip was to prepare us as a family for a move to the island. Little did I know it was much more than that!

On one free day, I flew to Oahu to visit a colleague in Kailua. It was there that I saw a fellow Pilates instructor teaching a semi-private group Pilates class with a distinct and definitely functional flair that really looked like my own. I was stunned! In my years of teaching Pilates and movement based classes I had never seen another instructor teach the same way.

It was a de-constructed version of Pilates, based on modifying the work to promote a neutral postural alignment and functional design. In all my years of teaching, I had never seen another instructor make the same kind of modifications to help a student succeed at establishing proper function and posture.

I was absolutely focused on watching another person help a student experience the true freedom of functional movement. I said to my colleague “I just love this girl! I can’t believe how she teaches – it’s extraordinary!” To which my friend said to me “Oh yeah. No one teaches quite like her. She’s definitely got her own thing going on”.

I said “No, no, no, no, you don’t understand. No one teaches like me, and she teaches just like me!”

My friend laughed, and said sweetly, “Oh, well then you must be an Egoscue person too.”

Egoscue?

I thought Egoscue was another Hawaiian word! “Eg-U what? What’s Egoscue” I said! Low and behold, the instructor had left her copy of Pete Egoscue’s “Pain Free”at the receptionist desk.

My friend picked up the book and handed it to me. “Here’s her textbook. See for yourself”.

As I flipped through the pages, my eyes literally felt like they were jumping out of my head. There on paper were pictures and descriptions of restorative movements I thought I had made up on my own. But there was so much more that I didn’t know, and it intrigued me and made sense all at the same time!

There were other people like me! I just didn’t know we had a name and it was Egoscue! I had been doing my own intuitive variation of the work for years by myself, but could never describe or promote what I did. All I could ever say to prospective clients was that I was a terrific Pilates instructor who specialized in chronic pain and postural dysfunctions and mercifully had great success at it. I couldn’t guarantee that I could get rid of all their pain, but I was willing to try and if they were willing to allow me to modify or make up movements to allow proper function to occur there was hope for success.

Often clients were coming to me thinking they were doing Pilates, when in fact as I now look back on it, they were doing a very rudimentary form of Posture Alignment Therapy. As I read the pages of “Pain Free”, I realized that I truly was an uncertified Posture Alignment specialist without a certifying body to stand behind or place to call home!

I was elated! That night I flew back to Maui and got onto the Egoscue Universitywebsite right away. By October of 2007 I was certified as a PAS-I, and finished my PAS-II in May 2009. I haven’t looked back since.

To be sure, I had much to learn – and even more to unlearn as Casey, Paul and Ashley gently taught me. While I had figured a lot out on my own based on my educational background, it was submersing myself in the Egoscue Method of Posture Alignment Therapy and getting my certification that took all the trial and error out of the equation. The Method just works!

I am now so much more efficient at helping my clients restore function in body, mind and ultimately spirit by applying the 8 Laws of Physical Health and a five step approach in treating the body as a whole. I can confidently say to a prospective new client “yes, I can help you get out of pain” and then with great assurance clearly explain why.

My mission at Pain Free Posture MN and Pilates Integration Mind. Body. Spirit. is simple – to help clients eliminate pain, restore their blue-print design and function and obtain optimal performance in activities of daily living and recreational/competitive athletic pursuits! I offer one-to-one private and group instruction in my fully equipped and insured home studio.

Today, my body of work is primarily Posture Alignment Therapy. That’s what brings clients in the door. The joy of helping another human being become functional and pain free is so gratifying! What I enjoy just as much is that I am able to aid students bridge the gap from maintenance with their new found functional bodies into exploring other movement modalities such as Pilates, Yoga and/or personal fitness training such as Patch Fitness and Kettlebells. Working with a pain-free and functional body just makes every other form of movement so much easier to teach and learn!

I work daily with a wide spectrum of individuals in chronic pain. Clients range all the way from chronic pain due to postural dysfunction to repetitive stress injuries, idiopathic scoliosis, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis to clients who have gone through non productive joint replacement surgeries and physical therapy to recreational/competitive athletes looking for improved performance just to name a few.

I’ve had the privilege of instructing hundreds (if not thousands) of private and group training classes over the last 20 years. It is my true love to help guide people out of chronic pain and physical limitations and help them achieve complete restoration in mind, body and spirit.

In addition to work at Pain Free Posture MN, another passion of mine is to teach and mentor others. Currently I am pursuing my Affiliate Instructor certification with the Egoscue University, and just completed my first semester teaching in the Exercise Science Department at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, Minnesota. Not only do I love to teach, but I love to teach those who want to become teachers. It’s my heart’s desire to be an anchor in the Egoscue University chain, and reach out to other local and world-wide PAS affiliates and new students working towards their certification. I would love the opportunity to connect via the message boards, or directly through my contact information listed below. Please reach out, email or call at your convenience. It’s my pleasure to get to know you and help guide you into a Pain Free lifestyle.

Mahalo!
Deb Preachuk

Do you have a testimonial to share?  Would you like to know more about Posture Alginment Therapy, Pilates or other forms of restorative exercise?  Email:  deb.preachuk@gmail.com, or call 952-432-1446  

Balance the Body.  Relieve the Pain.

Related articles

• Pete Egoscue’s Pain Free Convictions (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• Common Question about Starting Posture Alignment Therapy in The Egoscue Method (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• Have Foot & Ankle Pain? (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• Dr. Mercola Endorses Posture Alignment Therapy in The Egoscue Method (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• Dr. Mercola Endorses Posture Alignment Therapy in The Egoscue Method (painfreeposturemnandpilatesintegration.wordpress.com)
• Deb Preachuk – Egoscue University Student Spotlight (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)

  Did you know that the month of May is National Correct Posture Month?

Considering that I am a Certified Posture Alignment Specialist, and had no idea,  I was as surprised as you to find out.

In light of my revelation and now hopefully yours, it only seems appropriate to explore the topic of correct posture.

National  Correct Posture Month was developed by chiropractic organizations such as the  A.C.A. (American  Chiropractic Association) and the I.C.A. (International Chiropractors Association) to educate and heighten awareness of the general public as to how good posture  improves the overall health and lives of many Americans.

The purpose of National Correct Posture  Month therefore, is to increase  the public’s awareness of the posture-wellness connection, or better said,

“Good Posture = Good Health”.

I couldn’t agree more.

Good posture is absolutely vital  in the overall health and wellbeing of each individual, and the key to enabling people to achieve optimum performance and success in activities of life!  I can attest to this truth as I see it in practice with my clients on a daily basis.

My job as a Certified Posture Alignment Specialist is, in a nutshell is twofold.

First I educate clients on the What, Why, and How of Good Posture, and then I Re-introduce the proper stimulus and demand through corrective exercise to return the body back to it’s best posture possible, blue-print design.

I am trained to show clients how the pain they are experiencing in their bodies is directly related to the imbalances (or deviations ) in their bodies away from “blue-print” design (good posture).  Once the education happens we don’t just sit there, we  do something about it!

Posture Alignment Therapy begins by teaching the client what Posture is.

“What is Posture”?

Posture  in it’s simplest term is defined as the position in which you hold your body upright against gravity while standing, sitting or lying down.  The term then, really doesn’t describe what good posture is.  Because the definition doesn’t give us a template to compare and contrast against a person’s posture, or how an individual carries oneself upright against gravity while standing, sitting or lying down may be good, bad or just plain ugly!

Let’s take a look at a very common posture we see every day.  At first glance one might say that this woman’t posture is common, or pretty normal.  Sadly, this posture represents the norm these days, and very often an example of a person who is in pain somewhere in the body.

As an Egoscue University Certified Posture Alignment Specialist, all I see is a body crying out for help!

This photo demonstrates very poor posture.  There are misalignments in all of the four load joints of the body.  The ankles, knees, hips and shoulders are all asymmetrical to one another.

Eventually this woman will experience pain, injury or both.  This woman is susceptible to neck, shoulder, back, hip, knee and/or ankle pain.  Left unattended, she may experience a variety of compounding issues such as arthritis, sciatica, digestive problems, TMJ, carpal tunnel, ringing in the ear, tension, lymphatic and circulatory problems just to name a few.

What is Good Posture?

Good Posture as defined in the Physical Therapy Dictionary is “the state of muscular and skeletal balance which protects the supporting structures of the body against injury or progressive deformity irrespective of the attitude in which these structures are working or resting“.

In my field of practice, good posture occurs when the body adheres to it’s “blue-print design” where all of the body parts are balanced front to back  and side-to-side with the three natural curves of the spine present and the head and pelvis centered and supported.

When standing and viewing the body from the front we should see the head sitting directly centered between the shoulders and all four of the major load joints aligned at ninety degree angles to one another.

From the side view, it should be possible to draw a straight line from the earlobe, through the shoulder, hip, knee, and into the middle of the ankle.

As demonstrated in the two photos, you can see that the skeleton’s ankles, knees, hips and shoulder joints are all aligned in the front and side views with the head centered directly atop of the spine and the weight load is equal from one foot to the other.  The spinal column can maintain it’s three natural curves and allows for the pelvis to sit neutral where the front and back of the pelvic bones are in the same plane.

Clients first come to see me at Pain Free Posture MN experiencing a variety of negative impacts on their health.

Common complaints like neck, back and joint pain, radiating nerve pain, extreme muscle fatigue, poor digestion, and respiratory problems are just  a few for examples of the common ailments client’s come in with.   Most can be directly attributed to poor posture.

Over time these clients bodies have succumbed to a variety of poor postures (or postural deviations) which have created a chain reaction throughout the body.  Because they are in pain and experiencing less than optimal function in their bodies, the energy for activities of daily living are compromised.   Many of my clients are physically tired, emotionally exhausted, and just plain frustrated and stressed from trying to cope with their pain.

So we  know good posture when we see it, and we are inspired by how free and strong it makes a person look. There are so many reasons to pay attention to our posture, so let’s explore the Why of Good Posture.

Benefits of Good Posture:

• allows us to move efficiently
• prevents the spine from forming into abnormal positions
• maintain proper muscle and joint use
• reduce and prevent stress
• prevent pain
• center the body
• increase balance and agility
• promotes efficiency of movement (all muscles, joints and bones are used optimally)
• improves muscle function
• increases range of motion in joints
• takes pressure off of compressed organs
• improves circulation
• creates a trimmer appearance
• radiates an attitude of confidence
• optimal organ and muscle function for maximum energy, endurance, and vigor
• allows you to exercise longer without tiring
• greater concentration and mental ability

After I  educate the client on what and why of good posture it’s time to evaluate and asses their posture against blue-print design.

After taking posture photos and doing a postural load joint analysis,  we “connect the dots”.

I show the client  how their posture has deviated from his/her “blue-print” design.  Then it’s just a matter of linking  the deviations from the blue-print design to his/her pain.  The photo below is an example of many asymmetrical imbalances from the side view.

We’ve arrived at the How of obtaining Good Posture.  It’s one thing to know what the benefits of good posture are, and to know that one’s posture presentation is imbalanced.

So how do we fix it?

Once the postural deviations away from “blue-print design” are identified, a menu of corrective exercises (or e-cises as we like to call them in the corrective exercise world) are created and designed for each client’s unique needs.

Clients are empowered to create the change needed in their bodies.  An integral part ofPosture Alignment Therapy is ADHERENCE to a menu of corrective exercise.

Posture alignment therapy is not a one session quick-fix, but a system of corrective and exercises (or e-cises as we like to call them) designed to re-pattern and train the body to remember and perform in its blue-print function and design.  It will take some time to undo years of incorrect movements.

Clients experience the greatest success when they  do an at home menu of  e-cises  on a daily basis in between follow-up appointments.

Once we address the postural deviations and address the imbalances and asymmetry in the body with e-cises, the things begin to change.  Posture improves, aches and pains diminish and disappear, and clients begin to quickly experience less stress and fatigue.   More energy is available to do the simple activities of daily living and extra energy is around to spend on having fun!  It’s a snowball effect really.

As you begin to experience less fatigue and can do things for fun, your outlook on life begins to look up.  Emotions swing to the positive side.  Change is possible, and it begins with changing the posture.

  For more information on how posture and pain are related, I’d highly recommend Pete Egoscue’s first book called The Egoscue Method of  Health Through Motion and the best-selling Pain Free.

What’s keeping you from a Pain Free lifestyle?

Why wait any longer?

I’d like to share an article written by a colleague of mine, Rick Mathes back in December 2010.  Rick is the owner and director of Egoscue Austin - and shares his own testimonial of Posture Alignment Therapy in The Egoscue Method®.  In the article he talks about how as wonderful and beneficial as The Egoscue Method® is, but at the same time it isn’t always for everybody.

Here is his own personal experience and insight as to why.

Go ahead and chew on this one folks.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on Rick’s commentary piece.  It’s a great water cooler conversation starter!

Egoscue® is Not for Everybody

by Rick Mathes – Egoscue Austin

Egoscue® isn’t for everybody? Pretty surprising statement from an Egoscue® clinic director, isn’t it?

But it’s true, and not for the reasons you’d initially think.

I had a new client in our clinic a few weeks ago and I think her story is illustrative of the fact that what we do is not for everyone. Now, let me say clearly that I thinkEVERYONE can benefit from “doing Egoscue®”. No question. But there are a few people who should honestly look at doing something else.

First and foremost are the lazy, the folks who have spent the last number of years sitting on the couch not moving, are hurting, and truly have no desire to get off the couch and move. They don’t want to exercise, they don’t want to move, they want to keep doing what they’re doing and find someone who has some magic solution that will help them achieve their goals instantly and without effort. These are the folks who go to their doctor and ask “isn’t there a pill I can take”? These are the folks who are diabetic or pre-diabetic and rather than modify their diet they’re more interested in fine tuning their insulin protocol or researching the coolest new blood sugar monitors. For these people, symptomatic treatment is perfectly acceptable, and the less effort involved the better. They have no interest in hearing that they’re only treating symptom and that the root problem is continuing to fester and damage. They just want to feel better ‘right now’, the future be damned.

If that’s you, Egoscue® ain’t for ya. We have very little interest in treating the symptom and a VERY keen interest in helping you figure out what the core problem is, then creating an action plan to effectively address that core problem. And then, it’s time for YOU to get to work implementing that action plan. People get better with Egoscue not because they come to a clinic, but because they take what they learned at that clinic and implement it. They ACT!

Now, on to the second type of person for whom Egoscue® is probably not the right call. And this goes back to the new client I mentioned above. Sally (not her real name) came to see me after being referred by a friend. She was experiencing chronic and severe low back pain for years. She’d had a number of accidents in years past and was convinced that these accidents were the cause of her pain. She’s already had spine surgery and was a candidate for another surgical procedure which she professed she wanted to avoid.

We sat down and I explained a bit about my story. Through my own experience I learned something interesting as an Egoscue® client. When I showed up for my first appointment, Pete Egoscue was there and sat down with me and asked me why I was there. I said I was there because I had chronic and severe back pain that was dramatically impacting the quality of my life, and that if I didn’t turn things around soon I was going to be disabled. He asked me why I thought I had back pain and I explained I had been in a near fatal car accident 6 years prior and had this pain ever since. His response was very interesting. He asked “Ok, so your back hurts because you had an accident 6 years ago, is that the reality of this situation?”

I answered “yes, exactly so.”

His response stunned me: “well then, you’re screwed.”

I’m now thinking “I just drove 3.5 hours one way and wrote these people a check with a comma in it to hear THIS?”

Pete could see the befuddled look on my face and then laughed a gentle laugh and said “let me explain. Do you think I have a time machine laying around the clinic here?”

No, I didn’t think that.

“Well”, he said, “then if we don’t have a time machine, there’s not much we can do about your accident, is there? That’s a bell we can’t unring. So if that is REALLY why you hurt, then you’re screwed. However, maybe that’s NOT why you hurt and maybe your story of why you hurt is just that, a story. Are you open to the possibility that you hurt for a different reason?”

Yes.

“Are you willing to lay your story down and, today, begin to create a new story, a more empowering one, that could lead you to achieve your goals for your health?”

My eyes began to water a bit and I felt something stir deep within me as I responded “Yes! I’ve been searching for over 6 years for a way to lay this story down and create a new one, to find a way out of this hole.”

At that point Pete smiled and said “Terrific. Because I don’t think you hurt because of your accident. I think you hurt because your posture was compromised going into it, and it’s still compromised. I think if we change your posture, we’ll change the way your body feels and functions. Let’s get started.”

And so began my Egoscue® journey. That story above has some 2 key aspects to it I don’t want you to miss:

1. It’s easy to think we hurt because of some event that’s happened in our past, but that is rarely the case.

Our pain is usually not generated by an event, but by a process that happens over time. I had allowed myself to believe otherwise, to my detriment.

2. The answer doesn’t lie outside of ourselves. It is ALWAYS within us.

It begins with a change in the way you think about the issue, and then action is required. I was willing to change the way I thought about my body and why it was the way it was, and then I was willing to take responsibility and act.

So now, back to Sally.

I shared with her some of my story above and she politely nodded and said she understood. I assessed her posture and function and it was clear to me why she hurt. It wasn’t because of an accident 10 years prior. Her hips and her upper back were so out of position that they were putting tremendous torque on her low back. Imagine taking a dishrag with both hands and wringing it out, twisting it. That space in the middle was her low back.

So I explained all of this, we took her posture photos and I showed her what I was seeing, and then we got to work. I wrote a ‘menu’ of our exercises for her and we went through them one by one. At the end of the routine she stood up and walked around a bit and looked at me with a very confused look on her face and said “my back pain is better. I mean, it’s a LOT better. I barely hurt right now.” And this is a woman who walks around with back pain averaging 7-8 on a scale of 1-10.

We wrapped up the appointment and scheduled another one to see her the following week. But as she left she said something very revealing: “We’ll see what my doctor has to say.”

Say wha?!?

She wanted to know what her surgeon thought about the experience she just had. I asked her “well, what does your body have to say”? She responded “I feel better but I want to talk with the surgeon.”

And right then and there, I knew Sally had a problem. The problem isn’t that she wanted to consult with a surgeon, the problem is she does not trust her own instincts, she does not believe the solution to her pain lies within her, and she believes she is broken and needs someone else to “fix” her. In fact, I’d go so far as to say she doesn’t want the responsibility of participating in her own healing journey. That is a scary place for her to be. What she wants is for something outside of herself to assume that responsibility so she doesn’t have to.

She called our clinic early the following week and told the person who answered the phone that she saw the surgeon, he gave her some exercises to do and she was going to do those for awhile and she canceled her next appointment with me. No surprise. I emailed her and told her I’d support her in whatever path she chose to take, and if she’d like me to review the exercises the doctor gave her or if she had any questions about them, I was happy to help. And I encouraged her to continue doing her Egoscue® exercises.

I haven’t heard back from her, and I won’t. At least, I won’t unless and until she makes a mental shift and decides that SHE needs to take responsibility for her health. That it doesn’t belong to a doctor or a physical therapist or an Egoscue therapist or anyone else, that it is hers and hers alone.

Folks, if you’re out there with pain, I cannot stress this enough: YOU ARE NOT BROKEN!!! You don’t need someone to “fix” you. Your body is telling you what it needs. It’s ALWAYS telling us what it needs. But most of us are so stressed out and fearful that we have too much mental static to tune into the station and hear the message.

Here’s my advice if you’re hurting: first, just relax, take a deep breath, and accept where you are currently at. Allow yourself to be ok with it, just for now. You can go back to being not ok with it in 5 minutes, but just for now, accept your body just the way it is. Then ask your body what it thinks it wants to best support you. Then be at peace, be quiet, and listen. If you do this, if you truly do this, it will speak to you. And then, trust yourself. Believe that you are enough! Whatever your goals are for your body, their accomplishment is possible if you first look within yourself for the power and the tools and the answers to make those goals a reality.

How did my mental approach differ from Sally’s? Yes, I utilized outside help and expertise, but I NEVER gave away the responsibility for my healing. I viewed everyone I consulted as just that, a consultant. They were working for me and the ultimate authority was mine and mine alone. I, too, had a surgeon and he was ready and willing to operate. all I needed to do was make the phone call and I would’ve been on his table within a week or two. But it was MY choice to go a different direction, and I’m so glad I did. That was almost 12 years ago and I’ve never looked back. 12 years ago I had MRI films that showed herniated discs. I didn’t care, and instead I chose to believe those who told me that what the MRI showed was not the problem but was the result of the problem. “Fix your posture and what the MRI shows won’t matter.” That made sense to me and I got to work. 12 years later, do I still have herniated discs? I don’t know, and I don’t care. I’m sitting here writing this without any back pain. I do what I want to do without my body stopping me from doing it.

Don’t give your authority away folks. Take responsibility for your health, the job is not too big for you! If you’d like some help and direction along the way, call the Egoscue® clinic nearest you and I promise you the folks there will do their best not to sell you something, not to convince you to do something, but to genuinely partner with you.

Are you ready to lay down your old story and create a new one? Are you ready to get to work and start making this better?

Then call Deb Preachuk at Pain Free Posture MN (952-432-1446).  Let her know what’s going on and allow us to walk alongside you for awhile on your journey. It will be our privilege.

Related articles

• Dr. Mercola Endorses Posture Alignment Therapy in The Egoscue Method (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• Dr. Mercola Endorses Posture Alignment Therapy in The Egoscue Method (painfreeposturemnandpilatesintegration.wordpress.com)
• Common Question about Starting Posture Alignment Therapy in The Egoscue Method (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• The More Laws We Violate, The Faster We Age and Die (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)
• Have Foot & Ankle Pain? (painfreeposturemn.wordpress.com)