Do you have a stiff neck, tight hamstrings or an achy lower back that just keeps coming back, no matter how much you stretch, have a massage or go to physio?Maybe you've got other muscles that always feel 'tight' no matter what you try to release them.Here are 5x reasons why muscles really misbehave and feel 'tight' or tense: Joints lack stability Chronic stress Habitual stress reflex Using 1 side of the body Guarding an old or current injury I think it's also important to note that 'tight' ...

Inconveniently there's not a black and white "yes" or "no" answer.As always you can use your self agency and personal level of awareness to choose whether to push on regardless, modify somehow or stop completely.But are you making an informed decision, or reacting from a place of ego, scarcity or fear?Here are 3x knowledge nuggets about pain:: Pain is felt when your brain thinks you're in danger Pain is NOT always an accurate indicator of physical damage, BUT it IS a sign that your brain ...

A lot of people are making this super common mistake and it's keeping them stuck in pain or injury. We've become conditioned to think of our bodies like a car engine - if one part goes wrong you get a diagnostic check done and fix or replace the faulty component. If you feel a muscle is tight you look for a stretch or book a massage to release that muscle. If you pick up an injury you see a doctor or physiotherapist for a scan or diagnosis.  But you, a human being, are NOT made of simple, ...

Getting injured and having to rest is a real bugbear for anyone who enjoys being active.There's a mental health consideration when you can't go to your regular group exercise classes and see your workout buddies for a while.. It's so frustrating when an injury stops you from taking part in an event, race or competition that you've spent months training for.And for instructors not being able to teach means reduced income and sometimes losing classes if it's a long-term injury. I've ...

Have you ever found yourself pacing when you feel nervous?Anecdotally many people have found vagus nerve stimulation helps alleviate depression and breathing exercises reduce anxiety.Now a new research study has found a physical link that integrates parts of the brain responsible for planning, thinking, purpose, behaviour, physiology and movement. This means that if you calm one area down, it should absolutely have an effect on the others. This is the first tangible evidence that the mind-body ...

Have you ever considered the way your body interacts with the ground, and how this affects movement, pain and if you might pick up an injury?Our body talks to the ground beneath us in two ways. I think the first direction is quite obvious, the other possibly less so.Direction 1: We transfer our weight from our body down into the ground. .  Direction 2: We allow the firm support of the ground to come up into our body to support our joints. It's this two way communication between our ...

It's true....."Where focus goes, energy flows". Your thoughts are so powerful that they can change your biology and alter your perception of reality. For instance, have you ever had an injury, pain or movement limitation that just won't go away despite all your efforts? One reason can be the amount of time that you spend dwelling on the problem or trying to fix the symptoms. The more you think about the pain or injury the more aware you'll become of every twinge. The more time you spend ...

How you move is so much more than your biomechanics. Modern medicine and physical therapy has conditioned us to think of our bodies as the sum of many individual components, and that if something goes wrong, like an injury, you simply fix or replace the faulty part. But does that actually work in the long-term? How many people do you know who are still in pain from an old injury, who've never regained full function of their body or are trapped in a repetitive cycle of pain, injury, treatment, ...

Both Yoga and health research have shown us some well known ways to improve our health, but they've seemed to be polar opposites.......until recently. Is that gap closing? Let's look at both in more detail. The Yoga Yoga is old! Exactly how old has been lost in the mists of time. Ancient legend tells of the first Yogi, Lord Shiva, who found enlightenment on Mount Kailash many thousands of years ago. The word "Yoga" was first mentioned in the Rig Veda, the oldest of the four Vedas. These ancient ...

Have you noticed that how you behave and think tends to be repeated over and over again? Humans are creatures of habit! We love familiarity and feel comforted by our routines. Especially in times of stress or change we'll retreat back to these old patterns for safety. As young children our brains are like sponges, soaking up our interactions with the environment around us and our early life experiences.  By the age of 7 years most our subconscious thought patterns are set, even though other ...