Hellerwork Theme Month: Reaching Out

This month is focused on doing what nature is doing all around us, reaching out and taking in. During winter, most plants retreat, dropping leaves and focusing on their root growth. Come spring time, they begin to reach out and take in the warmer sun falling on their new leaves.

Mention "New Year's Resolutions" and you're likely to hear groans. And for good reason...the deep of winter in January is not the best time of year for a "fresh start". Tulips have a better idea because they wait until spring to start again. So if you've frustrated yourself over and over with resolutions, try now, as the spirit of spring will be with you.

Remember that your body is an expression of what you think and feel. Focus your attention on desired thoughts and feelings and your body will start to change. You can also change how you move...integrated movement helps inform your body of new possibilities. Examples of integrated movement include yoga, Tai Chi, qi gong and Feldenkrais.

Do your shoulders, arms or hands feel constantly tired or sore? Then you're probably using them inefficiently. Just as a professional baseball pitcher uses his whole body to hurl that fastball, you can do the same thing (on a more subtle scale) typing at your computer, making dinner or brushing your teeth. Try this exercise to get a feel for it.


Integrated Movement Exercise for your Arms:

You'll need a partner for this one, so get a friend or co-worker to join you.

Part A:

Do a bit of role-play and imagine this person is the interviewer for a new job you really want. If you have any constricting emotion involved (such as fear, excitement, dread) notice how your body feels. Where does it feel tight? From this place, approach the person, as if for the first time and shake their hand. Notice the path way from your hand up to your shoulder to your chest...what does this feel like? What do your feet, legs and spine feel like?

Part B:

Back up and shake it all off to start over. This time, act as if you've already been hired for the job, even though this is still the interview. Shake hands again. Notice the same hand to chest pathway and compare sensation to Part A. Also, what do your feet, legs and spine feel like?

Hint: Try this exercise and after doing an activity you do regularly, such as using the computer. After you’ve done the exercise a couple times, go back to the computer and notice the difference!

Hellerwork Theme Month: Standing On Your Own Two Feet

I have grown to love feet.

When I was very young, several doctors recommend breaking both my femurs and resetting them in a different position, which was supposed to help the alignment of my feet. I still call her up out of the blue and say, "Thanks, Mom, for not breaking my legs." Their prognosis, should not do the surgery, was I would likely be in a wheelchair by age 30. Well, I am closer to 40 now and I have never been in a wheelchair. In fact, I've climbed Mt. Rainier a couple times and started running last year. My feet feel better than ever.

What does it mean to you to Have Your Feet on the Ground? What are qualities or feelings that help you know if your "feet are on the ground"?

In my most recent Hellerwork Theme survey, here are the top answers to that question:

• Being able to financially to support myself and/or family.
• Feeling emotionally "grounded".
• I know who I am and what I want to do.

These answers all have to do with feeling secure. Holding unconscious tension in our feet gets in the way of this feeling of security. If you've had a stressful day/week/life, check in with your feet and just notice how they feel right now. Now give them a little massage and see if that changes how your feet feel. Does it also change, even a little bit, your stress level?

It's so easy to get caught in the trap of "out there". What I mean is thinking, "If the economy would be more stable, I would be able to feel more stable." Can you stand your ground in the midst of a storm? And if you get knocked off your feet, what do you want to do, do you want to lie there or get back up?

These are big and rather abstract issues we all deal with. That's what is so wonderful about the body. It's solid and tangible. If you feel overwhelmed in any way, bringing caring attention to your feet is guaranteed to help. Here's a tool to help you:

Exercise: Calf Micro-stretching for Creating Grounding

The calf muscles commonly get tight during stressful times and can contribute to feeling insecure. This exercise will be releasing fascia in your calves, which will benefit your feet and feelings of security. Stand facing a wall, about 24-36" away. Place both hands on the wall and lean forward at your ankles until you feel a very tiny stretch in the calves. You should stop at the first sensation of a tiny stretch, resist the temptation to go for a "burn". After 10-15 seconds, you should notice the tiny stretch sensation disappear. If so, lean slightly more towards the wall to the next tiny stretch sensation. If the micro-stretch doesn't change after 10-15 seconds, back off a little and wait again. Go for two or three more rounds. Do this exercise daily if you are dealing with chronic stress.

Hellerwork Theme Month: Inspiration

There's good reason why people are still flocking to seminars put on by people like Anthony Robbins. He inspires people to find out Why they live, what motivates them. In our fast paced world, it's easy to get lost in the sea of iPhones, Volkswagens and Facebook status reports. It's easy to lose sight of why we really live.

Imagine yourself on your death bed. You are aware you have very short time left to live, maybe less than a minute. What flashes through your mind? Any regrets...not of what you did do...but of anything "left undone"? As they say, you can't take it with you. If there is something you have been putting off, for whatever reason, start now. Write down what you want to do, do a visualization meditation or pick up the phone---do something in the direction of your desire.

In my most recent survey, I found 65% of the respondents answered, "I play some, but would like do it more regularly." No one answered, "I play too much and other areas of my life suffer for it." Many people think of play as extraneous, something to do when work is done or only on weekends. What if play were as vital to your quality of life as breathing air? How much time does it take to breathe? I mention this because play is where we naturally express our own feelings of inspiration. For some, it's barreling down a mountain on skis or a mountain bike and others it's reading or making art.

Whatever you are feeling inspired to do, be or have, begin it now. If you're the type who easily gets distracted, call a friend and tell them of your intention. Ask them to ask you in a month how you're progress is. If you're making progress, celebrate! If you're finding yourself stuck, without beating yourself up over it, spend a few minutes discussing where you are stuck and what you need to do to move forward.

Body Note: Find more inspiration in your life and your breathing will improve, guaranteed. Works the other way around, too.

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This post marks the beginning of a series of fun and thoughtful posts based upon the 11 Themes of Hellerwork Structural Integration. Next month, the theme will be Standing on your own Two Feet.

Thank you to everyone who answered my short survey on Inspiration. Didn't get the invite? Email me to receive future survey invites for the 2011 series of themes.

Relief for Repetitive Stress Pain

I have a book for you that is excellent for self-care of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and other repetitive strain injuries. It is the book I've recommended the most to clients. Written by Sharon Butler, a fellow Hellerworker, after going through her own injuries. It's easy to use, full of excellent diagrams and descriptions of various stretches. My favorite is the "if it hurts here, do these stretches" part of the book. Sharon also describes the most effective way to do the stretches, which is very different than what most people think of as stretching.

Book: Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other Repetitive Stress Injuries by Sharon Butler

Barefoot running & walking

I've long been a fan of walking barefoot for the health benefits. The stimulation the feet receive in barefoot walking is enough reason alone, in my book.

But barefoot running? When I first heard of it, I thought it would be a passing fad. But the testimonies of some close friends and also Hellerwork colleague David Murphy made me think again and take a closer look.

Most of us land heel first, both walking and running. Barefoot running theory believes shoes have made our feet "dumb"...all that thick padding encourages heel striking, especially in the heels of typical running shoes. Without shoes, most people will naturally avoid landing on the heel. It's simply too painful to land on the heel when running barefoot.

NPR ran an excellent article about barefoot running that eased the part of me that thought this would be an over-hyped fad.

While reading this article, I had an "aha!" moment. Suddenly, I saw a big part of the ingenious design of the foot I had been missing. Landing on the heel does not absorb much shock...the shock gets sent up the leg into the knee, hip and spine. Landing on the forefoot allows the 33 joints in the foot to flex, absorb the shock into ligaments and then release the energy stored in those ligaments as usable energy up into the leg. Over 100 muscles mobilize those 33 joints and when we land on our heels, those muscles don't get used in a way they were designed to work.

In fact, I've been experimenting while walking, trying to land forefoot first whenever I have shoes on. It's really hard to do! I mean it just doesn't feel as natural to do as without anything on my feet. I think a large part of this is due to habit because as I continue practicing, it is becoming easier to do.

If you decide to give barefoot running a try, a bit of advice:

• Don't run more than 5 minutes your first time, unless you want to be miserable the next day. You will be using your feet and legs in ways they are not used to and it will take some time to adjust.

• Go fully barefoot for a while before rushing out to purchase the Vibram Five Fingers or other minimalist shoes. This will give you valuable feedback from your feet and help you develop your barefoot running strength slowly. You want to land on the forefoot first, finishing gently on your heel. You also want none to little scuffing, twisting or other unnecessary foot movements. The reason is blisters, and if you get them, you're out of running commission until they heal. Running in any sort of shoes will limit your sensations of how you are using your feet and therefore you may be prone to overdo it too easily.

• Pain: Some muscle soreness the next day (especially when you first start) is normal. But pain that "doesn't feel right" is a sign to respect. The pain may be due to your form, if so, seek some qualified instruction. The pain may be also coming from doing more than your body can handle right now. When I started, I found 5 minutes was too much and that 2-3 minutes was ideal. Muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones in your feet are being used very differently during barefoot running. It will take some time. Think in terms of months, not days or weeks.

Since we spend most of our time walking,I highly recommend watching David's video giving a lesson on how to walk with greater ease without landing heel first.

90% of Your Brain Power is Focused on Posture

Nobel Prize Recipient Dr. Roger Sperry demonstrated that 90% of the brain's energy output is devoted to maintaining upright posture in relation to gravity. That leaves just 10% to everything else, such as thinking and imagination.

So do you think that a 2-3% reduction in available energy for thinking and creativity make much of a difference over all? Definitely! Those of you who use a computer for hours each day with a poor ergonomics setup know what I am talking about.

A very common way to reduce the available energy is in a forward head posture, which Rolfer Erik Dalton calls the "42 Pound Head".

Everything You Know About Muscle is Wrong

Want to learn how to do push-ups that feel nearly effortless?

Men's Health has a great article discussing fascia, how it affects you and more efficient ways to exercise your body. It's several pages long and well worth the read.

Once you've read the article, try this:

Stand facing a wall a couple feet away. Do some push-ups, with palms flat, and notice the effort involved in doing so. Now, come up onto your fingertips, activating your hands as if you are grasping a grapefruit (or an orange if you have smaller hands) in each hand. On the push-up part of the exercise (where your body moves away from the wall), try to pull the wall towards you as you come up. It's as if you were gripping the wall through your fingers on the way up, which may take a few tries to get it correct. It should feel much easier to do than the standard push-up. Go back and forth between the two methods to really notice the difference. Got it? Congratulations, you are now using your fascia to your benefit!