If you've ever sprained an ankle, chances are that you have some shortened soft tissues or even scar tissue along the front and side of your ankle that is preventing optimal mobility whenever your foot is plantar-flexed.
This Ankle Plantar Flexion Stretch can help restore diminished plantar flexion to your ankles: Read more
There are very few activities of daily living that require us to use our innate capacity for shoulder extension - that is, to actively use our arms while they are behind us. This translates to having short biceps, brachialis, and pectoralis minor muscles, which predispose us to elbow and shoulder issues, including golfer's elbow, tennis elbow, and shoulder impingement syndrome.
For this reason, it's best that we include shoulder extension exercises in our self care programs. Read more
If you experience tightness in your shoulder "shawl" muscles, you will likely benefit from this stretch, highly effective for lengthening your trapezius and levator scapulae muscles.
Please be sure to enable audio for guidance. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below or you can always reach me at benkim@drbenkim.com. Read more
If you're raising young children or even teenagers and wonder from time to time if your approach to parenting will yield emotionally intelligent, courageous, and persevering progeny, I think you'll find Dr. Angela Duckworth's book on Grit to be a worthwhile read. Read more
This is an excellent stretch for ensuring healthy tone of the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that surround the posterior region of your shoulder and your shoulder blade. Read more
If you have enough basic mobility and strength to try some simple tumbling, you might begin with shoulder rolls. You can do these from a kneeling start and try to finish in a balanced state on one foot and one knee. Be sure to tuck your chin toward your chest and roll on the back of your shoulder, not the back of your neck.
Once you feel comfortable doing a shoulder roll from a kneeling start, you can try from a standing start. Read more
This is another highly effective stretch for improving extension through your thoracic spinal region and flexion of your shoulder joints.
To execute this stretch, you'll need a firm surface like a solid chair to anchor your hands to, as well as a soft surface to rest your knees on. Read more
As a society, my feeling is that we don't put enough emphasis on protecting our lungs against harmful macro and microscopic particles; this is a huge mistake, as reduced lung capacity is, in my mind, more damaging to quality of life than say, sub-optimal digestion, mild to moderate liver dysfunction, or even reduced cardiac output. If you strongly disagree with this opinion, I'm willing to bet that you'll change your mind if you spend some time in any intensive care unit and sit by a few patients who are unable to properly oxygenate their blood because of reduced lung capacity - this is a heart-wrenching scenario, one that I don't wish upon the grouchiest people I know. Read more
If you're keen to improve your overall mobility and functional strength, it's vital that your wrists are healthy and able to bear a good portion of your body weight. Read more
