A healthy back requires a mobile spine that is able to freely move in multiple directions, with flexion, extension, rotation, and lateral flexion being the major directions of normal range of motion.
Regular practice of the exercises in this video will promote healthy range of motion of your spine, as well as healthy tone of the soft tissues (ligaments, fascia, muscles, and tendons) that surround your spine. Read more
If you find that you can't take your hips through the exercises found in my exercise routine for hip pain and stiffness, you might need to spend time improving internal rotation of your hip joints.
When internal rotation is limited due to a hypertonic ligamentous capsule, the head of the femur doesn't have the necessary freedom to optimally swivel within the acetabular fossa of the pelvis, which limits all other ranges of motion of the hip, including flexion, extension, external rotation, abduction, adduction, and circumduction.
This progression of stretches to improve internal rotation of the hip joints is similar to the sleeper stretch that one can use to improve internal rotation and overall function of the shoulder joints. Read more
2 cups of mung beans, usually labeled as "peeled split mung beans."
6 tablespoons calrose rice
Water
2 zucchini
1 red bell pepper
3 spring/green onions
1 yellow onion
Handful of sesame leaves or cilantro
Sea salt
Cooking oil
Soy sauce and sesame oil (optional for dipping sauce)
Listed ingredients will make about 5 large dark chocolate cups, assuming you use regular muffin/cupcake liners.
Ingredients:
200 grams (about 7 ounces) of dark chocolate chunks/chips
3 tablespoons of smooth almond butter
2 tablespoons of almond milk
Your favourite raspberry jam
Small handful of fresh raspberries
Sea salt
A few tablespoons of icing sugar (optional)
I've been on a roll with new recipes as of late - everything I make, the living creatures in our home gobble every morsel up within an hour. This makes me happy, of course. Read more
This is a video for those who have requested a simple routine of mobility exercises while remaining upright.
In this video, I use a dowel at times to help maintain balance. You can use a broomstick, golf club, or any other similar object, or you can try doing everything without support, which will help you develop your balance and proprioception. Read more
As mentioned in this video, many of us can use more extension through the spine. A sedentary lifestyle often leads to shoulders that are rounded forward to some degree, which puts the spine in some degree of forward flexion, which is what gradually robs intervertebral joints of their natural capacity to extend backward. Read more
