The Importance of Moving Slowly

When it comes to movement, and the way we live our lives in general, we all have room to slow down and exhale.

You may recall a learning experience in which your Wellness Station practitioner offered you the option of repeating a portion of a movement lesson considering various speeds, such as moving more slowly. Very often we will encourage our clientele to move more slowly than what is typical, which can be challenging and elucidating for many.

Why is it important to slow down?

When we are rushing, it is much more difficult to be embodied in our experience. We are less likely to notice signs of strain on our body tissues, and far more likely to revert back to habitual and stressful movement patterns without even being aware of what we are doing. By moving too quickly, we may miss the opportunity to improve the quality of those moves.

Think about a time you were at a grocery store and you may have been rushing around, trying to get in and out as quickly as possible. Did you forget something? Many of us have been in this situation, and may have even forgotten the very item that caused us to go to the store in the first place! Rather than saving time by rushing, we may have had to make a second trip back to the store to make up for the mistake. The irony of rushing is that it will ultimately slow you down. 

When it comes to engaging in movement, slowing down is extremely important. As part of your therapy at the Wellness Station, we begin to learn new movement patterns. Our job is to help you and your brain identify movement patterns that are less efficient, and develop new ones that are less stressful and more nourishing for your tissues. The purpose is not to practice what you already know, but to build more options in the way you move your body and engage with the outside world.

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Mindfulness Movement Exercise

Take a moment to stand and walk around a little bit. As you do, choose one hand to make a light fist and continue to walk with that hand held in that fashion for 30 seconds to 1 minute, and then release that hand as much as possible. Which hand now feels more relaxed and free and easy? Is it possible that habitually you hold some extra tension in your hands and the contrast between purposeful tension and releasing informs your brain to release more fully? Many of us hold excessive tension in our bodies as we go about our days without being aware. By slowing down and paying attention during our daily movements, we can begin to let go of some unnecessary tension and begin to move with greater ease.

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How can you learn something new unless you truly slow down? Consider learning a new language. If your French teacher spoke a mile a minute, would you have any clue what they were saying? It takes time and attention in order for our neurons to make new connections. Ever heard the phrase “Neurons that fire together wire together”? When we are engaging in new movement patterns, this is exactly what is happening. Neurons in your brain are beginning to “speak” to each other in order to create connections that can be utilized in the future. If the “speaking” is done too quickly, meaningful connections cannot be created or sustained, and learning does not occur. 

Slowing down also will affect our tendency to be kind and gentle to our bodies. If we are rushing, we will be more likely to force our body into a new movement pattern, rather than allowing our brain to lay down and incorporate new connections. Are you willing to be gentle and easy, or is your predisposition to develop frustration or put in excessive effort when your body doesn’t immediately respond? These factors affect the relationship we have with the tissues of our body, and can either perpetuate our patterns of stress and strain, or begin to foster a positive and deeply communicative and compassionate relationship between mind and body.

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Mindfulness Movement Exercise

Take a few minutes to practice doing something much more slowly than you are used to. Consider engaging in mindful walking, perhaps just around the house or on a quiet trail. Walk very slowly, paying deep attention to the way your feet make contact with the ground, your sense of balance, the changing sensations in your body, and anything else that your mind is drawn to. How does this impact your experience of walking? what kind of connections might your brain be making?

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Written by Jacob Tyson, DPT - Physical Therapist, Yoga Instructor and The Wellness Station Team

Paying Attention to Hypertension

If you are an adult living in the US, there is a good chance that you have hypertension, also known as high blood pressure. In fact, almost half of adults in the US have hypertension! Over time, this condition can contribute to heart disease and stroke. Most individuals in this group are actually unable to lower their blood pressure to the recommended values, even with treatment. While genetics play a role, lifestyle factors are a major contributor to blood pressure issues, which may include diet, physical activity, and stress management. In addition, many medications given to individuals with hypertension can actually raise blood pressure! It is important to check in with your doctor or pharmacist regarding how your medications may be affecting your hypertension. 

When we are feeling stressed, agitated, overly aroused, and anxious, we are experiencing an overly activated sympathetic nervous system, known colloquially as “fight or flight”. When the sympathetic division of our nervous system is overly active, stress hormones are released, our blood vessels are constricted, raising our blood pressure. When this happens chronically, our cardiovascular system is strained, weakening our heart and blood vessels. Combine this with less than ideal lifestyle choices and medications that can increase blood pressure, our risk of developing cardiovascular issues greatly increases. 

Management of hypertension is something that may be addressed throughout your care at the Wellness Station. In addition to encouraging healthy practices such as regular physical activity and a diet that is supportive to cardiovascular health, our mindful movement lessons can also impact blood pressure. Our clients are encouraged to participate in therapy in a “parasympathetic” state, also known as rest and digest, contrary to the fight or flight state mentioned previously. We ensure that before participating in movement, the client is in a calm, grounded state. We may engage in meditation, breathing practices or hands-on therapy to help calm the nervous system prior to movement. Mindful, gentle movement and therapeutic touch are excellent ways to ease tension in the body, fostering a state of peaceful relaxation. This allows the blood pressure to lower, taking strain off the cardiovascular system as well as the joints.

Have a question about your blood pressure? Have Jacob take your blood pressure, perhaps before and after your session to see if any change has occurred.

Written by Jacob Tyson, DPT - Physical Therapist, Yoga Instructor and The Wellness Station Team

Finding Peace & Balance

Last month, we discussed how “overdoing it” is done far too often at the expense of our mental and physical health.

How can we counteract the tendency to overdo in order to find more peace and balance in our lives?

Can we do this while still getting done what we need to do each day, as well as working towards our greater goals? 

Besides completely changing the values of our culture, we can make micro adjustments in our daily lives. One option is re-prioritizing. How can we fill up our kettle so we start each day at 100%? Think about the sources in your life that are draining your kettle, and the sources that are replenishing you. Are there certain people or activities that may be draining your energy, and is there a way to spend less of your time and your energy in these situations? How about activities or people that recharge you? Laughing with loved ones, taking a warm bubble bath, going for a walk in nature, delicious healthy foods…

On a neurological level, activities that are taxing and draining will be fueled by the sympathetic nervous system (e.g. fight or flight), in which our heart rate increases, stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline flood our system, and physical and cognitive resources are expended. On the other hand, restorative activities allow the parasympathetic nervous system to take over, which slows the heart rate through chemicals such as acetylcholine, promotes feelings of well-being, and replenishes our resources. We must find a balance between both of these states of our nervous system in order to achieve our goals without burning out. Think about what you might re-prioritize in your life that may help shift the balance towards parasympathetic activation.

Another option other than re-organizing your daily activities is to consider the overall intensity that you put into each activity. Is there a way to embody a sense of calm and ease while you are doing something that you normally consider stressful and draining? We have it drilled into our heads that we should give 110% to everything, which from an energetic balance standpoint is actually impossible! How can we be more easy in our bodies and minds so we don’t drain our physical and cognitive resources as quickly?

Think about an activity that is taxing, either physically, mentally, or both. How about doing chores, such as washing dishes? Are you rushing, gripping objects too hard, and holding extra tension in your body such as hiking your shoulders up to your ears? See if you are able to wash dishes with less effort, more ease, and overall less intensity. You might find it to be a more enjoyable experience.

Next time that you notice you are feeling anxious, rushed, or uncomfortable, think about “resetting” by taking three long, slow breaths, trying to focus entirely on these breaths and nothing else. Then continue on, perhaps noticing that a subtle shift has occurred in your experience. If we are able to drain less tea from our kettle with everything we do, we will never approach a low kettle. The more we can slow down and be more mindful about what we are doing, the more we will be able to do over the long term. This will allow us to perform better in our daily lives and be more present for our loved ones.

Written by Jacob Tyson, DPT - Physical Therapist, Yoga Instructor and The Wellness Station Team

What's the Deal with Stretching?

We have all heard a lot about stretching. Some people swear by it as a practice that will prevent injury, restore flexibility and range of motion, and improve performance. Others consider it to be a superfluous practice that lacks therapeutic benefits and could actually lead to harm. The truth likely lies somewhere in between. To determine whether stretching would be a beneficial practice in one's life, it is necessary to clarify a few important points.

First of all, what even is stretching?

Stretching is an umbrella term that can be divided into several categories.

Passive stretching:
The use of an external force, such as the weight of one’s own body, an object, or a force from another person to deliberately lengthen a muscle. This type of stretching is targeted at a very specific muscle, such as the hamstring, and the stretch may be held for any length of time, such as 30 seconds.

Active stretching:
The use of the strength of one’s own opposing muscle groups to lengthen a muscle and hold for a set duration. This looks similar to a passive stretch but requires more muscular work. Active stretches are common in yoga, and may include postures such as a lunge, an active pigeon pose, or a downward dog.

Dynamic stretching:
A form of active stretching in which one uses their own strength to move muscles through a range of motion. Dynamic stretching involves taking an active stretch as a foundation and adding movement rather than statically holding a posture. This is a good practice for warming up the full body prior to athletic activity, and may include movements such as arm circles, bringing knees to the chest, lunge variations, trunk rotation, etc.

PNF stretching:
PNF stands for proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. PNF stretching involves alternating cycles of contracting and releasing specific muscle groups with varying levels of force throughout the range of motion of a particular joint.  This form of stretching is often utilized in physical therapy, but it can be done alone as well. For example, if the intention is to stretch one’s chest muscles by placing the right hand on a doorway and then turning the body to the left, this stretch can incorporate PNF techniques by alternating between gently pressing the hand into the doorway, and then relaxing. Or, the hand can be lifted away from the doorway to engage the antagonist muscles (mid-back, scapular, and posterior deltoid muscles). These techniques can be combined with the breath to allow the nervous system to reset levels of neuromuscular tone, as well as build awareness of how to engage various muscle groups.

In addition to what type of stretching one is performing, the benefits or detriments of the stretching routine also depend on various other factors. This includes the intention of the stretcher, the efficiency of movement, the state of the nervous system, injuries and pathologies present, and the comprehensiveness of the stretching program (e.g. only stretching one muscle group while neglecting all other muscles is not a well-balanced practice). Clearly, stretching is not good or bad, harmful or helpful. It depends on all of the above factors and more.

The type of stretching that tends to be the least beneficial and the most detrimental is passive stretching. This type of stretching involves statically pulling on an isolated muscle group with the hopes of becoming more flexible. The benefits of this practice depend on the intention as well as the technique. If one's goal is to yank and pull on their muscle until it gets longer, good luck! Our nervous system has a mechanism that will actually tighten muscles more if it senses overstretching.

On the other hand, those of us who are already hyperflexible or may have a connective tissue disorder such as Ehler's Danlos syndrome, overstretching can actually damage the muscle and joint over time, as the tissues may stretch past the point of no return and become unable to support the body in a functional way. Passive stretching is not necessarily a bad thing- if performed gently with careful attention to sensation and the breath, this practice can be helpful for calming the nervous system, deepening mind-body connection, and improving flexibility over time. However, there are more effective ways to achieve these goals.

The other three types of stretching (active, dynamic, PNF) are more useful tools for improving functional movement. If one’s stretching practice is primarily passive, try to incorporate active, dynamic, and PNF techniques into the routine. These practices improve injury resistance by priming us for movement, and deepen our kinesthetic awareness by teaching us more about our unique neuromuscular patterns of tension and weakness.

Check out this article for more information about PNF stretching and how to begin incorporating this technique

To learn how to apply these techniques through a holistic lens to relieve pain or discomfort in any area of the body, consult your Wellness Station physical therapist.

Written by Jacob Tyson, DPT - Physical Therapist, Yoga Instructor and The Wellness Station Team

Body Scans Can Help You!

Body scans are a very helpful tool that apply mindfulness meditation to the physical sensations of the body. This is an excellent practice for improving mind-body connection, calming the nervous system, and training our mind's ability to bring attention to pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral sensations without judgment.

Improving mind-body connection:

Body scans can improve mind-body connection (aka kinesthetic awareness) simply by bringing attention to various body parts. When focusing attention to an area, we are strengthening neurological connections that regulate the bidirectional flow of information between the brain and the body part. We can also start to recognize patterns of where we hold tension in our body, where we have more difficulty relating to, and where we can more easily focus attention. This can translate to becoming more aware of certain body areas, which can help us improve our self-image and efficiency of movement. As our body is our home for the entirety of our lives, it is useful to get to know your anatomy from the inside out!

Calming the nervous system:

Body scans are a meditative practice that train us to bring our attention to the present moment. Rather than allowing our minds to wander with worries of the future and regrets of the past, we are practicing the ability to focus attention on sensations of the present moment. This can help shift us into a more parasympathetic state of the nervous system, which allows our bodies and minds and relax and restore. This will help to relieve stress and anxiety, as well as improve our health, well-being, and relations to ourselves and to others.

Exploring various sensations:

The intention of a body scan is to bring attention to all kinds of sensations in the body, including those from the skin, muscles, joints, and even our organ systems. These sensations may be pleasant, unpleasant, or somewhere in between. The point is not to assign judgment to an unpleasant feeling, but rather notice the sensation for what it is (e.g. pressure, tightness, ache, tingling) and to recognize what happens when we stay with it without trying to change anything. This can improve our ability to bring attention to real-time sensations through a lens of separation and objectivity, rather than letting emotions such as fear run wild when pain arises during our daily activities.

Here is an example of how to perform a "five lines" body scan:

1. Rest comfortably on the floor or bed in a position. Consider lying flat on your back with your legs extended and arms resting by your sides, or use any props to get more comfortable.

2. Begin to settle in, slow down your breath, and close your eyes.

3. The body scan will involve the five "lines" of your body: each of the four limbs, as well as the spine from the pelvis to the head.

4. Right leg: bring attention to the right side of the pelvis, sensing what part is touching the ground. Sense this space from side to side, back to front, noticing any sensations (e.g. buzzing, tingling, tickling, pressure, temperature, clothes against the skin, skin against the ground, etc). If no sensations are present, notice that too. Then let your attention slowly travel down to the hip, down the thigh, to the knee, calf, ankle, heel, arch of the foot, ball of the foot, and toes. You can then let your attention travel back up to where it came from towards the right side of the pelvis. Take as much time as you need, noticing if it is more difficult to move your attention quickly or slowly.

5. Repeat this process for the left leg. Notice differences between the two legs.

6. Right arm: bring attention to right shoulder blade in the back, collarbone in the front. Let attention travel towards the right shoulder, then upper arm, elbow, forearm, wrist, hand, all the way to the fingertips. Then travel back up in reverse.

7. Repeat this process for the left arm. Notice differences between the two arms.

8. Spine: bring attention to center of pelvis, the sacrum bone against the ground. Slowly travel the attention to the low back, feeling your abdomen in three dimensions. Notice that as you breath, the size of this area changes. Feel what part of your spine is connected to the ground, and what is not. Then slowly travel towards the mid back, rib cage, upper back, base of the neck, neck, head, face, and finally the crown of your head.

9. Rest completely, noticing what the attention is drawn to now. 
 

At The Wellness Station, we ensure that body scans are a regular part of our client's mindfulness practices. We may begin or end sessions with a guided scan, as well as create or recommend a recording for home use.

Written by Jacob Tyson, DPT - Physical Therapist, Yoga Instructor

and The Wellness Station Team