Alignment Flows

Making Cancer Less of a Pain

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:34:00 +0000

When one of my dear friends, Maxine*, was diagnosed with cancer, I knew she was in for the fight of her life. What I didn’t know was how much physical pain her illness would cause her wonderful husband, Doug*. Specifically, he ended up with back pain.

This particular couple are still madly in love after more than two decades of marriage. So, you won’t be surprised to read that, of course, he’ll be right by her side, through it all.

Not long after her diagnosis, Maxine began marathon chemotherapy treatments that lasted all day, and a due to complications from her condition, the couple soon did some extended stints in the hospital together.

All that sitting in those plastic hospital chairs really began to take a toll on Doug’s back.

One of the things I have noticed about people going through a major illness is they worry less about themselves and more about the pain their illness is causing the people they love.

As a Restorative Exercise Specialist™, I couldn’t cure Maxine’s cancer or make the pain of it any easier to endure. But, I could do something to resolve Doug’s back pain, so I did.

As a result, Doug feels better and Maxine can focus more on getting well and less on worrying about Doug.

Want to know how I did it? Read on...

If you have met me in person, you probably know that I’m not a big fan of sitting. But, if you must sit, you can make the simple alignment adjustment below and bring your poor aching back loads of relief.

This is the same alignment cue I gave Doug and it resolved his back pain.

The cue? Sit with a neutral pelvis.

In other words, start sitting on your “sit or sitz bones” (ischial tuberosities), instead of tucking your pelvis and sitting on your sacrum. Need a visual?

Watch this alignment cue in action in this video by The Restorative Exercise Institute.

Still have questions? Read more about neutral pelvis from my teacher, Katy Bowman.

Still need help? Schedule an alignment session with me and I’ll help you get it right.

I hope you’ll give this cue a try and share it with any of your loved ones who may be experiencing back pain as a result of sitting at the office, sitting in the car, sitting to nurse a baby, or even sitting while holding the hand of someone they love while they fight to recover from an illness.

Go hug someone you love, today!

With Love,

Danielle

P.S. Maxine and Doug are still fighting! Her treatments have been going well and I hope you will join me in wishing them many more happy years together.

*Names have been changed

Case of the Missing Arch

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:11:00 +0000

This week I am a guest blogger on the popular Katy Says! Read my personal story of triumph over fallen arches here. If you have flat feet, knee pain, or struggle with balance, this post is for you!

If you benefited from this post, and are ready to schedule a personal alignment evaluation or Restorative Exercise™ session, email me directly by clicking here.

Holiday Travel Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 16:02:00 +0000

I’m about to spend 11 hours traveling by car to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with my family, and thought some of you might be about to do the same. Whether you will be traveling by car, plane, or train, all that sitting takes a toll on the alignment and flow of the body.

Here are some tips to help keep you from spending your holiday dealing with the aches and pains of travel, rather than spending time with those you love.

Swallow a tablespoon of olive oil before you head out and another when you reach your destination. This is a tip I received from an ayurvedic practitioner years ago, and it really helps to keep your digestive processes flowing smoothly.
Take a walk before you go. Oftentimes we have the intention of walking or exercising when we arrive, but in my experience, I am usually so fatigued from the long trip I don’t have much energy for anything but some light chitchat and stretching before heading off to bed.
If you are traveling by plane, arrive early and bring a backpack instead of a rolling suitcase or duffel bag as your carry on. When I travel by plane, I make several laps around the airport terminals while waiting to board. This ensures I have lots of circulation happening throughout my body before I have to sit for the duration of my flight. Why sit while you wait for your plane to arrive when you will be sitting for hours on it?
While you are in transit, change position often. If you find yourself with too little personal space to move your arms and legs about, try moving and stretching your neck, fingers, and toes. You can even stretch the muscles that control your eyes by looking as far above, below, and beside you as you can without moving your head.
Stay hydrated with water. You will experience less physical and mental fatigue if you have kept the tissues of your body well hydrated on your journey.
When you arrive at your destination, stretch. Below is a great stretch for the muscles of the mid back and shoulder girdle. This stretch will help reduce that look and feeling of “hunchback.”

Hold for 1 minute and repeat 2-3 times for maximum relief.

I am so very thankful to each of my readers, fans, and clients. You guys keep me inspired, learning, and growing. It is an honor to help you care for your precious body, mind and spirit. Have a fun filled and safe Holiday Season.

If you benefited from these tips, and would like to connect with me directly about a personal alignment evaluation, email by clicking here.

How active are you, really?

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 23:34:00 +0000

Or rather, how inactive are you? Let’s find out!

All scores should be in minutes and reflect your activity level on a normal day. Not a day when you were running around trying to get all your last minute holiday shopping done, or that one time you went on a day hike.

Commute time to and from work/school: _______

Commute time for kids to after school activities: _______

Sitting at work: _______

Eating breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks: _______

Watching TV/movies (likely 30-60 minutes per show):_______

Using the Internet or computer (not at work): _______

Other inactive time (reading, sewing, knitting, toilet time, talking on the phone, meditating etc.): _______

What do all of the above activities have in common? Sitting.

Sitting, like smoking, shaves years off the quantity of your life while contributing little to the quality of your life.

Total minutes of physical inactivity (add all numbers above): ________

Not too bad, right?

Now add 480 minutes (8 hours) to reflect the amount of time you spend asleep in bed. Feel free to adjust this number up or down, depending on your personal sleep habits (I spend more like 9 to 9.5 hours in bed).

(Total minutes sitting) + (480 +/- any adjustments) = ________

Subtract the above number from 1440 (the total minutes per day):

1440 – _______ = ______

This last number is the number of minutes your body is active/mobile on an average day, or said a different way, how many minutes per day that you spend NOT sitting or lying around.

I am mobile _________ minutes on an average day.

Divide this number by 1440, and multiply by 100 and you’ll find the percentage of movement you’re getting compared to what is possible in a 24-hour period.

I am mobile ____ % of the day.

We humans need an abundance of vitamin M (Movement) to maintain the health of our body, mind, and spirit. How much vitamin M are you really getting?

Some of the evils of inactivity…

obesity

cardiovascular disease

back, neck, and hip pain

reduced circulation to the legs

depression

Going to the gym 3 or 4 times a week is not enough to make up for an inactive lifestyle. Don’t believe me? Check out this article in the NY Times.

If you just set people in motion they'll heal themselves.

-Gabrielle Roth

Now, considering your above scores, is your perception of yourself as an “active” person in alignment with the reality of the percentage of time you actually spend sitting and lying around? Can you think of some ways to add more movement to your day? How about just 3% more time spent active today?

Are you still sitting?

Wild Success!

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 23:24:00 +0000

Earlier this year someone said to me, “I wish you wild success!” Wow, I thought! I love that idea! It got me thinking, what would it mean for me to be “wildly” successful? What would it look like? What would it feel like? Well, I was about to find out!

It has come to pass, that at age 33, I have had one of THE BEST and most success filled year of my life (so far)! Most days, I feel like I have succeeded on so many levels, I can scarcely believe this is my life!

This year I gained the tools to help people I care about get out of or avoid pain all together (Thank you Katy Bowman!), I have created profound changes in my own body, mind, and heart, I have learned how to listen for what people truly value in me, I have made new friends (as an adult, this had become super difficult for me!), I have embarked on new endeavors, and also given myself permission to quit working at something when I no longer felt the inspiration to do it (another toughie for this reformed “Type A”), I overcame my fear of acupuncture (Thank you Dr. Christine Maggs!), I have figured out how much of my energy I can offer to the world, and how much I need to hold back for myself so I can be at my best for the people who trust me to help them succeed in their wellness goals, I have strengthened my marriage, spent more time with family, offered kind words to strangers, and of course, made more money. I have never been more in alignment with myself, and it feels great!

This is just a small sample of what I have succeeded at this year, and I truly feel “wildly successful” already…but, you know what? I am not nearly done! There are still two months left in this year, and I’m already pondering how I am going to keep this success train barreling towards even greater success in 2013.

I’m curious…what success have you experienced this year, dear reader? If you are not feeling successful, why not? How can I help you succeed at aligning with what matters to you?

Look for more great things coming soon! Stay in touch by signing up for my newsletter here.

Feet too Big or Shoes too Small?

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 17:28:00 +0000

Recently I had a conversation with my longtime client and friend, Amber, about feet. We have been doing Yoga together for about five years, but just started Restorative Exercise™ together in April. It went something like this…

Amber: “Hey Danielle, can Restorative Exercise make my feet bigger?”

Me: “Hmmm? Why do you ask?”

Amber: “Well, I have been wearing my barefoot style open toe sandals all summer, and practicing Restorative Exercise with you since last spring…now my feet seem to be too big to fit into the shoes I was wearing last fall...and I am having the same problem with new shoes I order in my regular size. I have had to return several pairs. What is up with that?”

This conversation was very exciting for several reasons...

Change can happen rapidly!
It’s clear that the too small shoes Amber wore in the past were having a detrimental effect on the health of the tissues in her feet, and that our work together has made significant progress in restoring healthy function to those tissues (and beyond).
She recognizes that cramming her feet back into those old ill-fitting shoes is not going to be acceptable. Changing our thoughts can be the most significant barrier to improving our health. Amber has already made the jump to understanding how her footwear choices impact her overall wellness.
As a mom, Amber has the potential to not only influence the health of her own body, but the bodies of her young children…and if he is lucky, her husband, too!
Amber has a firm grasp of what to look for when choosing footwear in the future, and how her choices will affect her entire body. When she is unsure, she has me as her personal Restorative Exercise Specialist to guide her.
We both know she will never waste another dollar on shoes that detract from her living a long and healthy life. We both plan to be walking on our own two feet well past our 100^th birthdays.
The more consumers demanding shoes that are less detrimental to the health of the foot (and the whole body) the more manufacturers will produce these types of shoes, giving us all a greater variety of choices.

I can't wait to see what other changes are ahead for Amber! If you want to learn more about me or schedule a session check out my website or email me at Danielle@OmUnlimited.com.

Feet I’d like to Meet

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:13:00 +0000

I gave a clinic earlier this month at a local Running Store. It was a lot of fun, and I offered some useful tips on how to help your feet transition to a minimalist style shoe, pain-free. It can be done!

The thing is, runners are not the only people who could benefit from making this transition. Our feet were designed to be flexible, mobile, and agile. I see people walking around with their feet in what amounts to a cast, every day. I also regularly hear about people who tried out a minimalist style shoe, such as Vibram 5 fingers, and ended up with an injury. If you had a cast on one of your body parts for years, would you expect to take it off and have that body part perform the same as it would have, had you not worn that cast? I don’t think so!

The problem, my friends, is not with the shoe! It is with the body and the mind of the person who used those feet inappropriately. If you have been wearing positive heel and athletic shoes your whole life, there is work to be done to rehabilitate the muscles in your feet...before you do something like go for a long walk, hike, or even a run in a pair of minimalist shoes.

It doesn’t have to take a lot of time, but it will take focus on your part. If you have had a painful experience with minimalist shoes, or want to transition, but are afraid because of the horror stories you have heard contact me. I’d love to schedule a session for you. I can teach you the skills you need to make the minimalist or barefoot transition, pain-free.

The first step is simply to work up to being able to go barefoot comfortably in your house for a whole day. Can you? Will you? Let me know how you did. More tips next time!

Take the Bounce!

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 15:59:00 +0000

Restorative Exercise™ and alignment with the self are my passions!

My intention is to use this blog to tell you more about Restorative Exercise, as well as show you how alignment can help you feel and live well. Below I include a simple introduction, but browse around to find an ever expanding resource for feeling great.

Restorative Exercise will restore the alignment between your human machine and your spirit. I know this because it was the missing piece for me. I have practiced and taught yoga for years, but I still had questions and I still had pain. RE has answered my questions about why things still hurt and continued to degenerate.

I now fully appreciate the complimentary role the body, mind, and spirit play in a satisfying life experience and I feel great everyday! These days, I literally bounce out of bed each morning.

You can schedule a private Restorative Exercise session with me most weekdays between 9 am and 4 pm. I can help you be your best by showing you how to restore your alignment through both movement and stillness. Find me on Facebook or on my website at www.OmUnlimited.com.

To your health!

Danielle :-)

Boost your Mood with Movement

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 30 May 2012 16:09:00 +0000

It’s possible that if you are feeling out of sorts, it could be as a result of the way you have been carrying your body today. This also means that the way you carry your body could also be a result of your mood or emotional state.

Did you know that your body is telling your secrets to those who observe you and know what to look for? If you want to learn more about aligning your body or mind with what you want to achieve or experience in life I give sessions in the Gainesville area that will help you gather those lost bits of yourself you have been looking for. Check out my website.

If you need a pick me up today, try this oldie but goodie! Remember when you were a kid and you would take your arms out your shirt or coat sleeves and let them flap in the breeze or spin around so they would fan out around you? Stand up, and imagine your arms are like empty shirtsleeves. Start to sway so that your arms swing around and hit you with a thunk on your back and belly, moving slowly and then faster.

It feels great, and if nothing else, at least you can get a good laugh at yourself for trying something that looks so silly.

Sending you a day filled with wonder!

The Best Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:10:00 +0000

What do you consider to be the "best stuff" in life? Here is a link to a blog written on just that subject by fellow Restorative Exercise Specialist, Nan Ayers. Enjoy!

Of Segments and Shoes

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:03:00 +0000

Making the transition from positive heel shoes to minimalist footwear is an almost effortless way to bring your body back into alignment. A positive heel (meaning the heel portion of your shoe is higher than the toe portion) makes a significant contribution to misalignment of the body’s segments.

When your heels are lifted, the rest of your body must compensate by shifting out of it’s natural orientation to maintain a vertical position. So, wearing a heeled shoe not only created stress in the foot and leg, but also throughout the body.

I will be running a clinic at The Running Store in Gainesville on June 6^th at 7:00 to show you what you can do to ease your transition to minimalist footwear with emphasis on the feet, knees, and hips. Please come out and say hello!

Consider how the alignment of the body’s segments (and how you may be displacing them with your footwear choices) influences your alignment with the whole of you. Do you ever notice how your body position can change your mood and emotional state?

Line it up

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:17:00 +0000

This week I have been hosting Walk this Way Walking Works Week and teaching people the skills needed to walk without causing undue wear on their joints.

The first principle I taught was lining up the feet for walking or standing. When our feet are pointed straight ahead they create leverage for walking, while turned out feet create extra work and wear on the body’s tissues.

This got me thinking about the symbolic relationship between the thoughts that run unchecked through our minds and misaligned feet.

Our thoughts can either provide us leverage in pursuit of our goals or create more work and wear down our spirit. So too can our feet propel us forward or drag us down.

Making a change to our walking habits is not that different from making a change in our thought patterns. We can choose to point our feet straight ahead, but after a while, they will wander back into their old ways. However, as soon as we become conscious of this, we can again choose to move them into alignment. At some point, our habit will become to keep our feet pointed straight ahead.

With our thoughts, it’s the same. We can make a choice to reprogram our thoughts to something more in alignment with what supports our well-being, and in time, it will become a habit.

Consider how much focus you bring to the way you use your body and your mind. How might this be propelling you forward or holding you back?

I would love to read your thoughts, stories, and connections.

On Alignment

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:06:00 +0000

I have been giving a lot of thought lately to the level of influence I have over how my body moves. The body is like a vehicle in that there are parts that we have control over and parts that will run on their own. Like a car, a boat, or a spaceship, the human body does best when used regularly and in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

As I have been evaluating my ability to access the programs in my mind that run the body parts I am supposed to be responsible for moving, it has become apparent that I have let some parts gather dust or used them in a way that is wearing them down more quickly than my body can self-repair. It gets one thinking, if I am unable to access the part of my brain that moves my pinky toe separate from the rest of my toes, how can I expect to be able to use my mind to create change in the wider world? If I am able to ignore the way I am misusing my own body, how can I expect to inspire others to treat themselves well?

Bringing my physical body towards alignment with its intended use is a key step on the path to accessing my unique potential. The body is an easy place to begin to focus your intention for alignment because its always with you.

This blog post by Jillian Eve is another conversation on what it means to be in alignment. Jillian is quite the humorist, and I highly recommend you search for her post on walking. Be sure not to drink anything while you are reading it or it might come out your nose as you laugh!

What are your thoughts on aligning the body?

When we try to pick out anything by itself we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.

— John Muir

Pressure

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:50:00 +0000

Here is a fabulous post (with pictures) on pelvic health by my fellow RES, Susan McLaughlin. Susan is a Physical Therapist who integrates the principles of Restorative Exercise into her PT practice. Her patients are so lucky to have her!

You see, your body came with all the necessary programs to operate optimally. It’s the system overrides we have interjected along the way that have allowed things to become 'out of order'. After you read Susan’s post, consider how releasing the pressure in you abdomen might serve as a catalyst for reducing the pressure you place on yourself in general.

Can you begin to understand the interconnectedness of the mind and the body through this channel? Can you feel how coming into alignment in one area naturally flows into coming into alignment in another?

The Righting Reflex

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:17:00 +0000

Humans have a reflex, called the righting reflex, which is part of the body’s vestibular system and manages the position of the head to ensure our eyes remain level with the horizon. I would like to propose that humans also have another variety of righting reflex, in our gut, the role of which is to signal what supports our alignment with our whole-being.

Our bodies have layers of systems in place to maintain a state of flow that promotes health in the body’s tissues. When we allow these reflex driven systems to govern our positions and movements, we are able to maintain a state of physical wellness with minimal effort.

What if we also have equivalent systems in place to maintain the health of the mind and spirit? What if that “gut feeling” we so often notice is feedback as to how closely we are aligned with maintaining a state of flow within our whole-being? What if our “gut feeling” can guide us back towards a state of flow, and the effortless alignment of our body, mind, and spirit? How might we respond differently to the thoughts, choices, and actions before us if we allowed our gut to serve as a compass that always guides us toward wholeness? Just as the body has default settings that can be overridden, so too do the mind and spirit.

Today, allow yourself to be righted by your "gut feelings" and realign with the flow that perpetuates a joyful life.

From Intention to Alignment

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:36:00 +0000

I was talking to a new friend recently about how our choices enable or disable us from expressing our unique gifts and full potential into the world. Often have well defined intentions, but our choices and our actions do not progress us towards alignment with those intentions. This conversation got me thinking about the relationship between intention and whole-body alignment.

From a whole-body alignment perspective, misalignment is often revealed to us as physical pain. When we experience pain in the body, we often ignore it, cover it up, develop compensations, or seek ways to dull the pain that do not require us to make appropriate changes to the way we are operating our body, even though we have an intention of wellness. Sometimes we have been out of alignment for so long we no longer recall the path we have traveled to arrive at our current juncture, or what embodying wellness ever felt like. The same can be said for emotional or spiritual misalignment. Many of us resist making changes that support feelings of happiness or connectedness, even though we have an intention to make a positive difference in the world. Fortunately, it is not necessary to retrace the path back to where things became misaligned. At any moment, we can simply assess where we are in relationship to our intention and take steps towards alignment.

Consider that the solution to your misalignment, physical or emotional, may not be to do something completely alien to you (like giving hugs to strangers or standing on your head), but to stop doing something that has become too familiar, (like spending your evenings alone or sitting all the time). Somewhere along the way, you chose a behavior that was a healthy short-term solution (like sitting down when you were fatigued from playing), but over time, that habit has become detrimental to your long-term alignment with your intentions and wellbeing. We have the freedom to experience and express a broad range of body positions and emotions. Why limit ourselves to the same old habits?

Ask yourself if the ways in which you are using your body, the thoughts you are thinking, the words you are expressing, and the ways in which you are interacting (or not interacting) with others are in alignment with your intentions. If they are not, how can you find your way back towards alignment?

Alignerds Abound

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:44:00 +0000

Katy Boman is to the original alignment nerd, affectionately known as an "alignerd". I freely admit to being a nerd when it comes to alignment. How does it work? Why does it work? These days such questions keep me up and contemplating alignment deep into the night and even in my dreams! Trust me, when you start looking around, life and living is ALL about alignment. More and more blogs are popping up on the subject of alignment all the time. Check out this awesome blog by another alignerd, and fellow Restorative Exercise Specialist, The Alignment Monkey. Is there something you could do today to align with people who share your interests?

The body as teacher

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:54:00 +0000

Lately I have been feeling a bit off center and fatigued in the afternoons. I could attribute this to many things, but what I noticed most is that my shoulders feel heavy with an invisible burden. Today I decided that now was the time to turn my attention to releasing that feeling! I know that a few minutes of attention to my body will allow for greater flow, not only in my shoulders, but also to my brain...but I had just not been taking action. Until now! After just a few minutes of rhomboid push-ups, head hang, and the thoracic stretch I felt so much lighter and more alert! I sat for a moment and closed my eyes…tuning in to the sensation of renewed flow in my body. The change was immediate and amazing. I felt so full of appreciation for these simple tools, and the opportunity to put them into use toward reconnecting with my whole being. I feel so grateful to my body for being such a wonderful teacher. By taking a break from what my mind wanted me to do, and making time to take care of my body, I rediscovered (for the millionth time) the connection between the mind and body, and felt the deep satisfaction of the spirit that comes from the alignment of the two. Have a great weekend!

My first post!

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:20:00 +0000

I have been a longtime student of inner alignment and recently completed a course on whole body alignment with Katy Bowman. What an amazing experience! As I was navigating the whole-body alignment course, my mind was zipping around making connections between aligning the body, the mind, and the spirit. This blog will be about my experience with these connections and my heartfelt contribution to the understanding of the importance of being in alignment with the whole of oneself.