By Sarah Terrion, canfitpro certified Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Leader, Yoga Teacher Training
Education is expedientially important to our future especially as our world and way of life shifts. Recently, along with several of our instructors and personal trainers, I took a great online workshop by Lesley Bender, (the creator of the Bender Ball!) called “Ageless Glutes For a Functional Body”. Lesley spoke about the importance of stretching as a counter effect to all the sitting we do these days. Thanks to Blanche
Unfortunately, sitting has become the new disease as more and more people work from home these days, not to mention the popularity of gaming. Sitting compresses the spine which can be problematic for the vertebrae resulting in neck and back pain. Coupled with the forward flexion created by spending time on devices and leaning into our computer screens, it’s no wonder we have tight shoulders, hips and backs.
Over the past 30 years, the fitness industry has been doing a lot of things wrong. We’ve been squeezing, tightening and tucking our pelvis under inhibiting our glutes from movement. Our body was designed to move authentically. Our glutes are meant to move us, however, when we are sitting more, they tighten up and cannot function the way they are designed.
Check out this little video and see how something as simple and accessible as a tennis ball can help relieve tightness in these areas.
Dysfunctional glutes not only cause tight hips, it can lead to piriformis syndrome, a condition in which the piriformis muscle, located in the buttock region, spasms and causes buttock pain. The piriformis muscle also can irritate the nearby sciatic nerve and cause pain, numbness and tingling along the back of the leg and into the foot.
If any of the above sounds familiar, you can probably relate to noticing decreased mobility, making everyday tasks more of a chore. In addition, when we are squeezing our glutes and doing a pelvic tilt, we end up walking incorrectly as well as breathing improperly. So literally let’s let go of the “pelvic tilt” along with all the tucking and squeezing (and crunching) of the 80’s! Let’s stretch more, practice simple ways to release tight fascia (soft tissue) and focus on walking, sitting and moving like there’s a string attached to the crown of our head. This will allow us to breathe from the lower diaphragm and create space in the vertebrae. We’ll be able to walk more authentically, play activities that require rotation ie. golf, tennis, baseball, pickle ball etc and live with more mobility and less pain!