I want to share a personal story with you on how I changed my thinking about cellulite.

I am currently taking a certification course for Post-Partum Corrective Exercise Specialist.  Yes, I’m always learning and never wanting it to stop.  The instructor of the course shared some information about cellulite that I related to, and I want to share this information with any of the AlignMend Family that may be struggling with body imagine and cellulite. 

Before I do that, let me be honest with you.  I used to hate the cellulite on my body. It just was not fair.  I had cellulite and my sister did not.  Why did I have cellulite when many of many friends did not?  I remember first noticing it in high school and weighted 105 pounds.  For many years it became a point of negative focus for me.  It is hard enough to struggle with body images, but often I felt it was my close peers that were the most judgmental about it.  It seemed like they...

Hello,

Well I have been off the grid for awhile after the big move. I am excited to try to get some blogs going again regarding wellness, easy nutrition tips, and optimizing movement. 

As you may know I am the mother of one.  My son Rowyn is 12 years old ... going on 22!  We are only a couple months form 13 and it is really beginning to show and I am loving every second of it!!!

I opened my own business to allow me not only to treat the way I want but also to mother the way I want.  Having the freedom of my own schedule allows me to be more present for my family than I have been able to in the past.  

I wanted to share one of my tried and true easy mom tips from my busier days away from home.  Rowyn is what one might call a picky eater. Now, he has broadened his horizons as he is getting older, but green leafy veggies are still a struggle.

One thing I have done for years is homemade smoothies. 

I simply take chopped frozen spinach, frozen...

Spinning….man, this has really become quite popular since Covid.  Purchasing of spins bikes and home exercise equipment has skyrocketed since Covid. Undertandably so and I am always happy to know that people are taking an interest in their of health and wellness. 

I have many clients who love spinning. Clients that had spin bikes, bought spin bikes, have spin bikes on back order....it goes on and on.  Here is a little secret, I also love to use my spin bike I purchased a couple years ago.  It gives me a good sweat and burn in a short amount of time. I am not sure I have ever feel that I have gotten better at it and if you are a spin enthusiast you might know what I am talking about...but maybe that is just me...LOL

BUT, in PRI terms I am a Patho PEC (Posterior Exterior Chain). For those of you that have worked with me, or our Patho PEC's yourself, you understand that your system is very driven in the sagittal plane (sympathetic).  You bodies struggle...

Want some just some of the easy tips to help reduce or avoid low back pain. 

Here are some of the changes you can expect when you try this easy modifictions: e see the tips below to easy and instantly implement into your daily life

• Improve balance and movement with walking
• Better pressure management to decrease areas of compression
• Feel less pain when you wake in the morning
• Bend and lift without discomfort
• Feel more comfort when sitting for longer periods of time
• Decrease risk for serious injury
• Sleep better
• Improve exercise performance
• Improved ability to take a deep breath AND improved breathing with activity
• Potential for a lower respiratory rate and heart rate with exercise
• Calm throughout your overall system
• Improved movement variability in the ribcage, spine and pelvis 
• Better sleep
• Decrease stress

These tips come from years of education and experience helping active people improve their ability to move and also rehab from injury; allowing them to continue...

Do you know that good sleep is probably one of the single most important things to your overall health?  The average adult needs 7-8 hours restful sleep, teen 8-10, and school age children anywhere from 10-14 hours of sleep. The younger the person, the more restful sleep they need. 

Good sleep leads to many great things:

• Sharper Brain
• Heart Health
• Better mood balance
• Improved Athletic Performance
• Management of blood pressure
• Decreased risk for diabetes
• Balanced Metabolism
• Better Immune Response
• Improved Weight Management
• Reduced Stress
• Regeneration of proteins for muscle healing

Wow...that is a lot of amazing benefits from getting good sleep!  That being said, good sleep is often very hard to come by for many individuals (including myself).  Sleep is where we rebuild and reboot.  Our bodies need this time to recover from the environmental toxins we are exposed to daily, recover from stress, fatigue, and challenges of balancing busy but exciting...

Hello AlignMend Family, 

Neck and upper shoulder pain are very common and affect about 50-70% of people at some point in their lives. Neck pain can come from a car wreck or other trauma, but 85% of the time it has a mechanical cause often due activities we do throughout the day, such as workstations, sleeping, watching tv, looking at our phones, exercise performance and other general life activities. 

The job of your neck may seem relatively simple. But when you think about it, your neck is carrying your head all day and night.  Your head is heavier than you might think (about the weight of a bowling ball) and is balanced on top of your neck (imagine a bowling ball resting on top of a 6” stick). If it starts to lean or be pulled in any direction for a period of time, your neck works very hard and it takes a lot of work to hold your head up!

Below is some good tips for neck health: 

•  Breathe: Many of the muscles of your neck can be involved with...

Postural habits we get into often cause us to get “stuck” in certain patterns or positions. These postural habits / positions are often driving us onto a right side, lateralizing us right, or causing our body to only drive in the right lane.

I have many clients that like to sit crisscross applesauce (including me). This bilateral end range of motion is not always the best choice. This sitting position is a modified sitting position to replace the desired need to sit criss cross apple sauce.

But when you compare the first picture to the second picture do you notice a difference?

You might will that even though I am sitting in a position to unload the right side with my legs, that my trunk is still lateralized or positioned over to the right.

This is the path of least resistance and a common compensatory movement that our body’s will continue to find even when we attempt to break this habit of overloading or compressing the right...

Okay, so I wanted to share a true confession that made me giggle and think. While working out this morning, I was listening to “Hair Metal Radio”.  Yes, it is true. I grew up in the days of Hair Metal and I loved it.  Now, lets just say that maybe I was not the easiest kid to raise. That maybe unlike a lot of the individuals I follow on IG, I was not an super athlete or sports star. Maybe, I was a bit of a handful…making some not so smart decisions, challenging my parents, not where I was suppose to be all the time, and maybe, just maybe, was not the easiest child to raise.

The reason I even bring up this post is because of the picture and the song that was playing on the Hair Metal radio at the time.  I remember being a sophomore in high school when the “World Premier Video” of “18 and Life” by Skid Row was premiering on MTV.  Now I am aging myself again, but for those of you who don’t know, the World Premier...

Hello AlignMend Family and Furture Clients,

Understanding the the last year has not only affected everyone personally but also professionally.  I wanted to share a document from the Postural Restoration Institute on ergonomic work stations ideas and good work station habits. 

Please Click Below for this Downloadable Document and let me know if you have any questions on set up or need further guidance with movement management or overall wellness.

Here's to work days with less pain,

In Health,

Paige, PT, PRC ,CSCS

Work Station Ergo by PRI