If you are working on better positioning and movement but are having a hard time letting go of your foam roll…

Try this exercise as instructed by @posturalrestoration called the Sternal Stretch. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IS8Vuy_erb2Muc0A6KFAhFrORDdG7hyR/view?usp=sharing

• Fold a yoga mat in half and then in half again to use as the pad
• Pad should be the width of your shoulders
• Lay on your back with your knees bent
• Push both feet into the floor to posteriorly tilt your pelvis and get your tailbone off the floor
• Arms are out to the side, palms up, with shoulders supported on the mat
• Head is off the mat but supported by the floor 

What will you gain and feel with this exercise

• A true stretch of the anterior chest without over extension of the spine
• A true pectorial stretch without over lengthening of the anterior shoulder joint
• Major abdominal recruitment for core strength
• Grounding through the feet to help with upright activities
• Expansion of the...

Pain is a Pandora’s box. Physical pain can lead to psychological and emotional pain...emotional and psychological pain can lead to physical pain...sometimes it’s hard to know what’s what.

Pain is your body’s way of saying “Hey brain, there’s something you need to pay attention to!”

Sometimes asking for help is enough - we all need resources and connection.

My job is to recognize and educate what is driving my clients’ “pain”.  If I cannot fully educate you in how to manage your symptoms, I will work hard to find the network or community you need to help on this journey.

Unfortunately, pain is usually what drives people to see me, but by the time they are discharged they have the understanding that pain can be a symptom of many aspects of life.  They see how their environment, stress, travel, love, loss, and what we call “life” can affect the overall physical and mental self.  They...

ALIGNMEND PHYSICAL THERAPY IS 2 YEARS OLD!!!

I was on the phone with my Mom this morning and I told her today is the 2 year anniversary of opening my own practice. She said, "What, 2 years?  I thought you opened in 2020."  After giggling a bit...I realized the last two years flew by. For many people 2020 was a strange year, a long year, a tragic year, and for some a year of new opportunity and growth.

It is hard to believe that I opened AlignMend on October 4, 2019.  In those two years my business changed, my practice changed, my priorities changed, my commute changed, and time with family changed. 

In celebration of today I thought I would share a few things about me that you may not know as well as some thoughts about my business. 

10 things You Didn't Know About Me: 

•  I was never a good athlete when it came to competitive sports
•  I have a 3-foot pastel albino ball python that lives in my house
•  I never wanted to own my own...

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...