Are you ready to surf?
Did you know that Jenny Lightstone (Psoas owner) and Chris Ludwig (Psoas therapist) are both surfers? They love thinking about ways to keep the body wave-ready, and this week’s Quick Tip does just that. The Butterfly Stroke Exercise activates the muscles of the upper back — including the traps, lats, rhomboids, posterior deltoids, and certain rotator cuff muscles. But this exercise is also great for those of us who’ve never touched a surf board. The muscles of the upper back often get weak when we spend a lot of time at desks, driving, or looking at our phones. By safely...
Read MoreQuick Tip: How Loose are Your Lats?
When was the last time you loosened up your latissimus dorsi (a.k.a “lats”)? The lats, among the widest muscles in the human body, extend from the mid-back all the way up to the shoulder joint. When these broad muscles get tight, it can contribute to chronic back tension and restricted range of motion around the shoulder. And we’ve seen this affect many of our clients — from desk workers to drivers to crossfitters. So in this week’s Quick Tip, we’re demonstrating a release for the lats using a foam roller. We don’t recommend trying this out if...
Read MoreQuick Tip: Do you have your best foot forward?
Your feet feel the effects of whatever activity keeps you going: whether you’re ramping up training, walking, standing, or sitting still. So while we’ve been showing you some great tools for your low back and legs lately, this week we want to zero in on the feet. Many of our clients find tension building up in the fascia that runs from the toes to the heel. And when we don’t address that tension early on, it can lead to problems like plantar fasciitis. So check out this week’s Quick Tip from the archive for a variety of ways to care for the feet, and let us know what...
Read MoreQuick Tip: How are you recovering after the race?
After a big event like the SF Marathon, some runners are in a rush to get back to training. But we believe prioritizing recovery is just as important as ramping up for your next big race! During your recovery period, we recommend giving yourself time for nice, long static stretches that address the tension that built-up while training. As runners, you’re likely familiar with hamstring tension and the classic static hamstring stretch we’re sharing today. But we invite you to use this moment to check-in and make sure your stretching alignment is as safe and supportive as possible....
Read MoreQuick Tip: Are you ready to race?
The San Francisco Marathon is nearly here! Are you ready? If you need support to get the most out of your last training days, we’re here to help. Our clinical team works with runners preparing for events all year round. And we love offering pre-race sports massage to help increase range of motion, prevent injury, and reduce recovery time. If you have questions about how bodywork can support your goals for the marathon, just give our intake specialists a call! In the meantime, we’re sharing a great runner’s warm-up from our library of Quick Tips: Frog Pose. Drawn from Kundalini...
Read MoreQuick Tip: Want to create more space in the low back?
Relief from pain often comes with a sense of freedom in the body. Many of you seek us out when feeling tight and compressed, and are amazed at how our bodywork can facilitate more length and openness. Still, it can be tricky to maintain that feeling in your daily life! And whether you’re training hard, sitting for long days at a desk, or just living in gravity — compression in the low back is particularly common. This week’s Quick Tip from the archive is a great Active Isolated Stretch (AIS) that invites you to reach out of the hips and create length in the low back and...
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