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2018: Enjoying the Confidence, Change, Memories, Learning, and Growth.

Something I like to do on New Year’s Eve is look at my past years focus and create my next New Year’s Focus. I don’t do resolutions, or goals, or what not. I like a focus.

2016 was Stand for Me: I did well with this… however, I did still let some people tell me to unfriend others, quit places,go here, etc etc. My gut feelings were strong in 2016 and I’m thankful for the strength and confidence it has given to me. 2017 was Getting Back My Homeostasis. I wanted to focus on health, work, business and learning that would bring me into a Homeostasis. Now as humans we are constantly in and out of Homeostasis. It’s kinda like gravity, always pulling us in and out of a set point. This year I work on finding a way to live a more balanced life. I worked on putting family first no matter what, something I always did but this year about not feeling like I should apologize for it. Also, I was able to shut out the noise of extra voices. Sometimes listening and gathering advice and inspiration from others was exactly what I needed, but sometimes I needed to go with my gut more  and in 2017 I had several experiences where I was able to do such. Lastly, 2017 was about challenging myself to do new things. And I did! New Workshops, public speaking, creating health and fitness programs, creating and hosting a Getaway, creating a new class format, talking myself to NYC, and pursuing my passion of learning to a master’s degree. 

So let’s see…….2018?!?! What’s you got for me. In 2018, my focus is Enjoying the Confidence, Change, Memories, Learning, and Growth. I’ve always been focused on what others thought, said or did aligning with what I thought said or did. Did it align? Did it not? Would I make someone upset by doing this? How did so and so think I did with this? So and so doesn’t like this person so I better not get to know them otherwise it will upset them. I don’t think this (insert subject here) is right, but if I speak out, will I be ostracized? And so on and so on. Not any more. I’ve been thinking about it these past few months. I’ve always been humble and willing to learn from all experiences. However, now I need to take that knowledge I have learned, invested in, fought for, and love……and start giving it a voice and shape. I have learned so much and yet I still have so much to learn....  Now I want to share that will others!

 I’m thankful, humble, and ready to learn even more in 2018. Look for more posts as I share new experiences and changes in 2018! 

What’s your focus?

Cassandra

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How does Rocktape help in training, injuries and performance?

When I used to run half marathons, I didn’t get many injuries, if any. However, after an impact injury, I began to search for different methods to help me recover from knee surgery. Enter Rocktape AND NKT. After just one session of using this techniques, I could feel the difference and decide to pursue certifications in order to take these modalities to my clients. 

Rocktape and NKT are used by many fitness and rehab professionals across the world, helping their clients heal and perform optimally. The uses of each are too numerous to put here in one post, so I’m going to highlight each modalities and then tell you when I have incorporate them into my sessions with clients.  

Let’s Rocktape, because that’s what I fell in love with first. It can used to increase the utilization of a muscle, to help relieve pain, reduce inflammation and help achieve proper form in sports. Now that’s just a basic list, I've seen Rocktape used for some amazing things.  It all comes down to using the bodies’ largest organ, the skin. When the Rocktape is applied to the skin, it is applied in a specific manner so that the tape can help lift the skin away from the underlying muscle and fascia, creating a nice decompression. Also, Rocktape uses the sensory input from the skin to basically turn your brain’s attention to that area or motor pattern. The results can be so quick, it is just amazing.

Applications can last for a longer time than other types of taping due to the adhesive material Rocktape uses. It is the highest quality that I have found and used. Most flake up after a day, whereas Rocktape can last weeks. My personal record is 3 weeks for a knee taping I applied on myself. 

I have a few cool experiences with Rocktaping clients that I’d love to share with you! 

First up is my dad! He was my first official client taping. Sure I had taped myself hundreds of times as well as my friend Melanie who offered to be a guinea pig, but this was my first specific case I had been approached with. Dad told me that he was struggling after he had just severely sprained his left ankle.  His ankle was about the size of a softball when I did the first application and he was in a lot of pain when walking. Using a basic taping (as shown above) I covered several problem areas, as well as, gave a bit of support to the ankle. There are many many ways to tape an ankle; however, this one fit his specific issues the best. When he moved his ankle you could automatically tell a difference by his range of motion; then when he stood up, his face said it all. We left the taping on over 2 weeks (yes the tape lasted 2 weeks even with showers and activity!) and by the second week all of the sweeping and soreness had gone down.

Second, is my good friend Kimberly who is a fellow Certified Essentrics Instructor. At training in Colorado, she was telling me about how her ankle was injured a long time ago and she had to be super careful of how she walked to allow falling. Looking at her feet just sitting in staff pose (sitting on ground, legs straight in front but modification of toes pointed) you could see her left foot just collapse in at the ankle, big toe touching the ground. She told me “this is my normal, has been for years now”. Challenge accepted. 

Pictured above is her feet AFTER taping and some NKT testing. Look the big toe of her left foot. IT’S NOT COLLAPSING TO THE GROUND! For years, her ankle ligaments were so damaged that her foot wouldn’t allow her just relax her foot forward. Her brain was in complete disconnect. Now, after some arch reminder and lateral calf taping, BAM. She said she couldn't remember the last time her foot felt like this and she felt a huge difference during Eccentrics training the next day.

These two examples are just a few of the stories I could tell. One time, I taped a dear friend who was pregnant and in her third trimester. She was having severe pains under and on the side of her belly that was keeping her up at night and making it difficult to move. I put a basic sling style and a few additional tapings to support her belly and received a long thank you text the next morning saying how glorious it was to get a complete night’s sleep with no pain. SCORE. 

Now let’s talk performance.

��When I took my Rocktape certification course, I went with a good MT friend and we were able to use each other as test subjects for the applications we were learning. During that we covered this giant application. So this might look like just a random amount of tape on my back; however, I promise it has a purpose. Specific applications were needed to help specific things and they could be mixed and match depending on the issue. All in all, this was a great lesson in ways to help with posture, stability, relaxation and many other applications to our specific clients. I have worked with a lot of XC runners lately who LOVE some of these applications to improve their posture during runs and release tension in the upper traps. 

I’ve had my own stories with my injures and Rocktape. The brain/connection is huge. The swelling and inflammation reduction is huge. I can’t imagine my few surgeriy recoveries without some Rocktape utilized sometime during the process. It has helped my clients and I in so many ways and I look forward to helping YOU as well!!! 

Hope you enjoyed this run down of Rocktape, look out for an NTK write up soon! 

Ciao! 

Cassandra M.

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Let’s Talk Transitions

When you think back on your life, what were some of the hardest decisions you have had to make? Buying a house? Choosing a major? Deciding how to pursue your dreams? Accepting or rejecting a job offer? 

What decision gave you the most uncertainty while making it, and yet after the smoke cleared, gave you the most joy?

We have all had those decisions that force us to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

I just went through this myself. Leave a job I love and pursue my passion in grad school........or stay safe at my comfy job and be comfortable yet not challenged.

It is a hard spot to be. We never know what challenges will be thrown at us after  our decision, yet we know we have to make one in order to move forward. 

How do we know we are making the right choice?? Do we ever really know until it is too late? 

   What is too late? 

These are just a few of the many thoughts that have had scrambling around in my head, as I'm sure they have in yours at some point or another. 

What process do you have  to go through to reach your good-for-you decision? What makes a good decision the right decision?  I truthfully can't answer that. All I know, is that I try to go with my gut and then work like hell to make sure that decision is supported by my effort and determination. 

                                   TRANSITIONS ARE HARD!!! 

All of the decisions we make are transitions. Heck, even choosing what I want for dinner is a choice that will either helps or hurt me. I can choose a healthy salad with chicken and vinaigrette salad......or I can go with fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy.....which one do you think will transition me into a better day the next morning?

You gotta choose for you. I don't make my decisions for someone else (unless its affecting family and then you need to take their wellbeing into account). I didn't just make a choice to go back to grad school and  leave my job because I wanted to make my boss happy. Haha, in fact it did the opposite...BUT THE CHOICE AND TRANSITION WASN’T FOR HIM. It is for me. To grow myself and my families future. 

YOU DO YOU. Take a step back during your time of choice and decision. Look at the priority, the goal, the betterment that is coming to keep you strong during your moment of transition. 

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Some Products    You asked....Here’s my answer.. Part 1: Do Your Research Bro

This subject is akin to politics in my opinion. So I feel like I should put a disclaimer from the get n go.

It’s not that I am against making some extra money to pay off debts, start a career or earn some financial freedom.....I just think people need to be reminded of a few things in regards to selling/purchasing a health and nutrition product and then I clarify a few specifics:

1) Do your research

2) Be humble

3) Plant vs Plant

4) Long term

5) Everybody is Different

6) Integrity

7) DO YOUR RESEARCH

You will notice I put one point in there twice. That is because if you take anything away from this post, I want you to remember that doing your own personal research over any product or company is ESSENTIAL.

I will only have time to cover a few of these points....I might have to make this a series and split up the points. This is something that has been on my mind for awhile now and many of your have been asking my opinion. So please hold the criticisms and burning me at the stake until after I have completed the WHOLE SERIES. Am I calling out specific products, companies or people with these series? No. Am I saying these types of products I discuss are the devil? No. I’m just typing out my thoughts and my approach that I live by and tell my clients. It is opinion with a few research citations mixed in. So try not to get your feelers hurt. It’s just my opinion.  <3  

Do Your Research Bro

Now when I say research, I mean blogs, post, peers, websites articles but more importantly you must not exclude or forgot research papers, scientific articles and professional unattached opinions. I LOVE to read, but reading information that is backed by a creditable source isn’t going to give you the research information that you need to make a decision for your health.  If you are going to sell a product, represent a brand, ingest a product and/or give something to your family, don’t you think it is best to know exactly what you are selling? Knowing is not reciting a scripted dialogue, posting a cut/paste message or having a sample that was given to you by the company. Knowing is researching, by reaching out to MULTIPLE non attached nutrition/fitness professionals, finding out ALL of the ingredients that company uses, being able to look at both the positive and negative reviews and then drawing an educated conclusion based on what information you have collect. If at that time you can state that you back the company, believe it and stand behind what you have researches, then by all means GO FOR IT… Just do the complete research first.

THAT MEANS RESEARCH WHAT I TELL YOU AS WELL. Don't take my word for it on anything. Call me out on it, respectfully, and we can discuss it and both learn something!

More on research again later.

Be humble

I love it when I get asked a question during a workshop Im teaching and the workshop completely throws me off. We haave all been there, that instant where you draw a blank,  don’t know the answer,  and have the o crap moment….. that the moment I have learned to love to say: “My goodness, I have no idea, BUT I do know where I can research that and I will get you the answer within the week! Thank you, I love it!”… Do you know why I love that? BECAUSE, it gives me a chance to learn something new, reevaluate what I was thinking and gain knowledge from what I knew before. A lot of what I have seen advertised on social media is marketed to the American public wanting change, yet are not educated with the tools to achieve that on their own. Sometimes (not always) when a marketer is questioned on his or her stance…they get defensive because they don’t know the answer to the question, as it is out of their scope of knowledge. I think it needs to be suggested that when that happens……they should revisit point 1, do their research so they can come up with an educated answer. They might end up finding a rock solid explanation with the research they have to back it up (remember the quality of your research matters and where/who it is coming from). Also, true, they might find out that they were wrong an that individual has unknowingly helped expand the education and put the marketer in a position to reevaluate things….(what the individual does with that information is on them and their conscience.)

Plant VS Plant

 I love Michael Pollan’s approach to food and if you haven’t read one of his books or watched new documentary of Netflix, I encourage you to do so. He is quoted saying “If it came from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don’t”. Disclaimer: Now that being said, I use some products made in a plant, its inevitable nowadays. Im not perfect, I never will be and Im ok with that (Protein powders, I’m a sucker for ANY kind of peanut butter, and I don’t always shop organic). However, I try to eat as much “real food” as possible, getting my quanitiy of my food from the quality foods.  Why am I saying this? When creating a meal plan of setting up an individual to achieve health, priotity needs to go to the long term and educating them on what foods choices can do to the human body. Real food vs processed food. Plant food from the ground vs Plant food from a bulding. Which is the individual consuming more of? I like to say “back to basics” . Your whole fruits, whole vegetables, local meats, etc. Giving someone a meal replacement shake this is in most case soy-based, processed, GMO, and red food dyed to look yummy, and made in a building for the majority of their meals…..   A “health coach” should be thinking abuot what type of plnt product they are recommending to the general public.      Long termWhat do things products do for clients in real world context. Say Jane goes to visit her sister in Flordia for a few weeks. She so excited, packed all of her clothes, her newly fitting swin suit, and even has a whole other suitcase full of her products coming with her to keep her looking good! Great! Now, say Jane’s suitcases get miss handled and only her clothes make with her to Florida and her products are now on a New York  airport tarmack….. Uh oh. Now she has to eat food at her sisters and doesn’t have her products…..hows that swim suit going to fit after a few days s when Jane doesn’t know anything about real food choices.. Some product companies host “nutrition seminars” that focus on how to incorporate their products into everyday life. Cool! However, three things: what education do they have, where are they getting their education and how can depending on product them transfer in eating real food someday.They aren’t educating on how to eat real food someday. They are educating on how to keep the individual using the supplement for the REST OF THEIR LIVES. Which you gotta admit is genius, it’s money for life.  A dear friend of mine sent me an urgent private message several months ago saying” I haven’t pooped in 3 weeks, I hurt and I’m so gassy. Help!” After a few exchanges it turns out she had been trying a certain companies meal replacement shake that was making up 75% of her meals for the past two months. Yes she had lost weight, but her stomach was all messed up and getting worse every day. She was thinking about going to the ER the pain was getting so bad. Her friend who has sold her the shake told her it was just a part of the process, that her bdy was detoxing and she needed to just wait it out. Fast forward to recently and she is now on probiotics, changing her diet to real foods, visiting an internal doctor I suggested and trying to repair gut from the “IBS” and several less pleasant things that sprung up. Was there a correlation? Maybe. Maybe not. But the more research I do and the more stories I hear, the more I find my friends story isn’t the only one.  Every Body is DifferentI know that there are many products out there that have done so much good for so many people. Just as with many modern medicines, some respond better than others. What we need to keep in mind is the message that we tell people and how we display it. “Buy this and you will look like me” is an easy message to shout from the hilltops. And a tempting one…I mean if you would given the opportunity to have a butt like J Lo, wouldn’t you say “hell yea sign me up”? “This product CURED my______” we have all seen that one. Yes, it might have “cured” your whatever but……there two things here a)it could just be masking the real problem and is it sustainable and b) not every body is the same so what worked for Bob might not work for Bill so please stop displaying your product like it’s a cure all.IntegrityNow before my friends who sell products burn me at the stake, hear me out. And Remember aren’t you my friend….not my salesman….cause unless you get that you will just keep on pounding me with me specials and offers and it drives me crazy.    Whats your end goal?? Helping others, or money?? If you are given the information that goes against your products, are you willing to adjust your beliefs and admit you are wrong??Now as a wellness and fitness professional who is now diving into grad school to go the clnical route….I get hit up A LOT. Like everyday someone is hitting me up to “join there team”, watch a video, or help them reach their next gaol. I LOVE that you have a passion. But just don’t let that passion become something that over powers or your ability to think critically and respect boundaries of friendship and professionalism.

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When You Don’t Have a Mom on Mother’s Day 2017

As Mother’s Day approaches I have seen several discussions on whether it should be celebrated in schools, or if it is outdated and shouldn't be celebrated  at all. This view point is coming up due to the fact that there is growing population of young people who are living without their biological mother (for one reason or another) in their life anymore. A few people have asked me what my take on the situation is, due to my personal experiences. After much thought, I felt like I should share it with you as well.

(Disclaimer: My situation with my mother is individual from others and the reason I have made myself distant from her is my own. Even if you think you know the whole story, you don’t. My decision, please respect that.)

Mother’s Day use to be one of the worst days of the year for me. Starting a few years ago, I would begin to feel like I was claustrophobic and physically sick for a few days in May. I would sign off of any social media, not go to church, not really go into stores for at least a week....sometimes more. I didn’t want a reminder of the pain of not having a mom to celebrate.  The bad memories and thoughts of the love that wasn’t there anymore would just flood back….it just hurt. Every time I saw something about how much someone loved their mother, how they were best friends for life, and how no one can be like your mother, I felt sick to my stomach and my mind would go to a unhealthy place. I wasn’t feeling hateful towards others that had that love; my situation was just still to raw in my heart to think of everything.

 Fast forward to today. Just as with anything in nature, we grow and evolve, changing our thoughts and perception based upon interactions in our daily life. I have grown so much since the day my mom walked out. I now have the love and support of many people, most of all my husband, my dad, and the many strong women in my life. Instead of signing off of social media and hiding out from the world, I have a new approach to my Mother’s Day 2017.

 My Mother’s Day 2017 is about the mothers who are there for their children 24/7. My 2017 Mother’s Day is about the mothers who take the time to help other children that are not “their own”.

 My Mother’s Day 2017 is about celebrating the many mothers who have taken the time out of their crazy, hectic lives to help me when I needed a mother. I celebrate Paula, my loving 2nd mom who took me in when my mother kicked me out of the house and quietly respected my space, yet was there the instant I needed to pour my heavy heart out to her on her couch. I celebrate my pastor’s wife, Tina, who took the time to pray with me many times when my heart was full of hatred, sorrow, frustration, and devastation. I celebrate my now mother-in-law, Valerie, who has made me feel a part of her family, given me counsel and been an amazing supporter.

 My Mother’s Day 2017 is about my dear friends who are now new mothers, and the care and compassion they show day in and day out. They inspire me. I am so proud of each and every one of them for their love, dedication and strength that they give to their children everyday. Andie, Keli, Carleen, Katie, Kim, and many others, you guys amaze me.

 My Mother’s Day 2017 is about celebrating the amazing mothers that I am friends with all over the world. The women who are strong, independent, amazing world changers in their homes and careers. They are an example to their children and the world of what a kickass mother can do and accomplish. How does one keep a household running like a machine, yet spew out more contracts, business deals, classes, care sessions and professional success???? I have no earthly idea, but they pull it off.  Melanie, Jackie, Amanda, Kelsey, Charlotte, Kristina, Wendy, and many more, you guys blow my mind and I hope you know how much you inspire me!

 This is my approach to Mother’s Day 2017. Celebrate the mothers in our lives who do so much for their kids, community, and profession…… they are the reason.  So I challenge you to celebrate a mother that isn’t “your own” this weekend. There are too many reasons not to celebrate, too many amazing women in our lives not to give them the special recognition they deserve.

Much love ladies <3

Cassandra

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Spondylolysis and Spondylolisthesis: How Essentrics can be useful in returning to play (Part 2)

Spondylolisthesis is another major player with it comes to back conditions and back pain. Many impact sport  such as football, soccer and hockey discover athletes develop such a disease as they age. This short blog will cover the specifics of Spondylolisthesis and more importantly, options individuals with the condition can have for treatment.

 Cousin to Spondylolysis (see Part 1), many children are found to have Spondylolisthesis AFTER their physician has diagnosed them with Spondylolysis. Both conditions being more common in children from overuse. However, most individuals diagnosed as adults only Spondylolisthesis, due to the fact that their vertebra had  already developed before injury occurred.  Genetics can play a part in these conditions as well.

How does one find out if their back injury is actually Spondylolisthesis? Usually a Xray or MRI will show the physician the classic sign of forward slippage (anterior translation or displacement) of one spine bone (vertebrae) over another. This is a separate condition from a “slipped disc”. Instead of the the cushioning disc protruding out when a disk has slipped; with Spondylolisthesis, the vertebrate (solid bone) slips. There are two grades given to the slippage: low grade or high grade. The higher grade being the more pronounced slipped vertebra and more likely to cause severe pain. Once diagnosis is made, a treatment plan can begin. As always, CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN before starting a treatment plan.

Typically a physician will prescribe traditional RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) then PT, depending on when the injury occurred. If severe enough, surgery may be recommended. After gathering the parameters of how an individual can be active and exercise, the individual might be able to try other methods of care and rehab.

The rehab goals will be similar to the Spondylolysis discussed in the past article with a few variations on timetable, specific imbalances and frequency. Through proper coaching and rehab, improving flexibility of the hamstrings, improving abdominal and back strength and teaching proper mechanics, symptoms can be greatly improved.

Working within the parameters set by the doctor or physical therapist, a Fully Certified Essentrics Instructor or any specialized exercise therapist (ATC, PT,   E-TC) can work with the client to achieve the major rehab aspects needed to improve the injury. In Essentrics, we can really help individuals who suffer from this condition; however, I must reiterate that you must have the permission of your doctor, as you want to have all of your team of health and wellness on the same page. Using the strengthening, stretching and rebalanced effects of Essentrics, you reach the cornerstones needed in your rehabilitation process.

Through slow, controlled, and purposeful movements that move in all directions, many clients can regain range of motion, increased flexibility, improve balance, become stronger and able to proceed through life without any pain. Utilizing techniques such as movement within the joint, relaxation, PNF, and much much more, an educated Essentrics instructor can formulate a full body workout that will rebalance the whole body and may improve your condition. Each body is different; therefore, movements, timeframes and recovery process will be different for each individual.

 Whatever you do, keep moving. The old saying “use it, or lose it” is all to true! Be sure you consult your doctor about YOUR treatment plan then Get That Butt Moving!

  Here are some of the resources I pull from and keep on hand:

http://www.uscspine.com/conditions/spondylolysis-spondylolisthesis.cfm

http://www.cme.uwisc.org/html/files/8/324250/324252/Julie%20Sherry%20Rehabilitation%20of%20Spondylolysis2-1.pdf

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00053

Spine Surgery London

  As always, let me know what you think! Discuss, Comment, Enjoy!

Cassandra Hewett

B.S. - Health Education Promotion and Fitness      

Certified Essentrics Instructor    

FMT Rocktape, NKT Practioner

Facebook: Positively Balance - Essentrics and Health      

Email: positivelybalancedeh@gmail.com

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Spondylolysis and Spondylolisthesis: How Essentrics can be useful in returning to play (Part 1)

     Spondy what? Many in the world have heard of a pinched nerve, slipped disk, or have had a friend who has “thrown out their back”; yet they have never heard spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis. What are these long worded diagnoses exactly, how do they relate, and what can Essentrics do for them? The next 2 articles are designed to help educate, guide and answer those questions. So let’s start with……..spondylolysis. 

     Spondylolysis might seem like a quite a complex word, therefore must it have a complex meaning. However, that is far from true. Spondylolsis atually is a fracture or crack in the space between the facets of the spine called the pars interarticularis. This is a space that connects the upper and lower vertebrae and is said to be the weakest point on the spine. This fracture can occur as a child (more common) or as an adult, cause pain in the low back, glutes, and sometimes down the back of the whole leg. As you can imagine this can be quite frustrating if you have a child who just wants to run around or an athlete hoping to return to his or her sport. Those affected isn’t limited to the athlete, spondylolysis can happen to anyone. 

      So let’s talk prevention, treatments and rehab. I’m going to write this like I am talking with you, and you are the one with spondylolysis.  

      Preventing any injury is always a priority, matter if you are an athlete or you are an average person who loves to garden, pick up your kids, and reach to back of the bottom pantry. When trying to protect yourself from spondylolysis, think core first. Core, core, core, core, core. Now im not just talking about where you wish you had a six pack, I’m referring to everything core related; glutes, lats, QLs, etc, etc, etc. What does that mean? You need to make sure your booty is firing properly, your psoas is healthy, your layers of low back muscles have the proper strength, and yes, the transverse/rectus/oblique abdominals are functionally strong. You need to stretch, strengthen and rebalance your body: you need something like Essentrics. I know that is a general statement, but I’m going to leave it general, as EVERY BODY IS DIFFERENT.

      Rehabilitation, if given permission by your doctor, is the one of most conservative options when trying to treat your spondylolysis. Rehabilitation is usually begins by your doctor giving you a sheet of exercises or sending you to physically therapy. Upon my own research to see what I could do to help my father (who has both conditions) a few years ago, I found many different resources. One of my favorites ewas a rehabilitation breakdown from UW Health Spine Clinic, where a PT breakdown what the rehab cornerstones were when dealing with spondylolysis. This kind of research along with many other scientific articles and literature helped me unsure exactly how to formulate his game plan.

     This is where Essentrics fits in. Working within the parameters set by the doctor or physical therapist, a Fully Certified Essentrics Instructor can work with the client to achieve the major rehab aspects needed to improve the injury. Essentrics can really help individuals who suffer from this condition; however, I must reiterate that you must have the permission of your doctor, as you want to have all of your team of health and wellness on the same page. Using the strengthening, stretching and rebalanced effects of Essentrics, you reach the cornerstones needed in your rehabilitation process.

     You wouldn’t think you would, but by doing the slow movements of an Essentrics Pain Relief workout you are improving glute strength, increasing flexibility, formulating body awareness, regaining joint mobilization and enhancing your core stability. Sometimes, when you just start out, you might not be able to move very much; however, cell by cell, you will slowly see the lasting changes in pain, strength and mobility needed to get you back to play, life, and function. As you get stronger, your Instructor and/or physical therapist will progress you more and you will be able to properly support your spine, decreasing the pain, becoming stronger and moving more freely.

(KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR PART 2)

Here are some of the resources I pull from and keep on hand:

http://www.uscspine.com/conditions/spondylolysis-spondylolisthesis.cfm

http://www.cme.uwisc.org/html/files/8/324250/324252/Julie%20Sherry%20Rehabilitation%20of%20Spondylolysis2-1.pdf

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00053

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Quality vs Quantity

I have been pleasantly surprised by the outpour of people reaching out to me concerning Essentrics classes, instructors, teacher training, and the Essentrics’ injury free legacy. During these conversations, it has come to my attention that many people do not realize one specific aspect of Essentrics that sets it apart. Quailty vs Quanitity.

 So you might be wondering what exactly I mean by this statement; WHY does Essentrics focuses on Quality vs Quantity. In Essentrics there are 4 Levels of training and testing. Each level builds upon the last, giving the instructor all the tools he or she needs to teach and lead a successful class. But that’s not all. Each instructor needs to completely learn their anatomy by L3, being able to name insertions and origins, muscles, muscle fiber directions and more. One must also learn the purpose of a movement, what techniques are used when, and so on and so forth. This all comes to a head when someone reaches and tests for Level 4, combining all of their knowledge to become fully certified. This requires outside reading, research, teaching classes, and more. It is a lot of work!

 All that THEN if you want to teach teachers, you have to even more. I won’t go into the details, but you get the picture.

Now all of this doesn’t appeal to some people. They think the Essentrics Academy training is too much work etc. etc., but in reality this is where the quality happens. Sure Essentrics doesn’t pump out thousands of instructors per year…but it also doesn’t have the injury rates either. I will be the first one to say, I still haven’t stopped studying my Essentrics materials because I always want to evolve with the science, understand more and put the safest and most effective session out to my clients. If you know the body, study the science, commit, and invest yourself in your training, you will be able to teach this workout.  Even more importantly you will be confident that it will be an injury free, effective, smart, science based, quality workout that is safe for any age, any person, any level of fitness.

[positivelybalanced-blog]

2017 Potential

Have you ever had that feeling in your mind that screams, “O MY GOODNESS!” Not really in a bad way, but in an excited/awe/nervous/unsure kind of way? Call me crazy, those can both terrify me and invigorate me at the same time. It is a feeling of awareness, of unknown, of future, of heartbreak, of love, of potential.

  2017 has the potential. It has the capability of bringing sadness. But it also has the potential to be a time of greatest. Which will your heart and mind focus on? I choose to acknowledge both, yet strive for greatest. Where is your mindset for 2017? 

#mindset #positive #bethere #behere

[positivelybalanced-blog]

New Year Focus

We have all heard and probably attempted a New Year’s Resolution; however, how many of us actually follow through? 

This post is personal, the next will be more business, and then more after that will be on a variety of topics, hoping to encourage you all to make your goals and stick to them in the new year.

So to start this blog series I wanted to tell you how I approached this 2016 and how I plan on tackling 2017.

When facing 2016, I was finally starting to come out of a very dark place, seeing the light, and myself through my boyfriends eyes. He looked at me as I was and excepted me for who I was, all of the junk and all of the good. I already knew I was going to marry the man, but had no clue when.  My dad was moving out of state and internally I was freaking out, yet knowing he needed to do this. Alex became my rock, and I knew I wouldn't be alone.

On the last day of 2016, I decided instead of making a New Years Resolution, I would make a New Years Focus. I wanted to improve myself as a person, healing internal aspects inside of thinking about my external being. So my 2016 was born. I kept it to myself, as I wasn't sure if I (excuse me) had the balls to follow through. My focus of 2016 was to Stand For Me.  I had always been the person to roll over, please others, always say yes, and just go with whatever others had in mind for my life. 2016 urned my focus to trusting my gut even more, not just going along with what others planned for my life, and taking back the control I had given certain individuals in my life, and instead giving my heart to those who valued and loved me.

We all run into road blocks when we set goals or resolutions, and usually it doesn't take long for them to arise. Well it didn’t take long for mine to arrive and try to dismantle my focus. I won't tell you my main trials but I will give a simple example. 

After I created my own business, I was working in multiple different settings. I was teaching over 15 classes per week, running here and there, yet really enjoying every minute of it. However, my body told me I needed to take a break every so often......but I ignored it. I choose to power through and “suck it up buttercup” cause I had a business to grow. It wasn't until my body started to scream at me and a freak accident occurred that I was really woken up. Then I was brought back to my focus, stand for me, when one of my locations asked me to take on even more classes. I knew my body wasn't going to have it, so I told them no thank you and asked if it was possible to pair back my multiple classes to just one or two per week? They disagreed, and suggested I take off all classes and fix myself, then come back. Well I knew my body, I knew what it needed and wanted, and I left the location, with no plans to return. I felt like I was being given an ultimatum, teach more classes, or goodbye. I knew my body wanted to teach and move, but just cut back on the amount. So I brought my classes to a location who valued the fact that a teacher needs different location, different styles and that a teacher shouldn’t be overloaded on a schedule so he or she can respect their body. Best decision ever. Sure sometimes I look back and think about how I’d love the classes back, but then I'm reminded, Stand for Me. You are probably thinking “Dude can you get any vaguer?”, yeah probably, but the point of me telling you this was that even though I had certain things arise, I had a focus. 

So it’s almost 2017 and so much has transpired in 2016. (Im sure Ill write another post about that). Time for a new focus, something to better me internally and make me grow as a human.....So here it is.

I am going to make 2017 the year I focus on Getting Back My Homeostasis.

Sound odd. I know. But here is what I mean by “Getting Back My Homeostasis”. The focus isn’t just going to be one aspect such as health, wealth, fitness, etc etc, but instead it is going to be over arching theme. Here is one such aspect I will focus on though. Many of your know I was severely bulimic during my key development years, and have been working very hard the past 2 years to get my body back to a healthy state I have come so far in just 2016. Bone density is back to normal, vitamin D levels are back to normal, my eating has been better (not perfect, but better), and my iron levels are higher than they have ever been. However, I am still working, and I have decided my goals for 2017 is to focus on getting everything back. Not saying I won't be doing other things to better myself, all things I do this year, business wise, school related, continuing education, helping others, will be also focused on bringing myself back to as close to normal as possible. Back to homeostasis. I’m not naive, I know it will probably take many more years and tons more money on tests and supplements, but I now (due to this year’s tests and doctors visits) have direction for how I can complete this metamorphosis of my body and mind. Im so excited to see how this year plays out and what I am capable of achieving. I have always been a “balls to the walls”, go big or go home, all or nothing person.......this year, being positively balanced in all things is where I want to be.

I will be blogging more about the business side of my New Year goals in m next post!

2017: GETTING BACK MY HOMEOSTASIS. 

[positivelybalanced-blog]

My Yoga Journey

I have been practicing yoga for almost 7 years now. 

It started as something I was doing in Junior year of high school to get more flexible for soccer and cross training for cross country. I was not super flexible at the start, but by senior year I could sit in my bedroom and pull my right leg behind my head. My resting TV watching posture was on the living room floor in a wide leg forward fold and the crown of my head on the floor during commercial breaks. It just came easy. 

By Freshmen year of college, I knew several self taught yoga poses and was pretty giddy about attending my first live class on campus. I had dropped almost 30 pounds of weight (unhealthily so) and was in a full blown study, exercise, sleep mode, with just enough food to keep me alive...and I thrived on the fast pace of it all. But, I would go to the Colvin for my evening workouts, savoring my one hour yoga class to end out my day. It was amazing how for one hour, I could just listen to my instructor move us in and out of poses. I was thrilled I could go into almost every pose she threw at us. Even find the splits were a breeze to fall into.

I kept a pretty regular yoga practice all through my first year of college. It even helped my as I began my recovery journey from exercise bulimia. When I came back to Tulsa I found a few yoga studios in town and went as frequently as I could, but keeping my practice mainly at home. I grew in flexibility and was loving my yoga practice as it just felt calming and natural. Plus so much was going on in my mind during that time it felt good to do something I could control and do for me. But none ever gave me the constructive instruction I so needed.

I started teaching Essentrics around this time, as it was my other form of cross training during my distance running career. I found it to be another way of stretching that was different than yoga, but also rebalancing my body after practicing yoga.

After regaining weight, resolving some family issues and with my college graduation fast approaching, I found out that  a local yoga studio was hosting a RYT 200 Yoga Teacher Training. I knew I loved teaching and I knew I loved (and was good at) yoga, so I decided it would be a great opportunity.  This step would help me grow as an instructor, help me understand some of the people coming to me injured from yoga, and help to calm my mind from the family stresses I had been going through. Or that was the plan.

For the certification process, I had to take 44 in studio classes, to which I thought would be a piece of cake (and actually I was thrilled)! I knew 44 classes would be a breeze, as I usually like to take two classes 3 days per week, and had 6 months to get them done! My first week of classes went swimmingly and I was loving every second of my journey. 

Then after my 5th three legged dog during a power yoga class, felt a little twinge and pop in my right upper hamstring. I took the rest of the class pretty easy, then went home and babied my leg. Soon I began to realize it was not just a little strain and made an appointment with the doctor. Severe strain was the verdict and out the door I went. 

Took a week off and went back to a yoga class with instructions to take it easy. Now, those of you who know me well, know that I can get very competitive.....with myself....

That class was the most “yoga” class I've ever been in. I had to focus so much on not making my injury worse, everything else didn’t matter. However, there was still pain that got even worse no matter how careful I was. 

In the end, I had to stop doing a regular yoga practice, just going here and there, plus the training weekends.  Then my hamstring injury went bilateral due to the over compensation. Of course, it didn’t stop there and during our last training weekend I felt another loud pop deep in my left Glute. The human can only over compensate so much. Since then, I have been too scared to do a led yoga class at a yoga studio. 

So, some maybe reading this going “holy skiitake girl, you should have never ever done the training”! Well I thought the same thing for awhile. But I want to share with you a few things I have learn through this journey:

        1) I love yoga. What it stands for, how it makes me feels, and with it does for my mind.

        2) Everyone has there opinion on war yoga is. A religion. A workout. A way of life. Want my opinion? It’s America, you choose. (I feel another blog post coming on this later)

         3) I have fought hard to be the woman I am today. No amount injuries, setbacks, or lessons make me any less. Don’t criticize the things I have done, go stick your nose in your manure.....

        4) I probably won't be practicing in random or public classes/studios anymore. I used to be super hyper mobile and now I just want to enjoys what I do. Im approaching things differently than most traditional classes would.

        5) I teach how I practice now. I used to try to push myself for the big and fancy. I disregarded form or function. Now I do my research before each class to  ensure the safety of my clients.

        6) I wasn't engaging my muscles properly in the poses and my tendons just weren't strong enough to hold the pressure I was putting them under....causing my injury. (I feel another blog post coming on this later)

        7) After researching, I found my injuries were common among yogis who have practiced for many years. I haven't practice that long in the “grand scheme of things”; however, with my health history, my tendons are already compromised.(I feel another blog post coming on this later)

        8) I learned how to let go of my ego, competitiveness, and always being ahead attitude. I didn’t like it one bit, but I have been learning so much from the experience. You can’t go back and change the past, you have to just adapt, react and move forward with what you got.

        9) I have so much more to learn. About yoga and about the human body. Movement is something that is constantly developing and the research will only get better.

          I learned this and so much more from my yoga training this year.

 I am having to take a few extra months to achieve the required classes, but I have already attended all of my training weekends and all of my community teaching classes are complete. I have come to except the fact that I am not going to be able to finish my yoga classes on time, (which drives me bonkers) as I am limited to one class per week. I will have to pay for each of them in addition, because I will extend past our “end” date. But. My goal is to finish the classes as my body will allow. Then continue my own practice as it has developed into something completely different then it was when I began. And my yoga practice will continue to evolve and grow as I evolve, learn and grow.

 I can't wait to see where this journey leads. 

[positivelybalanced-blog]

Coffee Saved My Car

There was a big 15-minute storm that had a lot to say to Collinsville last night. Alex (my boyfriend) had a sprint workout planned around 7pm and I was going to be the injured supporter from the sidelines. Yet around 6:50pm in just a few moments the skies completely changed.

Forgoing the sprint workout, we set out to tie down a few things before the rain and I made a man dash to the local store for some coffee grounds. We were out, and there was no way we could wake up the next morning without a cup o joe. While he finished the chores, I got in my car and beelined it for the store, hoping to beat the storm back to the house. Lightning came on not more than 5 minutes after I left the house, and by the time I walked out from the store, the drizzle began to become waves of down pouring rain. The 5-minute drive home was more like 10, as the sheets of rain and wind started to pick up even more. I was about to turn into our driveway when I started saw a huge branch crash into the very spot were my car was parked, and would have been parked if I had not made the quick drive for coffee.

I am a recent college graduate with several medical bills and other mounting expenses. My car damage, it turns out, would have been all on me, no coverage. A very likely totaled car would have been all on me.

See my coffee addiction is a very, very good thing. Thank God for coffee.

[positivelybalanced-blog]

Angelically Perfect HP

 As a health professional (HP), I am expected to be a model of healthy living, free from injury and health complications. However, lately I have been experiencing a string of injuries, sickness, and overall lack of health, as I have for the past few years due to various reasons. This can cause some to look at what I have done or said, and question the validity of what it can do for them. All I can say to that is I am human; I am a human with error, flaws, complications, and vulnerability. Just as any health professional or living individual. Just because someone is in a certain field does not give them exception to complications, and in some cases can heighten the individual’s chances. I have seen others, not just myself, who have been ridiculed, for their own “methods” not working successfully on themselves. This has caused me to take a moment to chat about a few aspects people should try to understand: health professionals are humans who work a job, every body is different, and even trainers need trainers.

 Back in June 2015, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that health professionals were number 1 when it came to on-the-job injuries. These injuries were brought on by multiple causes, but mainly patient handling caused them. With one study citing a 20.7% 1-year work related injury rate, physical therapists assist clients in exercises, movements and numerous situations throughout their workweek. Nurses have a wide variety of possible patient handling situations such as hospital transfers, nursing room settings, private residencies and much more. Even your personal trainers and group fitness instructors are at risk for the same on-the-job injuries associated with their professions. Just as a construction worker faces concerns on a site, so does a health professional.

 It is not just injury, which the health professional (lumping anyone from PT to group fitness in this category) will face. A doctor, pharmacist, nurse, chiropractor, etc all have something in common with a truck driver, it is called being made up of cells that are not immune to disease. Just because they have a fancy doctorial degree hanging on the wall, or spend half their day teaching on a yoga mat, does not mean they are immune from the human aspect of life. However, there is a sort of unspoken assumption that these individuals should be health problem free, as they are the ones with “all the knowledge”. Any disease or illness will not discriminate with a negative diagnosis; I have met with many health professionals who have face cancer, depression, among many other conditions during their practice. Forms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is common among physicians and others alike, as they take in suffering daily, yet still have to go home to their families after their shift is complete. Health doesn’t come automatic and illness will not discriminate.

             Onto the claim that the HP must not “practice what they practice”, don’t know what they are talking about, or obviously “don’t have what it takes”. I have heard all of this to either myself, fellow professionals I network with, or have read it on other articles.  First of all, every body is different, what I prescribe Client A, probably isn’t what I am going to do when I workout that night. It probably won’t line up with my goals, objectives, weaknesses, or personal body type. I might be leading Client A in a private yin style yoga session to release their body from a chronically tight, high stress day; whereas I am already a hypermobility individual who must focus on strength to maintain a healthy, functioning body. Let’s face it. Life would be very boring if every person wasn’t unique, it is the imperfect aspect that makes life so interesting.

            Just because an individual is sick, doesn’t mean they brought it on themselves, were not living a healthy lifestyle, or his/her philosophy to health is wrong.  This reminds me of one of my yoga instructors in RYT 200 training, who developed lung cancer without warning or cause. She was a healthy, young yoga instructor who had been practicing for quite sometime and lived a health lifestyle. I remember specifically that she joked about her diet being perfect with the exception of her favorite Doritos being a treat every now and them. She would always have to tell people that she hadn’t smoked, wasn’t an alcoholic, and did not have a profession that exposed to her to what people would typically assume. Yet it happened, she had to have part of her lung removed and most importantly she recovered, and still teaches today! Disease won’t discriminate, it happens.

             Lastly, even those who teach, treat, and train need someone to teach, treat, or train them sometimes. I remember going to an NeuroKentic Therapy seminar in North Carolina and being amazed at some of the chiropractors and physical therapists describing nagging injuries, auto immune diseases or certain illness that they had experienced in their own lives. Just because a chiropractor can put their patient back together after injury, does not mean they will not need an adjustment or two to keep their bodies in check.

             The other day I met up with a fellow personal trainer to double check my squat, deadlift, and kettebell swing form just to be sure I was executing them properly. Sure enough, she was able to pin point a few errors I was making, and a few minutes later I was doing the movements with ease and no pain. Afterwards, I help her open up her pectoral muscles, release through her upper back, and improve her posture, after she had been having tension headaches causes by lack of postural alignment. We helped each other, we learned from each other, neither of us being wrong or right, but helping one another perfect our respective abilities. That’s what makes a good HP, getting and giving help when needed.

             Health professions are looked up to in society as a wealth of knowledge and ability. Yet, sometimes they can be put on a pedestal so high, that when injury or life happens, people tend to stake fault in their skill as a HP. Human error and vulnerability is apart of life no matter what vocation you have chosen to follow. Be kind to your health professional, understand they have dedicated their life to helping you become a healthy individual free of injury and illness, but don’t expect them to be an angelic little butterfly that floats around without issues of their own.

 As always, let me know what you think! Discuss, Comment, Enjoy!

Cassandra Hewett B.S. - Health Education Promotion and Fitness       Certified Essentrics Instructor     FMT Rocktape, NKT Practioner Facebook: Positively Balance - Essentrics and Health       Email: positivelybalancedeh@gmail.com

  References

 Health Care Worker Injuries Due to Patient Handling Continue to Rise. (n.d.). Retrieved June 28, 2016, from http://www.apta.org/PTinMotion/News/2015/6/24/PatientHandlingInjuries/

Spector, M. P. (n.d.). Your Doctor's Health Affects Your Health: Latest Reports on Physician Health Alarming. Retrieved June 28, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-spector-md/your-doctors-health-affects-your-health_b_8987102.html

[positivelybalanced-blog]

Health and Happy Flights

     You know that feeling you get when you see the flight attendant walking up passing out those cute little chocolates? Yeah you know you do. it starts out as, “O I don not need one, I just ate lunch before take off.”. However, soon it turns into, “I’ll take just one, one can’t hurt”.

      Airplane food is know for its, what shall we say, lack of quality. The little chocolates and peanut packets are tasty, but for those on a diet, or allergic, they could be hazardous. Instead of sweating it as the condiment card rolls past pack some protection!! O, hey mind out of the gutter, I mean food protection. Whether you are taking a stateside flight or going over the pond, chances are a snack or meal will be served during.  Since the increase in airports security, many travelers believe that they cannot bring any travel snacks with them; however, this is further from the truth.

     Here’s is a healthy friendly little snack list for you to refer to next time you fly and are craving a snack:

·      Mixed nuts - filling, nutritious, take a small baggy and you are set

·      Whole fruits - I have found apples, pears and nectarines to be the hardiest in travel

·      Dried fruit - my favorites are no sugar added mange and pineapples, perfect if you get nausea on planes

·      99% dark chocolate mini bars - yes that is possible, no it isn’t super sweet, but still yummy and nutritious, packed with manganese

·      Baby carrots - eat these first as they can go bad, but still a great snack

·      Almond butter packets - single serving so you can’t hit a crazy train craving

·      Seeds! - Love seeds, sunflower, pumpkin etc, etc. Just get the ones shelled, no one likes a mess neighbor on a plane

      These are just a few of the many snacks you can bring on board the plane; however these are the ones that work best for me every time I travel. They don’t go bad, they are filled, easy to package, and won’t create a mess. You can always get creative, make a sandwich or bring some hummus just don’t forgot that those items can go bad if you forgot them going on an overseas trip. Nothing can ruin your suitcase like finding a molding sandwich leaking al over your favorite outfit. Better to be safe than sorry!

 Happy and healthy travels!

Cassandra Hewett

B.S. - Health Education Promotion and Fitness      

Certified Essentrics Instructor    

FMT Rocktape, NKT Practioner

Facebook: Positively Balance - Essentrics and Health      

Email: positivelybalancedeh@gmail.com

[positivelybalanced-blog]

3 Yogic Inspirations

       For my RYT 200 yoga training, we were to pick 3 yogi gurus, write about their lives and what drew us to them. Here is a brief overview of just a few of the many gurus I follow and love. I really enjoy learning about these individuals, who knows I might write about a few more! I hope you enjoy!

       The word guru in Sanskrit simply means teacher. It does not mean an expert, someone who gets the most followers on Instagram or has books written about their life. There are many influential yogis in the world that are lesser known, as well as many popular ones, who have impacted our movements, asana and yogic culture. Some challenge the traditional yoga asana and create amazing new concepts, whereas others embrace the culture and change the community. Matthew Sanford, Diane Bruni, and Jill Miller are three gurus who are completely different from each other, having different backgrounds, beliefs and practices; yet all have influenced yoga in a positive way.

       Focused on the mind body connections, Matthew Sanford has a deeper awareness of his body then many yogis are able to achieve in a lifetime. After car wreck at the age of 13 years old, he was paralyzed form the waist down. His father and sister were killed instantly, leaving Matthew confined to a wheelchair and setting in motion a lifelong journey to find healing and sharing that healing with others. His inward focus came about in a forced accident, but has amplified his body’s perception of itself.

      Matthew went through many years of pain and rehabilitation throughout his recovery. Pain became apart of his life so much that he had to develop the ability to leaving his body during the waves of suffering he endured. Developing this out of body experience was essential for his recovery, as corrective violence had to be done to restore his body to as normal as possible. He was able to move away from the pain, and in turn connect on a deeper level to his body and what it experienced. Matthew tells people that he has lived two lives, and has been able to reconnect both of those lives through yoga. “Waking: a memoir of trauma and transcendence” is his complete story, telling the strength, fear, pain and experience of this amazing man.

      He found yoga helped him to reconnect with his body and he began to dive into the process of rebuilding his mind, to connect deeper into his body than most people can ever dream of. Teaching others that even the places on their body that they could not feel, have grace and it is possible to achieve that grace. Matthew developed his own practice for many years before completing his yoga teacher training. Beginning with Iyengar yoga with Jo Zukovich, Matthew began to rebuild the parts of his body that could still properly function and embrace the areas that no longer could complete tasks once easy. As his personally practice grew, so did his passion for helping others achieve this mind-body connection as well. He is now a certified Iyengar teacher an E-RYT 500 yoga teacher, teaching a full spectrum of students from beginner to advanced. Yogis with disabilities and veterans can especially benefit from Matthew’s adaptive approach to yoga practice.

     Diane Bruni started out her yoga practice taking Iyengar classes from a BKS Iyengar trained instructor as well as Jois’s Ashtanga classes, developing a dualistic approach to her practice. Then she decided to begin her teaching practice as the first Ashtanga yoga teacher teaching in Canada, cofounding the Downward Dog Yoga Center. Also she became the host of an internationally aired television series called Breathing Space Yoga and teaching classes in all of Toronto’s University Healthcare Network hospitals. However, this is just the surface of Diane’s teachings and it is the other side of her practice is what sets her apart from many instructors.

     Then in 2012, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer, making her step back from her strenuous yoga practices. She transferred her practice to an inward emotional practice, breathing and sitting. After a year off, she again to body braid, a suspension unit to build her body back to strength. She began to see how this would have hypermobile yogis to help them be more stable and safe in their practice. Body braids help to connect your body with the natural facial lines that run through the body, and soon Diane was able to develop a full practice using body braids, helping many people connect with their inner tissues and alignment.

      Diane began to experience gluteal tears, repeated injuries and aches after 15 years of teaching, that she did not expect from her yoga practice. This caused her to shift her focus to yoga injuries and began to dive into the anatomy issues that could be affecting her as well as her fellow teachers students. Partnered with many doctors in Canada to help the yoga community, she began instructing students on healthy alternatives to prevent injury. She was able to move to more simple postures with a greater emphasis in function movements, backing the adjustments with anatomic reasoning. Diane is now working on yoga intensive research, focusing on improving how yogis practice and evolving the practice.

      Jill Miller is a more popular name in the yoga world in comparison to the previously discussed yogis. At 43 years old, many yogis and fitness individuals know her for her development of the Yoga Tune Up ball and accompanying methods. However, that is just one of the many noteworthy things Jill has accomplished. In her early years, Jill faced a battle against anemia and bulimia, two deadly diseases that few survive. She became obsessed with exercise, starving herself and developed extreme body hate, struggling for over 10 years. During her final months on college she was able to realize just how amazing her body is and power it contained, creating an epic turnaround in her life.

      “Being a better tailor of the seams of your body”, is something that Jill has implored her followers to embrace. After a professor in college showed her just a simple beanbag could make on her muscles, she became fascinated with SMR, recovery and self massage treatments. Jill then developed the Yoga Tune Up balls to help individuals treat their aches and pains from athletes to every day individuals! She wrote a book called, The Roll Model Method containing the why and how to treat those aches using a simple self massage therapy ball.

      Her approach to yoga and fitness in general is completely different from traditional yogis, separating her even more. Her goal in her trainings, workshops and classes is to target pain, posture and performance and help individuals to activate inactive muscles, release overused muscles and live better in their own bodies. By treating these “body blind spots”, individuals can improve their sense of space, body neurons proprioception and muscle activation ability to improve their body movements. Jill Miller has created an outliner program that can help yogis, athletes, and everyday individuals, that utilizes yoga yet focuses on an individual live in their body better.

      Looking at these three yogis, we can see a wide variety of the same culture and movement. Matthew embraced the yoga culture and has influenced the world of trauma yoga practice in a beautiful way. Diane has evolved her personal yoga experiences and is now attempting to challenge the yogic approach to the tradition asana. Then you have Jill, who has overcome personal battles and developed a method of yoga recovery and SMR training to help individuals achieve living comfortably in their body. Each has their niche; each has their experiences and their passion, all of which has framed their yogi guru style and influence. Yoga is for all, and it is a practice that will continue to evolve and grow, with individuals such as these to impart such knowledge.

Always, let me know what you think! Discuss, Comment, Enjoy!

Cassandra Hewett

 B.S. - Health Education Promotion and Fitness       

 Certified Essentrics Instructor     

 FMT Rocktape, NKT Practioner

Facebook: Positively Balance - Essentrics and Health      

Email: cassandra.hewett@okstate.edu

[positivelybalanced-blog]

Essentrics - How, What, Who, Why, Where

      Hello! My name is Cassandra Hewett and I am a fully certified Essentrics Instructor in Owasso, Oklahoma. As this is my first of many posts to come, I wanted to give you a brief overview of something called Essentrics, a dynamic workout that targets all of the 650 muscles in the body.   Here’s my HOW, WHAT, WHO, WHY, WHERE of Essentrics.

A brief summary of HOW I came to I find Essentrics.

      I started Essentrics back when I was a little girl, and my mom made me join in on Classical Stretch played on our local PBS station. Truthfully, I hated it at first. But as I began to play sports and run more, I saw how this simple 30 minute workout was helping me achieve my goals injury free. After my first semester in college, I committed to become an Essentrics Instructor and I am so thankful that I made that decision. It has helped me recover from an eating disorder, improve my digestion, improve my flexibility, prehab and rehab from injuries, and allowed me to help others do the same.

Ok, WHAT is Essentrics?

       Essentrics is a dynamic workout that lengthens and strengthens every muscle in the body, resulting in greater joint mobility and lean, long muscles. Using the entire body during the workout, Essentrics uses the healing principles behind physiotherapy to help create a pain free body. By working through the muscle chains, you are able to liberate and empower your muscles, relieving tension in the process. After just a week or two of Essentrics, clients can see increases in full body flexibility, pain relief and unlocked tight muscles just to name a few!  Also, it supports injury prevention, improves athlete training, helps to firm muscles, and improve posture!        By using techniques such as PNF, eccentric loading and isotonic movement, an Essentrics workout can give your body what it needs to rebalance and refresh!         “The purpose of this program is to stretch, strengthen and rebalance the full muscular structure leaving you more flexible and agile.” - Essentrics.com

WHO can benefit from Essentrics?

     I love this question because I can rattle off a list of benefits; however, what I have discovered is that anyone and everyone can benefit from Essentrics in some way! You don't have to be a super athlete to do Essentrics, and improve your health and body. Yet, on the flip side, athletes can use this workout to challenge, strengthen and improve their body for prime performance! So instead of rambling to much, I’ll list a few specifics on who can benefit from Essentrics and why:

               Athletes: Increases range of motion, increases in speed and agility, helps prevent injuries and decreases injury recovery time. By making an active rest day, an Essentrics day, you can decrease injures on your team or for yourself! Essentrics prepares the muscles and tendons to both withstand the maximum demands of sports, helping you be ready for game day.

               Everyday worker/weekend warrior: If you struggle from tight hips, back and shoulders and need increased range of motion; recovering from injury, but still want to keep active; seeking a safe yet effective workout; sit at a desk all day and want to improve your posture...Essentrics is right for you....just to name a few of the many benefits! 

               Breast cancer survivors: The incredible creator of Essentrics, Miranda Esmonde-White, is a survivor of breast cancer and she has created a specific workout directed to the rehabilitation from breast surgery. This incredible technique can help breast cancer survivors regain mobility, health and freedom from pain. I have seen it for myself from one of my dear clients, who saw her edema and fluid around her surgical site disappear after a few weeks of class!   (THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE MANY BENEFITS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE CONSIDERING ESSENTRICS.)

              Aging Backwards: Yes, you read that right, you can help your body to reverse/slow down aging by doing Essentrics and changing some of your lifestyle! By working your muscles and adapting to a healthier lifestyle, you can improve your energy, bone density, medical condition overall health.

WHY should someone do Essentrics??

         I began to fall in love with Essentrics due to the difference it made in my running; however, now it relieves my aches and pains! YOU can have the same benefits along with many others. Pain in your knees, hips or lower back? Essentrics. Pains from frozen shoulders? Essentrics. Posture problems? Essentrics. On the other hand, are you experiencing tight hamstrings? Essentrics. Wanting to run a marathon? Use Essentrics to help you get there by preventing injury.  You can incorporate Essentrics into your workout regime to rebalance your body and enhance its range of motion, flexibility, strength capabilities!

WHERE can you do Essentrics?

         Live classes with me or any of the wonderful Essentrics instructor world-wide! Yes, that’s right, Essentrics is taught world-wide. I would love to have you join in on the next class in your area. Check out this list to find an instructor in your area (http://www.essentrics.com/instructorcommunity.html#CERT), know you will be in good hands wherever you are. 

         Another few options if you cannot make a live class include Essentrics TV available online (http://www.essentrics.com/page/productdetails/ESSENTRICS_TV_online_streaming/ESSENTRICS_TV___Monthly_Membership.htm), purchase DVDs for your personal use at home and/or catch Classical Stretch workouts on your local PBS station!

     I hope you have enjoyed this brief overview of Essentrics! if you would like to learn more, please contact me and I would love to talk with you!

         Facebook: Positively Balance - Essentrics and Health

         Email: cassandra.hewett@okstate.edu

Cassandra Hewett 

      HEP-Health and Fitness Bachelors of Science  

      Certified Essentrics Instructor

      FMT Rocktape, NKT Practioner