Yin/ Restorative Legs up the wall Series

This is a simple restorative or yin series for legs up the wall that will help promote relaxation, decompression and opening in the legs, hips and chest.  Getting your legs up the wall is a great way to re-energize when feeling tired or to meditate and find steadiness. 

Start:

 Find a quite place in your home where you can lay with your legs up the wall.  Place a blanket or mat on the floor and have another blanket for under your head and possibly to lay across your chest for some pressure and warmth. 

To get your legs up the wall the easiest sit on the floor with your Right hip against the wall.  As you start to lay down, cartwheel your legs up the wall trying to keep your butt as close to the wall as possible.

 Simple Legs:

For the first 5-6 minutes start with both legs up the wall with a little space between your heels.  Place your arms down with the palms up on the floor and find a neutral position in your back.  As soon as you find a comfortable position that you can keep without moving too much start to focus on your breathing.  Simple inhales and exhales out of the nose while trying to stay gentle and soft in the body

Wide-Leg’s up the Wall:

Keeping your back soft against the floor start to separate the heels from one another until you feel a comfortable and tolerable stretch in the adductors or inner groin area.  If your back starts to peel from the floor try and bring the heels closer to one another and maintain a neutral position in the low back area.  As your ease into this pose you can challenge yourself and see if you can separate your heels without letting your back lift from the floor.  Once you find a position where you know you can stay still start to bring your focus back to your breathing.  Lay in this position for up to 4 minutes.

Frog Pose up the Wall:

Transition from a wide leg position into Frog Pose up the wall by drawing the soles of the fee together.  The lower your drop your heels towards the floor the deeper the stretch you get, but if you feel your low back peeling from the floor lift the heels a little higher until you can keep a soft back position. For some added depth in this pose you can lightly press your knees towards the wall with your hands.  Lay in this position for up to 4 minutes. 

Piriformis Stretch up the Wall.

Transition from Frog up the Wall to Piriformis stretch by lengthening the legs back up the wall.  Start first by placing the Right ankle across your Left thigh.  You should start to feel a stretch around the outside of the Right hip.  You can add some depth here by placing your Right hand on your Right knee and lightly pressing the knee towards the wall.  For an even deeper stretch you can stat to bend the Left knee and placing the Left foot on the wall.  The lower you drop your Left foot down the wall the deeper the stretch you will get, but stay mindful of the low back.  Stay in this position for up to 3 minutes and repeat on each side.

End:

End your session with legs going back up the wall again and lay there for about 3-5 minutes for a Savasana.  Bring both legs into the chest and roll to the Right or Left side and lay there for a minute before getting up into a seated position. 

Namaste…..

My Journey with Pilates

About a year ago I finally hit my tipping point with back pain.  I had been ignoring a deep pain on the right side of my low back above my butt for a long time until it started to radiate down my back into my right foot.  It was constant.  I couldn’t sit for longer then a few minutes and couldn’t stand still because I was so uncomfortable.  I found out from my amazing team of physical therapists that I had SI (sacroiliac) instability along with a compressed disc in my lumbar spine.  As I worked with some great manual care therapists I was give the green light to start some Pilates to help strengthen my deep spine stabilizers and find my pelvic floor.

When I stated Pilates with Laurie I didn’t realize how weak I was.  I always thought of myself as an athlete, but I was hit with a big dose of reality when I started to work with her.  I never really knew how to use my pelvic floor and how to engage it with movement.  Even as a physical therapist myself I struggled with these movements and had to work so hard for the smallest movements to happen.  Each deep spine movement she gave me I was shaking and sweating!  I would leave her sessions so baffled at how hard it was for me to find my middle and a neutral spine as well as try and maintain it while adding in leg or arm movements.  It was always a shaky walk to the car !

After a lot of basic sessions I was finally able to stabilize my SI joint and back and get into more complex movements on the Reformer, Wunda Chair, and Cadillac.  Laurie is an amazing physical therapist and Pilates instructor.  She finds all my compensations and teaches and educates me about them so that I can keep reeducating my body about functional movement.  Learning how to engage my pelvic floor and deep spine stabilizers has not only got me out of back pain but also has changed my life and the way I treat patients in the outpatient clinic. 

If you are looking into Pilates as a way of exercise, therapy, or breath work I urge you to try it!  It is such an amazing workout that challenges the mind, body and breathe all at the same time.  If you are super unfamiliar with Pilates like I was and are dealing with some orthopedic issues I suggest finding a physical therapist who is certified in Pilates who can give you some extra care around your injury before you go into a class format. 

Leave any comments you have below and I will be happy to answer!