Sarah

Winging is a catch-all phrase to describe different positions of the scapula on the back. In this video, I discuss a few different reasons why it might be happening, including one you may not know about…

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

If you have to wear a mask for long hours –  clinicians, movement teachers, or any other person-facing jobs – you may have found yourself doing all sorts of weird facial contortions to try and make more room under that mask.

When we first reopened the clinic and I had to wear a heavy duty mask for several hours at a time, I kept doing a crazy underbite to take the pressure off the back of my ears without even realizing it. (I’m still pretty convinced that I have behind-the-ear-mask-strap-calluses.)
 
However, the biggest thing you may have noticed is that you have turned into a Mouth Breather (dun dun duuunnnnn).

And now that you’ve acquired this habit, you may be Mouth Breathing all the time (or is that just me, staring at the TV at the end of a long day with my mouth hanging open…?).
 
While it may seem like a better way to get more air in while masked up, mouth breathing takes us out of the ideal resting position for the mandible (lower jaw), tongue, and lips.

It can also create tension in the masseter (your big chewing face muscle) and its friends, which can lead to headaches, neck pain, jaw pain, and dehydration, to name a few.
 
So, what’s a Mouth Breather to do? Well, a few things:
 
1) Learn and practice RMF (Resting Mouth Face)
 
2) Try some masseter massage 
 
3) For the truly experimental – try taping your mouth closed with medical tape while sleeping to avoid DOMBF (Drooling Open Mouth Breathing Face)

Watch the video below to see them in action – and if you’ve got your own tips for avoiding mouth breathing, let me know in the comments!

I got to chat with Alex Ellis on her Body Nerd Show Podcast again this week – and here’s the video of our conversation!

Recently, I posted a question on Instagram: what do you think is the most important job for a movement teacher? I got a lot of great responses from you, most of which cited helping students feel better, gain confidence, move well etc.

What’s the Uber-skill (not a car service) in achieving all those things? Communication.

If your students don’t understand you, that’s your problem, not theirs.

Watch my video to see some examples of not great teaching that I have experienced and that may be all too familiar to you, and for my suggestions on what to do when you’re not making yourself understood!

Do you have go-to tricks for this? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Have you ever had a student who won’t stop pushing through pain? Or they don’t want to modify what they’re doing, even though it hurts? 

I see this all the time in the clinic, when someone comes in and they (for example) love running, but now they have hip pain, and they want their hip pain to get better, but they don’t want to stop running.

I used to see it as a yoga teacher when people wanted to practice every day, or at least 6 times a week, typically the vinyasa/power styles, and they had pain, but they weren’t willing to reduce or change their yoga practice. 

It can be that the movement is a meaningful part of their identity – if I’m not doing yoga every day, can I call myself a practitioner?

Or sometimes it’s the only exercise a person likes and will stick to.

Watch my video for tips on how to work with someone who won’t stop pushing through their pain, and let me know any tips or approaches you have as well!

Have you ever had a new student or client tell you, “My doctor said I can never [insert type of movement] because I will hurt myself” (or something similar)?

To be fair, not all doctors use fear-mongering language, and it’s not only the purview of the medical profession – plenty of other people (chiropractors, PTs, yoga teachers, Pilates instructors) do it too. 

We know words have power, and in particular, when it comes to our bodies, if a trusted professional tells us to be afraid, that’s a powerful influence and a difficult message to try and shift.

No matter the source, once someone has been set up to be afraid of movement, it’s a challenge to unpack it for them and find ways they can move safely and without fear or anxiety.

As a movement teacher, what do you do when someone comes in with rigid beliefs about what they can or cannot do with their body?

In my short talk below I explain:

– How not moving can not only create more pain but reinforce negative beliefs

– How to earn the trust of a fearful client

– Techniques to rewire their beliefs about their abilities to get them moving again

If you’ve had a hard time figuring out how to work with someone who doesn’t trust their own body, watch the video for some guidance.

I’d love to hear how you have worked with a ‘fragile’ client and what techniques you use – feel free to comment below!