Hab-it Blog

I was re-watching the 2010 Hawaii Ironman yesterday morning and one story of an 80 year-old competing in his 20th ironman stuck with me. At 80 years old, to still be biking, swimming, and running…surely this competitor had something to share with all of us. His words of wisdom were to go anaerobic [...]

Is there a difference (in terms of which muscles are activated) if you pull your belly up and in as opposed to just pulling it in? In other words does the “up” do something different?
I use “up and in” because these actions help coordinate the pelvic floor elevation along with the transverses abdomius (TA) which [...]

Oh how I love to talk about extension! It is so important to maintain the natural extension of our spine that I can’t help but talk about it again.
What does extension do for us? It lifts our ribs allowing us to take in a deeper breath, it allows for better shock [...]

The holiday season can lead us into some traps that can have a direct or indirect effect on our pelvic floor function. Let’s take a closer look at three things we want to avoid in the next month.
The first and the most important is to avoid over-eating. It begins with the Thanksgiving meal [...]

I was just working with a patient, coaching her on posture, and found myself explaining how the multifidi and transversus abdominus muscles fight against one another. Our conversation went something like this:
She asked, “So you want me to exaggerate the curve of my lower back?”
I said: “That is just the first step. I [...]

I am in pain after doing just the first workout (my lower back is really achy). Does that mean I did something wrong?
Your back is likely aching because your TA (transversus abdominus) has not been activated much as of late or maybe ever. Your TA wraps around and attaches to the fascia [...]

I have been asked several times about the process of building up pelvic floor endurance, so I’ve decided to focus on this question in this blog entry.
Perhaps one of the most frustrating things we experience as our bodies work to gain better control of our pelvic basket is the increased symptoms [...]

I have a 2nd degree uterine prolapse at 24, after my 2nd 10lb+ baby. I am not petite, but no one expected me to have such large babies.
I was extremely athletic before and during my pregnancies, even biking several miles the day before I gave birth.  I felt beautiful while pregnant, and strong.
I pushed [...]

I noticed something awesome last night at my 4 year-old’s soccer game.  I have blogged in the past that I continue to experience prolapse symptoms when I yell or cheer at my son’s soccer games, after eating too much (every once in awhile I do this), and after being sick.
Well, I still feel symptoms after [...]

I just returned from a continuing education course in which the primary message delivered was that the human body is driven by activity.  It is our activity level throughout our day that dictates the health of our bones, our muscles, our nerves, our brain, and more.  Without activity, our bodies begin to degrade.  That’s right, [...]