All Manner of Stretching and Bending

To stretch or not to stretch?

The Bend Bulletin recently did an article on stretching and highlighted the current debate about the benefit (or not) of the traditional passive form of stretching. The article is titled Should I stretch out before or after exercise? (05/08/08) and can be found at www.bendbulletin.com (subscription required).

Although the article supports the use of "dynamic stretching" (you can find my Runner's Dynamic Warmup here), the pictures just as clearly show the non-dynamic, traditional stretches being performed. Weighing in on this important issue- My two cents:

1. "It ain't whatcha do, it's the way that'cha do-it"
As with many exercise techniques, success with stretching comes down to form. Dynamic stretching incorporates many of the same movements that happen during an actual activity such as hiking, running martial arts, playing a musical instrument etc. and tends to be both safe and more effective than static stretches and positions which are extremely unlikely to happen in the "real world". Whichever approach you favor, make sure your movements are well supported posturally. Including your breathing throughout and encouraging a deeper sense of release and relaxation will make a huge difference to the end result. As a general rule, spend more time and do less.

2. Being tight means... what exactly?!?
What is the cause of flexibility issues? Any thoughts? Are your muscle fibers adhered? Your joint capsules stuck or frozen? Your ligaments and connective tissues resentful and morose? For a nice therapeutic change in semantics, let's focus on the "being" part for a change, instead of the "tight" part in the experience of "being tight". That's right, flexibility or lack of is in large part a functional problem rather than a structural one.

If we studied all of the movements you routinely perform in a typical day, or during your preferred fun-thing to do, you would have a very specific way of doing those activities that belongs to you and you alone. This is your movement footprint, and it's both unique and very, very consistent. If we represent your movement by using an image of your footprints in the sand, wherever your foot lands is movement that you use regularly. All the muscles, joints and motor programs involved in these regular movements are streamlined, efficient and effective. It's to your nervous system's advantage to make these movements work better, since you've been successful in the past. Make sense? These are the movements your motor cortex thinks will help keep you alive in the big bad world.

Now look just outside your footprints- notice all the untracked sand? That's the land where "tightness" lives. Not inherently mind you, but through a clever function of our nervous system that makes routine activities even easier and more hard-wired/therefore efficient, we're limited from stepping outside our tracks of flexibility because... we've gotten so good at stepping in our tracks! We're so good at the routine movements we do, in a very real way, we are doing them all the time! It's very difficult to button a shirt while your hand is holding a glass of water. In the same way, standing taller or sitting more easily without pain might be difficult because your postural muscles are already contracted doing something else.

Our goal? Imagine a juggler- to be successful requires both the catching part, and the letting go! We have to learn how to NOT do all of the unnecessary (but useful) things we're unconsciously doing. As Dr. Feldenkrais said, to improve your standing, simply stop doing all the things that are NOT standing, and your standing will improve! Sounds deliciously simple. How do we do it?

There are three ways to work on this flexibility puzzle: The hard way, the long way and the easy way.

The common way people improve their flexibility during their activities is also the hard way- Using our juggler as an example, instead of learning to catch and let go in balance, we simply try to catch harder- for example if I run more miles, or push my muscles harder in training, or practice slouching everywhere, not just on my sofa, I'll uncover the secrets of flexibility? Sadly not- this is the hard way, since your current motor patterns are running at the same time new demands are placed on your system, any flexibility gains that are made are won during this tug of war at great cost, including increased soreness, pain and occasionally injury. However...

Often as luck would have it, learning a new activity requires a new set of joint and muscle angles, and voila! You have a slight improvement in your flexibility. This is the long way, because it requires you to actually perform ALL the necessary movements and new patterns in hopes your clever nervous system will remember them all and not leave you in a resting position that's good for only one or two basic motor patterns. Very effective but requires patience, virtue and strength of character to wait it out... as an example, try "Chi Walking or Running" - or choose your favorite activity and do it Left handed instead of Right handed...

And the easy way? This is also the most subtle, and therefore the most difficult for many of us to grasp and/or make time for. If your nervous system could be pictured as a large slider board like the kind you'd see in a TV station's control room, the easy way is to slide ALL the little levers and dials to their minimal or resting positions. Using our earlier walking on sand metaphor, this is the beach after the tide has washed the footprints away, and there's no trace of any kind in the sand. This state of no-posture actually has a very specific physical feeling associated with it (that's fairly impossible to describe, like the taste of "blue"), and a name- the "potent posture" in Feldenkrais language. Cultivating this is fairly easy once you've learned the "language" of the exercises and what specific feelings to look for (weight, pressure, ease, comfort etc. or whatever your body suggests) while moving. Then it's just a matter of applying these same feelings while doing your activity- instant flexibility! Expect to feel the same movements become even easier, lighter, more effortless, and measurable improvements in flexibility.

The only downside to taking the easy way? Making your movements so effortless and gentle can sometimes encourage a good nap, but that's never hurt anyone, has it?

Burke can be reached for comments through the Focus Physical Therapy website and contact page here.

Movement and Self-Compassion: by Dwight Pargee, MS, GCFP

For so many of us, self-aggression can creep into our most well -intentioned ways of working with our embodied selves. It shows up in exercise, yoga, pilates, sports, and the movements of daily life. This may give rise to injury, stress, fatigue, and a sense of never being good enough.

Lasting improvement arises most easily and effectively when we're in a state of curiosity, exploration and sensory-motor learning. This learning is enhanced in an environment of non-judgmental awareness and curious sensitivity with freedom to explore options without fear of "making a mistake."

Watch world- acclaimed Feldenkrais trainer and BonesForLife originator Ruthy Alon demonstrate the rich terrain of learning that unfolds when movement is used as a vehicle for self-understanding and the restorative potential of natural movement. After 80 years of wisdom through movement, Ruthy truly embodies the idea of ease and self-friendliness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igpJeOkgfzw

Why we love our job, AKA out from behind the corporate curtain

Alison and I were discussing our plans for the upcoming Solaire Salmon Run, a big fundraiser for the Central Oregon Environmental Center, and one of our newest annual events. As we're discussing our ideas, I'm thinking of our great team, the small, intimate Focus PT crew as well as the extended family we're gaining, and I feel a great appreciation and satisfaction.
From Mary and Christine who answer your calls, questions and concerns, to Amy who quietly works in the background to make operating a health care business as simple, streamlined and painless a process as possible, to our extended in-house family of Dwight and Regina, both experts in their fields and great people, to Stacy, our wonderful friend and on-call massage therapist, to our group of amazingly talented instructors- a big THANK YOU!
Please come down to McKay Park on Saturday morning, May 3rd for the run, to participate or to enjoy what will hopefully be a beautiful day. We'll be there to offer complementary Feldenkrais and Massage treatments for runners and warm-up/cool-down classes like nothing you've ever tried before. The Focus PT Movement Experience will start bright and early, at 8am.

Oh, and please give to the Central Oregon Environmental Center - a little or a lot, your contribution will go towards keeping our home forests, deserts, rivers and wildlife habitats the way they were meant to be, and the way we enjoy them the most! Visit them online at www.solairesalmonrun.com

Thank you,
Burke Selbst, PT

It's pronounced Loo-uh-vulle y'all

In certain parts of the Southern US, I've found that "nice to meet you" is replaced by "nice to see you"...
The road from Lexington, Kentucky to Louisville (pronounced Loo-uh-vulle by those in the know) is dotted with patches of snow. I'm driving Route 60, loosely paralleling interstate 64, but instead of semi trucks and commuters, I'm surrounded by gently rolling green hills organically broken up by the neat clean lines of horse fences in white and brown. Large horse ranch mansions can be seen on distant hills, with tiny side roads leading off towards more rolling hills, shaded creeks and ranches.
I've never been through Kentucky before, although I've traveled extensively through Ohio, Illinois and Indiana to the north, and Tennessee to the south. I'm finding Kentucky to be an interesting mix of these regions - from the wonderful Persian restaurant I find in Louisville to the ever so hip 2c museum gallery and Proof on Main restaurant (-the best Grits I've ever had in my life next door to an amazing art gallery where a fashion show is currently happening), to the local weekly paper in Lexington (a quintessential college town whose population practically doubles during school sessions) where I find an ad for southern "etiquette" classes - "melting pot" works quite nicely here.
My class is going well- the groups are small- Feldenkrais teachers are few and far between here, and the orthopedic physical therapy clinics are overwhelmingly of the large chain variety, but I have a nice mix of private practitioners, pediatric therapists and as usual therapists who work in Skilled Nursing Facilities looking for more ways to help their patients.
I developed my course with the orthopedic clinician in mind- that's my setting, my clients and I'm constantly amazed at the benefits of adding this approach for any orthopedic condition. I had a realization though about the SNF setting and the huge potential to introduce these ideas to those clinicians- from the very beginning of this course two years ago until now, I've met many wonderful SNF based therapists who are at the end of the line and are looking for any new tool or approach that can help people with more severe limitations and chronic diseases gain strength, mobility and function.
The wheels are turning...
Next trip will be in May, back to Ohio for another three city tour. Until then, nice to see you again.
Burke

Focus PT and Move Studio Launch!

With the paint barely dry on the walls (metaphorically speaking), this past weekend saw a flurry of activity as the entire Focus PT team kicked it into high gear, loading and unloading car, van and truck fulls of physical therapy related gear from our former location on Hill street as we set up our new digs for full physical therapy/Move studio occupancy.
How did we ever fit all of that stuff in our tiny little office?!?
Many thanks to our staff, their spouses and significant others and our wonderful unerstanding, patient and positive patients for seeing us through our move.
Our new space is absolutely beautiful- wonderful flooring, wall colors, accent lighting, and to top it off, Amy's original works of art in oils and encaustic mediums adorning our walls.
We celebrated last night with our first "house" dance party- what will become a tradition, these monthly dance parties will feature a wide selection of music and partner dance styles. Many thanks to those hardy souls who braved the snow to come by on very last minute notice to help us celebrate our new space.
Feel free to drop by and pay us a visit when you can, and we hope to see you at our open house, Friday February 22nd from 4-7 with music, refreshments and fun.
All the best,
Burke

Surfing in Costa Rica

Every surfing spot has a unique feeling and attitude. Although I surfed in three different spots and checked out five, thats really just a small small sample of what Costa Rica has to offer. Just a few observations:
Playa Guiones
This was our home away from home for most of the trip. Although we had pretty decent swell for most of our stay, Guionnes actually works better with ever so slightly smaller waves. The larger swells tend to make close-out conditions and the gradual sandbar makes paddling more of a workout.
Still, Guiones is where I did most of my surfing, and I caught some of my funnest waves there. Also as an added bonus, the gradual sand shelf makes the inside section a lot more appealing to beginners, and for this trip Amy mastered some of her ages-old fear of the crashing waves, got into it for a few days and by the end of our trip was standing on my little fish board and riding the whitewater like a pro!
South of Nosara
Playa Samara and south
We took a one day drive south along the incredible hilly coastal rode. For this drive a 4wd vehicle was mandatory, as we crossed several low rivers (water up to the bumper, and this was dry season!). Samara has a reputation for a beautiful beach, and it certainly didn't disappoint, but for surfing it was definitely beginners only, with hardly any waves coming through on the same day the Guiones was fun and head high. This could be due to the swell direction, but the overall vibe I got was more about the festive party atmosphere, bars and hotels right along the edge of the sand, and laid-back mellow people. On our shuttle bus over to the coast early in our trip from La Fortuna, there were three couples of all ages headed to Samara, none surfers, then Amy and I and one other surfer guy going to Nosara.
South of Samara things start to get more interesting from a surf perspective. There are dozens of lonely kilometers from Samara, down through the beautiful small hamlet of Punta Islita with its contemporary open air art museum, all the way to Santa Teresa and the excellent powerful rock reefs and surf of Mal Pais. We didn't make it all the way to Mal Pais this trip. By the end of that one day Amy and I were both pretty rattled-out from our bouncy, dusty day.
North of Nosara
Amy, Dan and I took an overnight trip north, to scout out for Leatherback Turtles and surf. Here's what we found:
Playa Negra
Beautiful beach, beautiful people, very rude, local and aggressive surfers who definitely put the bad juju vibes on "outsiders", in stark contrast to the few local Tico surfers who still just radiated Pura Vida, although in a more subdued way. This little spot seems to be permanently staked out by a strong South American contingent from Brazil, Argentina, Chile maybe. Hot people on the beach, hot, fiery latin blood in the water made for a couple of interesting days. The surf there is absolutely unbelievable- picture perfect reef-break with huge barreling waves across a shallow rock reef. Totally make-able and incredibly exhilarating, but the take-off or launch spot is small, as on most reefs, which is why the locals can be so dominating- they have the place wired.
Our first day there, driving up the coast, Dan and I each scored some waves before the "pressure on the boil" (the attitude out in the water) made us come in (well, actually I got massively worked on the inside by a set and just decided to come in- always the prudent one!). We revisited on our way down, waited until a little bit later in the day with a less favorable wind and tide, and Dan and his friend Sundance scored it pretty near flawless.
In summary: this is the model beach- amazing model wave, model perfect people slinking around- I would go back and stay for a couple of nights, hoping to score the wave early, then Amy and I would lounge by the pool and look beautiful... we'll need much smaller bathing suits though...
Playa Grande
We tried unsuccessfully to jump in on a Leatherback Turtle tour- Playa Grande is one of the most well-known areas for seeing these massive creatures laying their eggs on shore. It's no wonder that numbers of female turtles have been declining- Grande is just a short water taxi or a slightly longer drive up from Tamarindo, an exploding tourist destination with huge, fancy resorts, lots of action and general craziness. It's one of the "famous" beach towns, and so many tourists go there for at least part of their trip. Of the handful of these tourists who then came to Nosara, all of them sadly regretted staying in Tamarindo, and instead recommended just a pass-through to check it out, and stay up north at Grande.
The perfect swell that we caught at Playa Negra was also hitting Grande- with it's deep shelf, the waves were beach-break, shifting peaks with tons of power, hitting up and down the beach. I loved Playa Grande and caught lots of great waves there. Also there is something to the energy of that beach- maybe fantasy on my part, but knowing that these incredible turtles return from miles and miles away to lay their eggs in a trance-like state on the beach made it a powerful place for me. Walking along the sand in the early morning Amy pointed out where she found old turtle eggs, where someone (likely a ranger or one of the many volunteers who come to help protect the turtles) had marked an active next with sticks to keep people from walking on it, and where eggs had hatched we could see the marks in the sand made by the baby turtles as they made their way to the sea. Incredible! On our next trip down, doing the turtle tour will be a priority.
Another day driving back to Nosara, we surfed Grande in the am, then made our way back to Negra to meet Dan and Sundance in another car. They surfed Playa Avellones as well before meeting us at Negra. Afterwards we all drove home, happy, dusty and tired.
Burke

Mackerel continued...

The day after my stingray encounter, my heel is sore but not particularly painful, despite having what is essentially a pencil sized spike stuck in there about two inches (I can see a two inch bruise forming next to the puncture itself). Thanks to my helpful friend at the palapa, all I need is a 2x2 piece of gauze and some tape, and I'm ready to happily limp around. Lucky for me too, because during lunch Amy and I visit Dan's guitar playing bandmate, a fiery and mischevous Argentinean street artist named Juan, who is playing guitar at a local eatery with another Argentinean mate of his. We start chatting and Dan somehow manages to get us all invited to Juan's house down in South Playa Guionnes for a fish fry later that evening.
Some hours later, Amy and I are sharing a ride with Juan, his lovely wife and 16 month old baby as we head south of town towards their house. After parking at the beach and walking along the sand for about 1/2 a mile, we turn inland for a block or two until we arrive at their humble but cozy house tucked into the jungle. Another friend is already there, El Tigre is his name, and together with his wife and 4'ish sone they are starting to prepare for the feast. El Tigre worked cooking for resorts in Mexico, Spain as well as Costa Rica, and he definitely doesn't disappoint.
The menu: Beet and lettuce salad with a lime juice dressing; Tuna, Mackerel and Snapper, sliced open and stuffed with fresh herbs, garlic and onions, cooked whole and spoked in banana leaves over a bed of hot coals next to the fire. We share wine, laughter and plates= this is a fingers only meal, and it's absolutley delicious. Amy and I are thrilled to make new friends, and practice our spanish. As the evening winds down, Juan, Dan and myself have a jam session out on the porch in this incredible jungle (Juan points out an absollutely HUGE yellow spider that's made it's home in a tree just feet from the house - "I can't kill it" he says, "She's too beautiful")
As we make our way back to the beach for the 45' walk back to our room, we arrive on the sand to see the moon, swollen and blood arange yellow and red, dropping into the sea. About halfway home, Dan and Maylin pass by on Dan's enduro motorcycle, Maylin wrapped in a blanket and easily hanging onto dan bleary eyed and sleepy. We wish them good night and walk on in the dark, with the light of the stars reflecting off the whitewater of the surf, full of good spirits, amazing memories and great food.
Burke