The Body & Movement

Six Reasons You Might Be Cramping…Consider Electrolytes

Foot cramps, toe cramps, Charley Horses, even back spasms—they are all a form of muscles cramping.

Have you ever wondered where the term “Charley Horse” comes from to describe a cramp in the leg? It first pops up in newspapers and magazines around the 1880’s always referring to something terrible that afflicted baseball players. There is speculation that there was actually a horse named Charley that had a role on the baseball field. Or perhaps, a ballplayer had grown up with a lame horse named Charley. When players got cramps in their legs they walked around like the horse and the player said they looked like his horse, Charley.

While we don’t know the full etymology of the term, we do somewhat better understand what it going on when we get a muscle cramp. Here are science’s best assumptions on cramping right now:

Puberty, pregnancy, menopause—they can all cause you to wake in the night with a cramp in your leg. So if your body is changing first consider that as a possibility.
If you aren’t properly hydrated you are more likely to cramp. So make sure you are well hydrated for exercise, but also throughout the day. If you have chronic back pain, […]

Six Reasons You Might Be Cramping…Consider ElectrolytesMaggie Downie2017-12-29T21:54:13-05:00

Wiggle Your Tail Bone Because You Can

Did you know that you can move your tail bone just like you can move all your vertebra? At least you should be able to, but to feel it you may have to do a little digging. The best place to try it is in the shower. Next time you take a shower, find your tailbone with your finger. You don’t actually have to go too deep into any crevices to find it. When I was in China and getting a massage, the therapist rubbed my tailbone. That was shocking and unwelcomed, but when you are searching for your own it’s not that invasive.

Once you find it, by engaging your pelvic floor (think do a Kegel) you should be able to feel it wiggle just a little bit. Think of the range of motion you can get from the first joint of your pointer finger. It’s not a big movement, but you should feel something.

The tailbone is really the last bone of your spine. If something in the body is meant to have mobility, we want to keep it mobile. Since everything is connected, if your pelvic floor is too tight or too slack that effects the positioning of the […]

Wiggle Your Tail Bone Because You CanMaggie Downie2018-02-14T15:33:38-05:00

Movement Beats Polio

My Grandma inside the igloo!

My grandma contracted polio when she was nine. She was so sick her mother had to push her in a baby carriage to walk her to the hospital. She was embarrassed and mad at her mom because she was nine and didn’t belong in a baby carriage. No one else in the Waterbury area had been diagnosed with polio so at first the doctors didn’t know what was wrong. Before long there was an entire ward of children with polio.

For six month, my grandma was strapped to a wooden plank to immobilize her. It was the early thirties. The hospitals didn’t have air conditioning and she talks about how hot it could get in the room she shared with a group of polio-infected children. Those that died were wheeled out. One of her best memories from her time in the hospital was on summer Saturday nights when the nurses would wheel patients who were well enough out onto a patio for fresh air. The nurses would turn on music and dance.

When it was time to go home the doctor told her mother […]

Movement Beats PolioMaggie Downie2017-10-25T15:49:42-04:00

Running Goals: Are They Worth the Pain?

The folks who motivate me to keep running.

Last week I went for a run with my iphone, a playlist and some earbuds. That probably doesn’t sound event worthy to most people, except that the last time I had music when running it came from a Walkman.

In college I used to run six miles a day and eight to twelve (usually eight) on the weekends. I preferred running alone and only occasionally ran with others. Running companions were so rare that I remember every time I had a running buddy. Originally, not a lover of running, taking on long distances happened by accident. One day I went for a run with friends, fell behind (I’ve always been slow) and got lost. I figured if I kept running it would all be over sooner. In the end, I’d run six miles. And once I realized that I could, I wanted to do it all the time.

Now, I rarely enjoy running alone. It’s too bad because I think I got a lot of ideas and worked out a number of problems in my head jogging by […]

Running Goals: Are They Worth the Pain?Maggie Downie2017-10-25T15:49:49-04:00

What Am I Doing With My Abs in Pilates?

You may have heard a Pilates instructor say “Scoop the Abs” or “Draw the Belly Button to the Spine” or “Zip the Jeans” or “Engage the abs.” There are multiple ways to say it, but only one way to do it. It’s subtle and can be a challenge to figure out how to do properly. And, as if Pilates wasn’t complicated enough we have this thing called imprint vs. neutral, which is totally different.

If you aren’t sure what imprint and neutral are, check out this video to see the difference, but this blog is really about the fact that imprint and scooping the abs are two different things because people often think they are the same. And that misconception could make your back rather unhappy over time.

When you do pelvic tilts or rock from imprint to neutral your pelvis should move. When you zip the jeans, the pelvis shouldn’t move. Sometimes you Zip and Tuck, but you don’t always have to. It’s important to know that you can engage the abdominals without being imprinted. And that you don’t want to strive to be imprinted all day.

This video has some ways to practice the difference between engaging the abs and rocking […]

What Am I Doing With My Abs in Pilates?Maggie Downie2017-10-25T14:17:26-04:00