Jill McGowan Pilates

The first step to fixing anything is knowing exactly what needs fixing. Like posture. Understanding good posture means understanding bad posture. So, in the spirit of that, (as well as kitsching up your holidays!), my gift to you is a quiz! Can you spy the most obvious elements of bad posture in the following fab photos? Your prize for getting them all right is certainly a step towards better health. Not to mention a tinsely sense of superiority. #1. #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 1. This exaggerated kyphosis probably isn't her everyday posture but more of a body language message of "Ho Ho hooold me, Santa!" 2. Is it me or is the standing child's R knee hyperextension not the only sadly haunting thing about this photo? 3. It's a red velour shout out to shoulder asymmetry. Also, L leg and foot stuff but look at that little rocking chair back there! 4. Shoulder elevaaaaaaation. 5. Where to start, besides a shirt? R leg externally r

Strong, healthy feet are important. As Katy Bowman says: Improving intrinsic muscle use in the foot can drastically impact a human’s physiology. Nerve health. Bone density. Osteoarthritis. Pelvic floor disorders. A child’s physical and mental development. A decrease in the 12 BILLION dollars spend annually on lower leg amputations. Diabetes. Metabolism. Balance. Fall risk. Slowly switching over to (i.e. building up the strength for!)minimalist shoes will help. But what are they? And how are they different from "zero drop" shoes? Zero Drop - no difference in height between the sole and the heel. Most shoes, even "flats" have a slight difference. And just because a shoe is zero drop doesn't mean it's minimalist. Minimalist - as close as possible to barefoot. (Zero drop, very flexible sole, and a wide toe box. Some examples: Some shoes I bought in Poland years ago. I hardly ever wear them now. Obviously not minimalist and far from zero drop. They ha

Though not as common as Forward Head , let's talk about another postural deviation I'll call Chin Up Head. Here's a good example. By our cultural standards, she's gorgeous: that neck goes on for days! But in addition to her head being forward, her chin is lifted. End result: stunningly beautiful uh....compression of the neck vertebrae. The technical term is cervical extension and it usually isn't as extreme as the model above. Here are more subtle examples: It's a little hard to see but all these people have their heads lifted a few degrees off neutral. Held habitually for years, it can add up to neck problems or even chronic headaches. It can even affect your eyes. Chin Up Head is very frequently associated with Forward Head because of issues in the upper back and neck muscles. But there are two other important reasons people acquire this postural problem: Limitation in thoracic extension and overstretched tissue in the front of the neck. Huh? Limit

Setting goals helps you prioritize what to work on and can help give you a sense of accomplishment at the end of the year. But setting goals is hard. The standard advice is to make them SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. In general I agree with this. (Though what's the difference between attainable and realistic? Just asking.) I've been practicing goal setting for about five or six years now. And yes, I see it as a practice or skill. You're not that great at it the first couple of times, but you improve with repetition. You get better at figuring out what works for you — how many goals is realistic to shoot for in a year, how specific to be when you break down your big goals, how far in advance you can schedule little goals, what to do about changing your mind mid-year, etc, etc.... And, oh yea, the biggie: realizing that often what you want is intangible and hard to measure. For example, "I want to be happier." A wise goal but no

"Fatigue Posture" involves pushing your pelvis forward; you use less muscular energy by essentially hanging on your ligaments. Pretty awful for your bones and organs, and yet, if you look around, you'll see it everywhere. That's because most folks know more about body language than posture. They have no clue that fatigue posture might cause constipation and osteoporosis, but they can read loud and clear the "I'm cool and I'm powerful" message. "I'm cool." "I'm powerful" And there is it, in 6th season, episode 9 of Game of Thrones, Yara and Theon Grayjoy stand in front of Daenerys, beseeching her for support. Through most of the scene, Yara has her hands folded in front of her crotch, very low-power in terms of body language. But she's also in a pronounced fatigue posture! Seemingly contradictory but it speaks volumes about what's going on. And as long as I'm this deep in geeky posture land, let's

Katy Bowman can give you all the reasons minimalist shoes are good for you, but what happens if you're a cheapskate, on top of a body nerd? Never fear, my friends! This is so easy and has massive cute potential!! What you'll need: a pair of cheap flip flops, with straps that poke all the way through to the bottom 18-24 inches of 1/4 inch ribbon for the loops, or make your own, starting with strips of fabric about 1 inch wide 2 pieces of about 4 feet of 3/4" ribbon for the straps, or make your own, starting with strips of fabric about 2 1/2 inches wide. Cut off the plugs that hold the straps on. Throw the straps away, or think of something else to make out of them! You'll have three holes on each shoe now. If you're making your own ribbon, fold the raw edges of your strap down, wrong side together. For the narrower ribbon, I just fold the edges in till they meet in the middle (about 1/4 inch down on each side.) For the wider ribbon, I fold about 1/4