The IT band is not a muscle. So, it doesn’t get tight in the traditional way that muscles do and can’t stretch the way muscles do. When it gets “tight”, it means the muscles it’s attaching to are tight and pulling it taught, pushing it into the structures around it.

Think of it like being stuck inside a sandwich. So when you roll from top to bottom, you’re pressing it like a panini and making it more stuck.

Working on your body is like any other goal setting. Break it up into smaller doable parts and build one on top of the other to get the whole thing done.

Lunges have a lot of hip value. I work on them often with my clients, and myself. To do them well and with confidence, I break them down.

The hips and the low back are connected by lots of structures that make them reactive to each other. The rectus femoris, one of the hip flexors, can easily get tight and pull the top of the pelvis forward, making the low back feel tight or crunched.

One way to keep it healthy is gentle stretching.

Many of the hip muscles can cause low back pain if they’re tight because lots of structures and soft tissue connect the two.

One of the most common is the hamstrings.

If you have knee pain, have you thought about focusing on your hips?

This one exercise, with the right focus, is great for both hip and knee health.

Gaining strength and the confidence of support brings ease and greater mobility to your movement. For hip health this is essential to help manage things like going up and down stairs or when you’re walking and encounter an unexpected obstacle. Try this exercise and see.

What is a healthy spineSnippet

I’m using the cover of St. Patrick’s Day to present one of my favorite hip rotation exercises. It targets both internal and external rotators and hip stability.

The connection between this exercise and St. Patrick’s Day? Well, you could do it in an Irish Bar (if you find yourself so inclined).

What is a healthy spine?

One that can move in all the directions it’s designed for – flexion, extension, and rotation-- and support that movement.

As we age, the parts of our spine with less mobility -- particularly the thoracic spine (rib cage) -- tend to get more locked down. And, the parts with more mobility – the neck and lumbar -- tend to get less stable.

Here are some easy ways to keep the thoracic moving and keep the neck and lumbar stable.

This is the second in a series on the 3 areas I think are most important, and can make the biggest difference, as we age.

#2… Strong Core.

Even if you don’t think you have aging-related issues now, it’s still a good time to start paying attention. This starts a short series on the 3 areas I think are most important, and can make the biggest difference, as we age.

Hips health is my #1.

While an ergonomic desk setup doesn’t guarantee good posture, a poor setup almost guarantees the opposite. Believe it or not, a lot of it starts with the hips. The position of your pelvis and your hips has a big effect your shoulders.

The best advice I can give is: get to know your body and listen to what it tells you. Here are the best ways to do that.

What exercise you do every day depends on your body – injuries, pain, strengths – and your goals. Here are exercises you can do every day for shoulders, hips and core.

You’ll come across this move in many modalities — pilates, yoga, good old-fashioned aerobics— which speaks to the universality of its benefits.

If you’re trying to improve your balance, one of the first steps is to help your body understand what it feels like to really be centered.

Balance isn’t about being able to stand on one foot without moving. Balance is a negotiation.

How about making 2023 the year of New Hips?

Or, at least hips that feel like new? Hips with less pain, tightness, discomfort.

Releasing and stretching muscles is equally important as strengthening and moving to maintain healthy joints – and healthy hips, in particular.

In Ayurvedic medicine as well and other age-old practices, the hips are thought to be a repository for stress and anxiety as well as other emotions.

Our hips need to rotate when we walk. You can can call it shake, sway or many other things. Whatever you call it don’t try to keep your hips rigid.