Quadratus Lumborum {Do A Little Stretch/Say A Little Om/Get Down Tonight...}

Quadratus Lumborum;

"I love that show! I have all the seasons on DVD."

"Your Honor, I would like to present this Quadratus Lumborum..."

"On a clear night you can see the Quadratus Lumborum."

I had never heard the name quadratus lumborum till a week or so ago.



image credit
As you can see from the picture above it is a muscle that gets a lot of use, and abuse. I've stretched and tweaked this part of my body a million times, but always just referred to it as "part of the back".


Quadratus Lumborum Stretch.

CoreWalking is a site I haven't explored nearly as much as I would like to. The founder, Johnathan FitzGordon, is the author of Psoas Release Party!: Release Your Body From Chronic Pain and Discomfort. I purchased the book a few months ago. Another thing I haven't devoted myself to nearly as much as I would like. I'm so quick to do things that will easily tweak this or that, usually with the result of having me walk around like a silver-back gorilla, but I'm slow to spend quality time with things that will provide healing and restoration to my body. Go figure. I know I'm not alone.

While looking at something else on CoreWalking I saw in the list of video tutorials one titled Quadratus Lumborum Stretch. The day before I came across something on another site in reference to rolling the QL on a foam roller. I was intrigued. I'm glad I clicked on it. Johnathan gives a great tutorial on the stretch, and while I've done other stretches that target the QL (actually exactly like the picture from earlier) the stretch in the video reaches the QL in a very effective manner.

To see the tutorial video from CoreWalking click here.

Yoga Patti.

I'm very much a newbie at yoga. One of my goals for the new year was to make time for at least one yoga class a week. I don't know much about the different styles of yoga past one is really hot and different styles might be paced differently. I do know just enough to know that I like Vinyasa Yoga.
One of the yoga instructors at the sports club I both teach and workout at teaches this style. I'm going to call her Yoga Patti. I've associated with Patti for several years (okay, over 20) through overlapping friend groups and dance shows. She has ceased to age from the time I met her when I was in high school and she was in college. Blessed by the luck of the fates she teaches on a morning that I am able to go to one of her Vinyasa yoga classes.
While I took a handful of classes over the summer, I hadn't taken until a couple of weeks ago. I tell you what. I could have a blog dedicated to "Cool Stuff I Learned From Yoga Patti". I always walk away with some gem of wisdom or a new layer of enlightenment that I can apply to either better more intelligent ways to move or visual exercises to bring relaxation and peace to both mind and body. Yoga challenges me in that I'm forced to simultaneously work though tight spots and be compassionate with myself. At least in the way that I approach my practice, which of course taking this approach is a wisdom that I have learned from Patti.
So here is a wisdom for intelligent movement that really resonates with me;

"Let's think about it before we do it."

This is in reference to moving into or out of a pose or transitioning into another layer of the pose. Whatever the pose might be, you are deep in it. Every fiber of your being is working to keep the balance of what at any moment could fall like a house of cards in a sudden gust of wind. It's now time to shift one small part of this delicate structure so that you can work your way back to where you started or go deeper in. Before making that first move physically take a moment to allow it to happen visually. Think through what the other parts of the structure need to do to facilitate the smooth execution of this next move. I find that applying the "Let's think about it before we do it" keeps me focused and in touch with all parts of my body as I go through a given pose(s).

A Beautiful Contemporary Dance Vid For Your Viewing Pleasure (and the mostly likely reason I will be moving like a silver-back gorilla in the near future).

This is from a YouTube channel that I subscribe to. Pretty much always awesome stuff, this video really captivated me. Why will I be moving like a silver-back you ask? Videos like these help me to find new material to give to my teen dancers. I didn't grow up in dance doing all of these cool moves and often I have to do a modified version at first and then my students can take it from there. Plus, its just kinda cool to try some of these awesome moves (even if my attempts are a paltry version).

Beautiful huh?!

Thanks for hanging out!

Enjoy the dance that is life!

New Toy In My Toy Box!

It should really be called a tool. But when you can have fun at the same time...

 I've been wanting to purchase this product for a long time. The Animal Flow Workout. Creator Mike Fitch has combined several disciplines into a fun and challenging way to increase strength, agility and in my opinion, general bad-assery.

Why I love this?

Let's start by asking another question. What is bodyweight training?

Here's a wiki-quick'n'dirty.

In the last year or so I've developed an interest in bodyweight training.  As I have explored more contemporary forms of dance instruction and my own strength training, I have found that many elements of bodyweight training can give a dynamic twist to any choreography, as well as give you one heck of a workout! Global Bodyweight Training, Mike Fitch's creation as well, is chock full of tutorials, tips and inspirations. As a younger lass I never really thought about doing handstands, and definitely not pull-ups or chin-ups. No time for regrets about missed opportunities of the past! Now pull-ups and chin-ups are a part of my regular workouts through the week. I've even got my 19 year old daughter learning on the pull up assist machine at our gym. Don't have access to an assist machine? Here's a great tutorial from Global Bodyweight Training.

How will I apply The Animal Flow Workout to what I do?

Aside from increasing my own knowledge, strength and abilities in my exploration of bodyweight training with AFW, it has great applications for dance. Especially more contemporary forms. Dance has always been athletic in various ways. But nowadays even more so. Click on an episode of SYTYCD and you will see amazing feats of agility, strength, timing, acrobatics and grace. While some of those things were never my strong suit when I was heavily immersed in performing as a dancer, as a teacher (and a perpetual student) it is important for me to set up some foundation for my ballet/contemporary dance students (almost exclusively female) to seek out opportunities to increase their abilities in those areas. As a woman I hope that I can pass that along to my adult dance fitness students as well. Don't let memories of gym class humiliation stop you from finding out how amazing you really are!!

Back to a tool like AFW for dance training. Using some of the techniques in Mike Fitch's AFW in my contemporary dance classes has helped both me and my students with our strength and agility. I'm excited about digging in even deeper!



Throughout the years, when teaching early childhood creative dance or playing with my own little ones, moving and dancing like different animals was always energizing and fun. You got winded because you knew you were playing hard. Why should "play" be removed from the "grown-up" world of working out? Look around in the fitness community these days and you will see "play" in exercise is making a strong comeback. I say comeback because there is evidence that that is how we started out. Mark Sisson, creator of Mark's Daily Apple and author of The Primal Blueprint has written some really good stuff about this topic; here, and here.Visit his website and find even more great info.

Some playful moments from a recent family vacation;

Admittedly, I'm not the best at spontaneous play. Perhaps getting my family on the lawn with some cool animal inspired movements will lead to all kinds of adventures.

So go check out The Animal Flow Workout, Global Bodyweight Training and Mark's Daily Apple.

Thanks for reading.

Enjoy the dance that is life!