The Year of the Hamstring

A few weeks ago, I was chatting with a patient who was complaining of tightness in his back and legs. I told him, "I think this should be the year of the hamstring for you." Tight hamstrings create tension in more than your legs—they can cause pain and tightness in your neck, middle, and lower back as well. So I'm declaring 2016 The Year of the Hamstring for everyone! 

And in honor of this important year, I want to share a simple, fun exercise you can do to keep your hammies happy. It can be done anywhere there's a doorway—you don't even have to change your clothes. As you can see in the video, I'm demonstrating it in our office in between patients!

Start by lying on the floor near a door frame. Put one leg up the wall and scoot your butt in until your raised leg is as straight as it will go. Then, keeping your back flat on the ground, raise and lower the other straightened leg, as shown above. I love this stretch because it statically stretches the leg against the wall while dynamically stretching the one you raise and lower. Do this at least once a day, 10 raises on each side to help loosen your hamstrings. Happy 2016!

Lessons I Learned From a Blow Out

I was getting my hair cut and colored by my friend Brooke (at Veer&Wander, BTW). I've been going to her since 1999. It was time for the blow out and I told her that I never blow dry my hair. It takes too long. Here is my list of reasons:

• It takes too long

• I start seeing patients by 7:45

• I need to get up early

• I can never get it as good as she does

She just stared at me. She told me that she could teach me how to do it in 5 minutes. Here's the wisdom I learned and I realized I say the same thing to my patients with regard to doing their 5 minutes of daily exercise. She said, "People want a great result without doing anything extra.They expect these great results but won't put any effort into it." So I said, "Okay." I put my timer on and she proved to me that I could dry my hair in 5 minutes.

We all have 5 minutes! I'm a big believer that it's the cumulative effect of doing something every day that makes us healthy and our bodies feel good.

Who goes to the chiropractor?

My clients are so awesome. Meet Julie Babin ofwww.juliebabindesign.com and a fantastic client.

Q. What do you do for a living?
A. Residential Interior Design.

Q. How long have you been going to the chiropractor?
A. Since I was 6 months old.

Q. Why do you go?
A. I use chiropractic as the main form of keeping in good general health. I go once a month for what I like to call “a tune up.”

Q.  How does it make you feel?
A.  It always makes me feel lighter, and I move more fluidly.

Q. What else do you do to stay healthy?
A.  Love to eat healthy, tons of dark leafy greens and clean lean protein.  Also acupuncture once a month. Yoga, Pilates and dance three to four times a week keep me strong.

Q.  Want to share a favorite health tip?
A.  Kombucha! I drink one every day. It takes away any sluggishness, headaches, belly aches. It’s a cure-all for me.

My oatmeal

I must be honest. I’ve stolen this recipe from my new favorite cookbook, “Cook Yourself Sexy,”  by Candice Kumai. I’ve made a few changes and additions, but the recipes are so delicious, I even ate oatmeal for lunch yesterday. Now, most of the time when I eat oatmeal, I’m hungry an hour later; but because of this recipe’s almond milk and peanut butter, I feel quite satisfied. For several hours.

Makes 2 servings:

• 1 cup oatmeal (but not instant. I’ve been using the gluten-free version from Trader Joe’s)
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 cup water

Cook your oatmeal. Put it in a pretty bowl (it’s all about presentation). Add fresh raspberries (I’ve also used bananas). 1 tsp of your favorite peanut butter (I’ve tried almond butter but it’s just not as delicious). 1 tsp of your favorite Nutella-esque spread (Justin’s makes a healthier version, but it’s just a tsp, so go to town). Sit down and enjoy!

Classic Helaine Fare

My absolute favorite meal is brown rice and eggs.

Over the years, I’ve created variations on it by adding avocado, putting it on a bed of arugula, even replacing the brown rice with purple cabbage, which is so sensational, I’ll write another post about that. This dish has grain, protein and you can eat it for any meal. My husband calls this my hippie food. I call it Helaine Food.

Here’s the recipe:

Avo, eggs, brown rice: perfect any time of day

• 1 clove garlic thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp olive or grapeseed oil
• 2 organic eggs
• ½ cup cooked brown rice
• ½ avocado sliced
• Couple pinches of good salt

In a frying pan, combine the following:

1. Saute the garlic over low heat with the oil
2. Add the 2 eggs and scramble in the pan
3. Throw in the cooked brown rice and mix together
4. Put on a plate and sprinkle some salt (I like pink Himalayan sea salt)
5. Add the sliced avocado..and enjoy my favorite meal, Classic Helaine Fare.

Get your yah-yahs out

A patient comes in with an injury and asks, “When can I start exercising again?”
Now to me, exercising right after I’ve adjusted you–especially if you’ve hobbled into my office–is like putting a big fat handprint on a freshly painted wall.
I’m all for exercise–I do it myself (and on a fairly regular basis, too).
But when you’re injured, you need to lay low for awhile before you start up your routine.

Otherwise, you run the risk of re-injury and we’ll have to start treatment from the beginning. But sometimes you just need to get your yah-yahs out. I understand. You need it more for stress relief than a toned bum. To that I say, if you’re improving and stabilizing, by all means, get your yah-yahs out.

Modify your workout:

• If you run, do a 18-20 minute walk-run interval.
• If you love barre classes, try one-on-one Pilates.
• If you love yoga, do a couple of sets of sun salutations and 3 of your favorite poses.
• Try swimming or taking a walk–not a power walk.
• Limit whatever you choose to 25 minutes.

Eventually you’ll be back to your (new) self and back to what you love to do. Want more ideas? Ask me! I’m full of good ideas. What do you do when you’re on an exercise hiatus?

Dancin'

We’re always ready to dance now.

A couple of weeks ago, I was taking an exercise class from my favorite instructor, the fabulous Teresa Ellis. She was teaching a class called Dance It Out (think Zumba but with much better music and dance moves). At one point, Teresa put us in a circle and had us do our own moves across the floor.

As an ex-dancer, I can tell you it’s still stressful to come up with something on the spot. My turn was approaching, so I thought, go big, just go big. My inner choreographer took over: “5 6 7 8…jazz run jazz run jazz run jazz run…1 2 3 jump high arm extended knee bent …and Fosse arms to finish!”  Quite a moment.

I was wearing Saucony running sneakers, but if I’d been wearingTHESE instead…… they really would’ve bumped up my game. My new Oxfords are amazing and honestly the most comfortable shoes I’ve bought in a very long time. Even in the office, I feel like I could dance or break out into a jazz routine. Try an Oxford-type shoe instead of the ballet flat this season. They’re more supportive and better for your spine. What shoes make you feel like dancing?

Seek. And find.

A classic seated figure 4 stretch in my office

When I’m stretching, I don’t always stay in one position the entire time. I call it the “seek and find” technique. I often have patients tell me they’re tight in a certain position. So I take a basic stretch, like the seated figure 4, and have them move around, trying various angles until they find a part of the stretch that works for them.

Downward dog is another great one to seek and find. Bend your knees, lift your heels, bend your elbows…get the idea?

Once you find a spot where you feel the stretch, hold it for at least 45-60 seconds.

Shifting to seek my stretch

And finding a deeper stretch.

The best cure for hiccups

Put a knife in a glass of water, drink the water with the knife still in it. Cured.

So last week, I had the hiccups. They came out of nowhere and got annoying really fast. My friend Amber (remember Amber, holding her toddler like a bag of groceries? My previous post) started laughing at my predicament. Well, it was pretty funny.

Her husband Jon, a wonderful occupational therapist, said, “I have the best cure for hiccups.” He put an ordinary dinner knife in a glass of water and said, “Now drink the water.”

“With the knife still in the glass?” It made me a little nervous.

“Yes.”

I drank but said to myself this is so not going to work.

20 seconds later: Hiccups GONE.

I don’t know how it worked. But it worked.

Have any of you tried this? Do you have other cures? Let me know what you do to cure your hiccups. Amaze!

Carry your baby like a bag of groceries

My friend Amber carrying her cute toddler on her hip. Yikes.

You’ve all seen the posture. A new mom with baby in tow. With her hip jutted out and baby on the side. Possibly a coffee cup in the other hand. It’s hard to be ergonomic as a new mom (I understand…I was just trying to carry as many things as I could without dropping my kids). But carrying kiddos on the hip creates a curve you don’t want: in your spine, a functional scoliosis.

After being pregnant, new moms have lost their body placement and feel very loosey-goosey. Whenever possible, carry your little ones in front, like a bag of groceries. And make sure to hold your core in.

My friend Amber carrying her cute toddler on her hip. Much better.

See how important it is to make a switch away from your hips? Try it. See how much better your back feels. And let me know about it, too!