Tune Up Fitness® Self Care Blog

There’s tightness in my upper back.  Maybe it’s masculine energy stuck on the right side.  Or maybe it’s feminine energy stuck on the left side.  There’s a tightness or tension between my shoulder blades. It could be repetitious unconsciousness instead of…

Watch Jill Miller explain and perform Uddiyana Bandha in in her final of the three part video series with Dr. Kelly Starrett of mobilitywod.com. Note how the vacuum in this core yoga pose is created not by pulling the guts in,…

In Anatomy of Hatha Yoga, author and yogi Dr. H. David Coulter claims, “Uddiaynna bandha is the only practice in Hatha Yoga that frankly stretches the respiratory diaphragm.” (p. 197) After 16 years of yoga practice, Uddiyanna Bandha still remained to…

In my last post, we brought the slip and slide back to the abdominal layers using the Coregeous Ball in order to give the diaphragm a chance to release from the front. Now let’s talk to the back. Try this Yoga…

“So…the diaphragm is a muscle?”  a student epiphonied during one of my beginning yoga sessions.   “Yes!” I said with the same glee a mom has when her baby takes that first step.  “Just like your biceps.  You gotta stretch it…

Not only can a weak supraspinatus muscle hinder everyday activities and workouts, but neglecting the muscle all together can be a source of discomfort and neck pain.  Discover your body blind spots by reaching areas that have become neglected or overworked…

Try to hold your arms out to the sides for 5 minutes.  Just try it.  Ok, for time’s sake try 1 minute.  It’s hard, right?  Now try it in Warrior 2. Woah!  It takes a lot of work! So much is…

If you want to get in touch with your Serratus Anterior and really feel the way it helps integrate your whole magnificent muscular core, Mega Plank is absolute perfect Yoga Tune Up® pose for you to practice.  Not only will it…

I have been doing Pilates for over 15 years, and I have been teaching for almost 10, and the questions and proclamations I hear most frequently (“How do I keep my ribs in?” “I have trouble keeping my shoulders down,”  “Why…