Tune Up Fitness® Self Care Blog

I once got a dream job thanks to the latissimus dorsi muscle. I kid you not. It happened during a beginner inversions class that opened with the mechanics of downward facing dog and ended with a fun, partnered half-handstand at the…

Though often overlooked in yoga circles, the latissimus dorsi is celebrated poolside and in gyms everywhere as the muscle that gives the back body its attractive v-taper. The fan-shaped latissimus muscles (the “lats”) are the broadest muscles in the body (assuming…

In my previous articles I discussed the diaphragm and its function in breathing.  Then I looked at a simple breath exercise where you could really focus your attention on the breath and the diaphragm.  Now we look at a more dynamic…

In yoga we understand that breath is life.  Through the practice of mastering your breath you can master your life.  Thus we have a whole limb of yoga devoted to breath practice: pranayama.  In my article on the diaphragm I discussed…

[See the first half of this article here.] Snow globe yoga: Shake it up! Inspiration comes in many forms. One of my favorite ways of practicing is to pick a pose, any yoga pose, and then imagine that pose in a snow…

Is your yoga practice getting a little stale? Maybe you’ve been going to the same class at the same time each week for the past year. Or perhaps you use a video — the same video — every day. If you’re finding…

A client of mine had been complaining of pain radiating down her arm every time she did a supine revolved pose, such as Leg Stretch #3. Shoulder and upper back YTU Therapy Ball work helped but didn’t alleviate the problem. However,…

After a particularly stressful week, I woke up with a tonsilitis-like sore throat. And yet, I wasn’t sick, nor did I have allergies. Palpating my neck looking for swollen glands, I found the front of my neck was tender to the…

With apologies to Nora Ephron, I’ve seen a lot of clients lately who feel bad about their neck. Between poor posture and car accidents, it’s no wonder! A handful of hardworking muscles support and move that ten-pound ball we call a…