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What the heck is 3d Yoga?

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

What is 3d Yoga??!

What the heck is 3d Yoga?



I get asked the following question quite often:
What style of yoga do you teach?
For the longest time, I would answer…uh, well, uh hmmm, it’s kind of Hathayoga like. So in other words, I didn’t know! I’ve never been a big fan of a style because then you are stuck in that style and un-willing to learn.

So about a year ago I was asked the same question and my response was, 3d Yoga. I wasn’t surprised when the student asking the question looked at me with a puzzling face and remarked, “Huh, 3d what?”

So, what the heck is 3d yoga? 3d Yoga is basically my particular brand/version/label of movement. A little background now….I’ve been teaching yoga for over 10 years now. I’ve been influenced by many sources including, YogaFit(The Yogi’s often hate this), Bruce Lee, Gary Gray PT, Chuck Wolf, study of trigger point work, study of fascia, my WIFE, Shiva Rea, listening and watching my students, and selfishly what feels GREAT to my own body.
3d yoga is based on some principles that I keep in mind. I’ll put them in bullet point fashion to simplify:
*Our culture forces us to sit most of the day, so we will do a lot of movements STANDING!
*GRAVITY is our friend and enemy. This must be balanced for a healthy body. Since Gravity pulls us FORWARD all day long we will do a lot of postures and movement in the OPPOSITE direction…So Flexion and Extension should be balanced.
*Balance is a combination of Strength(Power), Mobility(Flexibility), Coordination, Vision, Proprioceptive system, and the Vestibular system,
*Balance is not achieved thru stillness as it requires MOVEMENT to facilitate Strength, Mobility, Coordination, Vision, Proprioceptive system, and the Vestibular System. So, balance is never static. Learn to control your bodythru movement not stillness.
*If you lengthen muscles without strengthening them, you can create Instability….thus we will work on both Simultaneously.
*Movement is never done in one line as we move in 3 planes of motion (X, Y, Z coordinates), but even more descriptive is that we move SPHERICALLY.
*Since life is spherical and dynamic then we will work on flexibility and strength by oscillating within movements/poses/asanas.
*Deep diaphragmatic breathing affects us positively in SO many ways, so learn to bring the deep breath consciously so over time it will becomesubconscious.
*Yoga/Life is about following your OWN path based on this given MOMENT, not reliving the past or worrying about the future. Stay in the now (yes it’s a cliche but it’s true)
*Work with success, so baby steps before big steps which helps getting trapped in excessive ego.
*Have fun with movement. Why? You’ll do MORE of it.
*It’s ok to laugh and smile in 3d yoga, you can be serious and angry on your own time.
That, in a nutshell, is 3d yoga.
If you are still reading this, THANK YOU. I hope to see you in class. Have a fantastic day.
Namaste/Peace, Ryan

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2 Bare feet or Not 2 Bare feet

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
Barefoot/Minimalist Training

You may have noticed the EXPLOSION in shoe options these days. On one end of the spectrum you have the rocker bottomed “Shape Up” Shoes, while on the other end of the spectrum you have the folks in the barefoot/minimalist crowd…What to do, what to do!??!

Let’s discuss barefoot! I’m going to start this conversation with the following quote:

“The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.”
- - Leonardo da Vinci

The human foot consists of 28 bones (including the 2 sesamoids) and 33 joints. It houses 20 muscles that stay in the foot while 11 muscles cross the ankle from above. Our foot is completely unique from any other animal in the world in that we have developed a way to efficiently walk UPRIGHT!

When we walk, the first thing that obviously hits the ground is the foot. As your foot hits the ground and the ground hits the foot with an opposite and equal reaction there is a lot of energy that is absorbed. A good foot will allow all 33 joints to help decelerate this energy, so it can be used to help propel the body forward. Improper foot wear (Hint: Most shoes people wear), forces the foot into a tiny space and inhibits some of this energy that would normally get dissipated in the foot……So, as we know that energy cannot be created or destroyed this energy just keeps traveling up the chain…..and yeah I’m sure you have a “bad knee” ;). Yes, that is right it’s not secret that the body is a chain reaction (Thanks to Gary Gray and the Gray Institute for helping to spearhead this!) and what the foot doesn’t do properly will only be placed on other joints up the chain!

So let’s go back to when our foot hit the ground. The joints of the foot pronate to absorb energy. In doing so, their are 3 joints specifically near your ankle (ankle joint, subtalur joint, mid tarsal joint) that have to work together to allow the foot/ankle to pronate. If they are successful, ROTATIONAL energy is delivered to the shin bone (tibia). Do you think this energy stops here? Heck no!! As the old saying goes “the foot bone is connected to the…”. I digress, the thigh bone sits on top of the shin bone, and all those HUGE butt (oh I’m sorry I mean glutes) muscles absolutely LOVE decelerating rotational energy. But it doesn’t stop there! Ever notice when you walk that your arms swing opposite your legs? Ever notice that your ribcage rotates oppossite of your pelvis?

So even though we walk forward in a straight line, there is a huge component of rotational energy that is FIRST decelerated then accelerated (Ahh, so that’s why most muscles and fascia go at angles and twist and turn throughout the body versus being linear). Can you now see that if your foot is crunched into tiny shoes how that can literally make the rest of the body work harder?
It goes in reverse as well! Trying running or walking fast, but NOT letting your arms counter rotate with the legs. In this situation, the top down deceleration energy is not doing it’s job so someone below (low back, knee, foot) will have to work much harder to compensate.

So why would it be a good thing to train/walk barefoot or minimalist? Basically it’s to allow the foot to do the HUGE job it was designed to do. 2nd, it’s about making the weak link in many people STRONGER, so that it can help the rest of the chain (knee, low back etc etc). 3rd, I suspect there would be less tripping because you can feel the ground better. 4th, I bet their would be less ankle sprains (most shoes put a huge lever on the heel bone which can promote inversion ankle sprains….arch supports can throw you into the direction to). Finally, it truly does feel good to train this way!

A word of caution. Barefoot training isn’t for everyone. The following are things in which you would certainly consult a medical professional and as their opinion. Bunions, hallux abducto valgus (big toe that points inward at a large angle), fused ankle joint or other foot joints, diabetes etc etc. Please be smart, and go SLOW at first. Very very slow. If it hurts to walk barefoot consider other options.

Have fun, be safe, and get back to nature a bit eh?!

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Don’t blame the knee

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Hey everyone,

I thought I would discuss a true story, one that is probably all too common. I teach a 3d Yoga class to Seasoned Citizens, and I quite often get asked questions afterwords. The question I received yesterday is “What stretches can I do for my lower back? My doctor told me to strengthen my core and stretch my lower back”
My answer wasn’t what he wanted to hear, “I think you need to stretch your hips”
His response was, “But my back hurts“
My response went like this, “The lack of movement in your hips is causing your lower back to tighten up.”
He was somewhat puzzled by my answer. I proceed to ask him, “What are you doing for you “Core?”"
He said “I’m doing situps and crunches.”

Does anyone else see the problem with how the fitness industry has presented itself. This older gentleman believes that he has to crunch his abs until the point that his abdominals can’t even load anymore. His posture was quite kyphotic, and he had very little mobility and stability (Mostibility) of his hips. This viewpoint of training your “Core” has got to be eroded!
Your core includes the pelvic floor and your whole trunk up to your neck. It’s a 3 dimensional sphere if you will. Crunching down one side (especially on a seasoned citizen) can literally wreak havoc for the proper function of the body. Our bodies are designed to function much like a whip, and when their is a section of the body that is too stiff and tight, breakdown is likely to occur there or somewhere else along the chain.
Back to our client, I told him to go home and work on some hip bumps. He is to stand in a hall way and adduct/abduct his hips until they touch the right side of the wall and reverse the motion so the other hip touches the other wall. I also told him to get into a doorway with his arms up at shoulder height. Then he is to step a foot thru the doorway so that he can get a 3d stretch thru his anterior. This stretch will help open up his hip flexor, obliques, abdominals, and up into the pectorals. These two exercises or movements are exactly what he needs to start allowing the proper chain reaction of movement to occur so that his back symptoms will F…A….D…E…….away.
In conclusion, don’t always treat the symptoms. Look above and below the involved joint and begin to think out of the box with your training and conditioning. We can make a positive change in someone’s life. It’s a beautiful thing!!

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Why are they sitting while exercising?

Monday, April 12th, 2010

QUESTION: Why are they sitting?

Let’s start this off with a rather simple question. The following three everyday situations have something in common. What is it? Relaxing at home, driving to and from work, and the average office job in the western world? Hint, these are the typical people who seek out personal trainers.

If you said that they were standing, moving about, and burning more than three calories a minute you would be mistaken! The obvious answer, to the commonality of the above three situations is sitting. Most of our clients are sitters. Wouldn’t you agree? Ok, so maybe I’m Captain Obvious today, and “genius” or “brilliant” isn’t something that is about to roll off the tip of your tongue. Before you give up reading this, turn the page, and ostracize me forever, I promise to at least get many readers out of their training ruts. Shall we proceed?

Although we live in a time of incredible technology, humans were born and designed to move. We are built and function best when we are in motion! When we don’t move enough, we make the doctors very busy because we get sicker easier and more inclined to contract mostly preventable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes mellitus. In addition, a lot of muscle and joint pain, depression, postural disturbances, and early bone loss can be correlated with lack of movement. Over the last 100 years or so, technological achievements have lessened the demand on our physical bodies. In its place is of course more sitting.

When was the last time you HAD TO chop wood? When did you last go hunting because you were STARVING? When was the last time youHAD TO harvest your own crop? All we have to do now is push the thermostat up, order groceries over the internet, and most people simply skip the veggies let alone harvest them!! Yes, we are a nation of sitters. Our society is built around the nation of “take a seat…grab a chair…take a load off…sit and relax”. You get the idea.

I know…I know… this is so apparent. Most people sit while they work and relax. That is reality and we can’t change a nations sitting habits over night. So what’s the big deal anyway? You are probably sitting while you read this. Are you not? I’m sitting now, and I admit, that I do more than my share of sitting with all of the driving and working on the computer that I do.

So what is my point? My point is that many of us fail to empathize with the daily routines and work situations of our clients. Sure, we hound them about their cardio and whether or not they are eating healthy. We may even harass them a bit about their posture. These are all positive things, but do you know that they are sitting or lying down 90% or more of their adult life?

So, why are they sitting while they work out? I go to the gym from time to time and see one trainer after another, one client after the next sitting on those machines. It’s sad, unprofessional, and it has marks of “rookie trainer” written all over it. These trainers work down the line like they are building a car at an assembly plant. Leg press, hip adduction, hip abduction, leg curl, chest press, arm curl, dip…sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, and sit. Do they have a short term lease on these machines? It appears so because they don’t even stand their clients up in between sets. Are these trainers trying to make eventual orthopedic patients out of their clients? Don’t they know that they are potentially contributing to further painful and dysfunctional conditions down the road?(1) Do they know that sitting is generally harder on the low back than standing?(2) Are they aware that more calories are burned standing versus sitting?(3)

The goal of this article is to get trainers to think out of the box. Most of us initially learn how to train clients in a very regimented way. We learn how to set clients up in machines, we learn basic one dimensional anatomy, and acquire basic programming skills. This textbook style of training is fine to get a foundation, but we must eventually learn more and evolve. We truly must think of what our clients are doing all day long and do the opposite when they meet with us. Our clients deserve better than just sitting in a machine. Remember, most of them sit all day! Along those lines, the best trainers are multifaceted in their training approaches. Sure we are responsible for helping people lose weight and getting into shape. That is a given. Just as important, however, we are also in charge of helping enhance functional joint range of motion, improve coordinated full body movement, enhance posture(in all situations), improve real life lifting mechanics, and prevent future falls. Sitting in a machine will not address any of those needs.

To conclude, your goal this month is to brainstorm. Think of how you can get your clients out of those machines. You should be able to come up with alternative and safe exercises that hit major muscle groups without sitting. Think of compound push-pull movements where the feet are in contact with the ground. You should be able to stabilize your body in these positions. You’ll be amazed at how your body will feel when it comes to enhanced functional strength, flexibility, and improved everyday posture. Your clients will love the change and may even reach their goals sooner.

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Behavioral Scapegoating

Monday, April 12th, 2010
A very very long time ago, I wrote a book. It’s titled ‘Quit the Gym…Lose Weight at Home‘.
It was on the New York Times Best Sellers List for 3 weeks! Just kidding!!
Anyways, I did write a book and here is one of the chapters that I’d
like to dust off a re-distribute back to the public.

Let me know what you think….


Change Your Behavior


Millions and millions of people at any one time are trying to lose weight. They try to do

the right things and improve their eating, but The overwhelming majority will FAIL. In fact,

approximately 90% will not succeed in the long term. 33% of that number will actually gain

more weight. OUCH! You can get better odds in Las Vegas!


Why do people fail? Are diets the cause? Does exercise only work for some people? Is it

genetic? Is it our family, friends, or work? Is it in the water we drink? Or are WE getting in the

way of our own progress? Most people fail because of internal behavioral enigmas versus

external issues (Relatively speaking) such as endocrine and orthopedic complications. Yes, we

are shooting ourselves in the foot. You are an adult now, so what are you going to do about

it? Don’t take it personal and quit like you have always done in the past. If you really want to

lose weight and improve your fitness levels keep reading.


This chapter deals with the very important topic of behavior. We will start with a brief

description and definition. If you don’t know what behavior is then how can you begin to change

it? Then we will move on to an analogy which will parallel many folks typical day. Finally, we

will discuss ways to reprogram your brain for success. By reprogramming your mind, you will

set up your entire spectrum of life FOR SUCCESS.

Losing weight and losing it permanently boils down to mandating a change in your

behavior. What is behavior? Why is it important to understand it? Think of your behavior as the

mental foundation for the person that you are. It is your persona. Your behavior is the

substructure for your interpersonal relationships with your family, friends, coworkers, strangers,

and environment. Behavior is quite similar to a computer program. Our brain is conditioned to

act in a predictable way based upon situations that we have learned or encountered from the past.

Think of it as a way that we are programmed to respond to our surroundings. Our environment is

everything that surrounds us including people, situations, and places. Our behavior is often seemingly automatic and goes largely unchecked without us even being aware of it. For example, when someone shouts out your name in the mall you automatically respond regardless if you recognize the voice. Or, when was the last time you thought about going to the bathroom when you first get out of bed in the morning?Most people just automatically do it. Right?

If your behavior isn’t set up for success then you are going to likely end up in a

continuous loop of losing your weight loss war. I’ve reason to believe that most peoples’

behavior is set up for failure based on how many times they’ve lost this battle. It is about time to

break the cycle don’t you think? Let’s tie this into your brain with a simple example:

I want you to think of the structure and under structure of your house. The foundation

that it is built on seems strong and sturdy right? It’s built using concrete, wood, and many other

sturdy substances. What if your house was built on top of cardboard? What if the walls were

made of cardboard as well? It certainly wouldn’t hold up during any dire circumstances. So the

stronger the foundation of your house, the less prone your house is to crumble due to any

outside forces.


The same is true for your behavior. If your will and determination is weak, if you give up

when someone says you can’t, or you don’t really give it 100% effort then how are you to ever

succeed when the going gets tough? On the other hand, if you have hearty coping skills,

unshakable determination, and you don’t stress too much when things are not always going your

way, then you will be successful. Behavioral problems can be the underlying cause of a

multitude of profound issues besides weight loss ranging from adultery to stealing, from starting

fights to murders.

Modification of behavior can be a dubious challenge in which psychologists have spent

many years studying. Psychologists have devised several methods of changing behavior, in

which you will learn a few to master yourself. For you to lose weight and get healthy and stay

that way, there will have to be a change to your psyche. Let’s first get our mind set with a good

personable example that may ring true for you:


Our behavior for the vast majority of our adult lives is to get up in the morning and skip

breakfast. After that, we sit down in the car and drive to work. Once we are at work we sit for

four hours straight. Lunch time comes around and we eat like crazy while we sit. Next, we sit for another

four hours of work until the end of our shift. After work, we get in the car and sit for the drive home. Once

at home, we sit down and have dinner (and usually over eat). Dinner is done, we walk all the way into the

living room and sit and watch TV, maybe will have some chips and a cold beer or soda (tastes good after a hard days work). Finally we go to bed.


Is it really a mystery any more as to why we are unhealthy and overweight? Our behavior

is nearly identical everyday. We spend the majority of our life seated or lying down. Technology

has made most of our necessary life sustaining activities redundant, so we don’t move enough to

promote any physical changes. If you truly want to make a difference in your health, I implore

you to start at the foundation; work on changing your behavior.


Modifying your behavior will be the most demanding part of your decision to get into

shape, but if you can learn to modify your behavior fitness will be only ONE aspect of your life

that will change! It’s a slow process and will take effort to reprogram your brain. You can no

longer give in to negative people or situations. You can’t give up because the results will NOT

be immediate . You must learn to weed through all the crap that people try to sell you to help with

the process because you will be stronger on the inside.


Finally, you will learn to enjoy your journey to success. If we can’t learn to enjoy the

now, we will never appreciate our end results. You see, most of what we think or feel is due to

what others (many times negative people) have instilled upon us over the course of our lives.

SNAP OUT OF IT AND MOVE ON!! You are an adult, and it’s time for you to control your

destiny with a clean and controlled mind. Are you ready for a change? Read the following

commandments and install them into your brains hard drive. Then implement them daily!

OFFICIAL TOP TEN COMMANDMENTS

TO CHANGE YOUR BEHAVIOR

FOR HEALTH AND LIFE SUCCESS


1. Be honest with yourself and truly know and understand what you want.

2. Write down your short, intermediate, and long term goals every day.

3. You will encounter resistance daily. Learn to cope.

4. Stay positive during frustrating times.

5. Avoid negative people and attract positive people.

6. Find physical activities that you enjoy doing. DO THEM CONSISTENTLY.

7. Take some time everyday to R E L A X and just breathe.

8. Never give up.

9. Eat a balanced diet and get abundant rest.

10.Embrace life and have fun.


Summarize it!


In summary, you must take the steps to learn to control your mind. Your mind is much

like a computer in that you can program and reprogram it for whatever your ambitions are. By

following the Top Ten Commandments To Change Your Behavior for Fitness and Life Success,

you are on your way to break the viscous cycle of fitness failure. Realize that you’re an amazing

person with abundant untapped potential. Following the previous top ten list is the foundation to

build your body the way you want. You are one step closer. Let’s continue to the next chapter.

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Body Work DOES WORK to decrease pain and can PREVENT INJURIES!

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

I’m thoroughly convinced that bodywork is crucial for maintenance of a more pain free body.  We must GET OVER the lame conservative thought that “it’s sexual”…or “I’m not letting a guy touch me”.

If you have muscle aches and pains.  If you are getting a lot of headaches, your shoulder hurts, low back pain, hip pain, cervical spine pain, even TMJ (jaw pain).  Work from a great therapist CAN work wonders.  There is medical science behind the efficacy of this type of work, but most doctors don’t prescribe it because:

1).  It’s easier to give a pill

2).  Most people won’t go anyways because they think it’s weird or bogus.

3).  Pharmaceuticals won’t make a dime on it.

I send my clients to the BEST therapist I know in Las Vegas.  He is a professional, works out of a pilates studio, makes my pain go away, makes many of my clients pain go away.

His name and contact info are as follows:

Dustin Snook

702-355-3035

neurosomalv@yahoo.com

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Treadmills are boring!….

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

Treadmill training can be boring, but it doesn’t have to be..check this out

http://gallery.me.com/paradigmshiftfitness#100011

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Eating can be fun!

Friday, August 14th, 2009

The foundation to great health is through smart nutrition. Learn how to eat great with information of grocery store readiness and how to survive eating out. Angelique is an R.D. who thinks out of the box, has a fitness background, and can actually cook real food!

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Lunges are bad for you knees ;)

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Why do we do lunges only going forward or perhaps backward? Instead, we should think of a clock on the ground and be able to hit the whole dial! It’s a great way to hit the whole lower extremities FUNCTIONALLY, and it’s not bad on the knees when done right. Hitting different angulations can mimic sports/activities such as basketball, baseball, football, hiking…Life is 3D Movement! Have a great weekend :)

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Not your typical P.E. jumping jacks

Friday, August 14th, 2009

We’ve all done Jumping Jacks before, but they get can get boring just moving in the frontal plane(side to side) with the arms and legs…Who says that we can’t move the legs into other planes or the arms into other planes….Why not going in sync with the arms and legs or out of sync with the arms and legs. One footed…throwing and catching med balls…Exercise can be fun and 3 dimensional!

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