Karmic Seeds Body Mind & Spirit

The sacroiliac joints are where the sacrum joins the hip bones The joints are connected by strong ligaments designed for support & intended to remain stable During pregnancy, the hormone relaxin loosens these ligaments Sacroiliac Joint Anatomy 101 A joint is where two bones come together. The sacroiliac joint is where the sacrum bone and the ilium bone join one another. The sacrum is located at the base of your spine. It is composed of five vertebrae that have fused together during development to form a single bone roughly the size of your hand. When you view the sacrum from the front, it looks like a triangle with its point facing down. When you view it from the side, you see that it curves, concave in front, convex behind, and that it tilts, so its top end is well forward of its bottom end. Protruding from the bottom end of the sacrum is the tailbone (coccyx). Each half of the pelvis is composed of three bones, the ilium, the ischium and the pubic bone, that have...

          In  part one   of this article series, we examined a hidden anatomical imbalance in yoga that impacts the health of our shoulders. Although yoga is often described as a completely “balanced” practice, an analysis of asana movements shows this to be not necessarily the case. It turns out that traditional yoga does a very good job of strengthening our bodies' shoulder “pushing” muscles, but fails to strengthen the opposing group of shoulder “pulling” muscles. Yoga is a wonderful activity with a myriad of benefits, and this inherent strength imbalance is not a shortcoming of the discipline in any way—it is simply the nature of a mat-based practice that does not utilize objects that are pulled. The result of this push/pull movement disparity is a functional strength imbalance in many yogis’ shoulders that increases their long-term risk of injury. Although yoga is often described as a completely “balanced” practice, an an...

Want to find a new sense of balance and freedom in your practice? Learn how to skillfully stretch and strengthen the mysterious psoas muscle. JUNE 7, 2013       BY JULIE GUDMESTAD Most yoga students are aware that the psoas is a central player in asana, even if the muscle’s deeper function and design seem a mystery. A primary connector between the torso and the leg, the psoas is also an important muscle off the mat: it affects posture, helps stabilize the spine, and, if it’s out of balance, can be a significant contributor to low back and pelvic pain. The way that we use the psoas in our yoga practice can either help keep it healthy, strong, and flexible, or, conversely, can perpetuate harmful imbalances. The psoas is a deep-seated core muscle connecting the lumbar vertebrae to the femur. The psoas major is the biggest and strongest player in a group of muscles called the hip flexors: together they contract to pull the thigh and the tor...

DECEMBER 24, 2015        BY JILL MILLER There is a global health issue that the greater fitness community can either address or continue to ignore. Musculoskeletal pain is on the rise, and movement educators are at the precipice of providing solutions or accelerating damage. The easy sell of “weight loss” and “fast results” drives people and dollars toward unhealthy bio-mechanical practices. Students flock to classes and trainings because of these lures, and studios, gyms, and clubs repeat exercises and drills that fail to address foundational imbalances, weaknesses, or postural faults. Students walk in with dysfunctional posture and aches and pains, then work out in a way that reinforces their poorly coordinated blind spots, unknowingly perpetuating their imbalances. Their workouts set them up for further weakness and injury until one day their bodies give out. This is not a dig at any specific format or method. This is a ca...