The feel good body : 7 steps to easing aches and looking great

170 Pages·2010·2.14 MB·English

by  Fleming

Table of Contents
Cover Page
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Introduction
PART A What’s happening to me?
Chapter 1 The Feel-Good Body approach
Chapter 2 Wobbly bodies
Chapter 3 Wobbly minds
PART B The 21-day Feel Good Body program
Chapter 4 Secrets for success
Chapter 5 The program
PART C Troubleshooting
Chapter 6 But wait, there’s more
Chapter 7 Dodgy heads and tricky necks
Chapter 8 Niggly shoulders and flapping arms
Chapter 9 Tight chests
Chapter 10 Bad backs and floppy bellies
Chapter 11 Stiff hips and droopy bottoms
Chapter 12 Creaky knees and flat feet
Chapter 13 This is for life
Endnotes
References
Index
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Copyright
About the Publisher
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
While this book is intended as a general information resource and all care has
been taken to compile the contents, this book does not take account of individual
circumstances and is not in any way a substitute for medical advice. It is
essential that you always seek qualified medical advice if you suspect you have a
health problem. The authors and publishers cannot be held responsible for any
claim or action that may arise from reliance on the information contained in this
book.
Introduction
T
here is no reason to feel tired. On my way to an appointment with
physiotherapist, Anna-Louise Bouvier, I wonder if my sleep was somehow
disturbed and feel annoyed I have a dull headache again. At the top of a narrow
set of stairs is a brightly coloured office and I’m invited into a consulting room.
It is similar to my doctor’s surgery, with a desk, bed and life-size neck-to-hip
plastic skeleton hanging in the corner. Asked to take a seat, I make sure to face
away from a large floor-to-ceiling mirror. ‘Do you wake up feeling refreshed?’
Anna-Louise asks.
The reason I’m here talking about my morning mood is not earth shattering
or dramatic. I have annoying neck and shoulder pain that I attribute to hours
spent tapping away at a computer. For many years I have woken with a dull
headache not bad enough to stop me from getting out of bed—just a fog that
slowly dissipates. I can live with it. I’m also concerned about some injuries
when I exercise. As a late starter to fitness, it feels unfair that in trying to keep
myself in shape I seem to be falling apart. I worry how I will feel in 10 years.
Will my aches develop into something more debilitating and stop me from doing
the things I want to do? Is it inevitable that as I age, l will develop a stoop and
slowly shuffle along footpaths?
At the end of the assessment, Anna-Louise explains why I experience
niggles, headaches and injuries. ‘Your body has the wobbles,’ she declares. ‘The
muscle system supposed to hold you up has collapsed and is placing unnecessary
pressure on your neck and shoulders. Like a car with bad wheel alignment,
you’re getting more wear and tear. It’s very common and it’s very fixable.’
I feel relieved to hear this. ‘You were born with a fantastic muscular system
that supports and protects your joints. But like most people, you regularly crash
this system with sloppy posture. As a result, your body gets the wobbles.’ When
she describes this muscle system to me, I admit I’ve never heard of it. ‘You’re
not alone. The system lies deep in your body and can’t be seen. At the moment,
yours and many others’ bodies are like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, making you
more vulnerable to pain and body breakdown.’
At the mention of ‘muscles’, I expect to be handed a sheet of paper
describing a series of exercises to perform; a sheet that would probably end up
on a pile of other papers around my house. ‘Changing your body from wobbly to
on a pile of other papers around my house. ‘Changing your body from wobbly to
strong isn’t about exercises,’ reassures Anna-Louise. ‘It’s about changing
everyday habits that will alter how you look and feel.’
I first met Anna-Louise during her regular conversations with James
Valentine on ABC Radio. Drawn by her humorous and accessible explanations
of body ailments, I had also heard about her successful Physiocise program and
was keen to discover how it worked. And now I’d learned there’s a key muscle
system that, if activated, could reduce my neck pain and headaches.
Anna-Louise and I began talking about the 21-day Feel Good Body
program. There are seven steps—every three days you focus on a new step until
you fix your wobbly body and activate this key muscle system. You will feel
better because it reduces strain on your body—and you will look better for
activating your internal elastic support. I know this because I’ve done the
program and it’s transformed how I sit, stand, move and exercise.
Wobbly body
Slumpy shoulders, pot tummy, floppy bottom, knock knees, falling arches.
Strong, stable body
Long neck, strong shoulders, sucked-in tummy, lifted bottom, firmer knees, lifted arches.
Kylie, 39
‘After my second child was born I had severe back pain and was
literally unable to walk because my left hip was so unstable. I am now
fully functioning. I can walk, lift and carry with confidence. I can even
run. And I know if something happens, I can get myself back in line
and switch my stabilising muscles back on.’
PART A
What’s happening to me?
Chapter 1
The Feel-Good Body approach
W
e meet at Anna-Louise’s favourite second-hand bookstore and café. ‘Try
the corn-fritters,’ she suggests. ‘And make sure you get the avocado on top.’
Between mouthfuls, I ask about her different approach to treating patients.
‘When I started as a physiotherapist, I treated patients the way we were taught.
Typically, I’d see someone who had pain in an area of their body and I’d do my
best to fix that part of their body. I was a bit like a panel beater fixing a car. I’d
bang out the dings and send them on their way.’ Her practice was busy and
successful. ‘After a few years though, I became frustrated that despite all my
best efforts, and the efforts of my patients, many needed ongoing treatment
because they couldn’t stay motivated to do their exercises.’ She pauses before
adding, ‘And I think my own experience with back pain influenced me as well.’
When she was 19 years old, an accident caused severe pain in Anna-
Louise’s back and her muscles ‘locked up’. For years afterwards she felt a dull
ache and suffered from bouts of sciatica. ‘Every few months my back would
“go” and I’d feel numbness in my left leg. I’d madly do exercises to ease the
pain and when it stopped, I generally stopped doing the exercises as well. A few
months later the pain would come back and I’d go through the cycle again.’ She
recognised a similar pattern in her patients, who returned with slightly different
versions of the same problems, particularly as they became older. ‘I felt as soon
as I plugged one leak in their body, another leak would spring up somewhere
else.’
She noticed patients continued to break down at the same or similar area
because the load or pressure on their bodies was unchanged. ‘A lot of their
problems stemmed from poor postural habits becoming strongly cemented in
their brains. Treatment only focused on the area of their body that was aching
rather than the entire body. I realised I needed to show them how to stop their
body wobbles by teaching them how to activate this deep muscle system I call
the “scaffolding system”. When you align the body, you remove the wobbles and
make it more stable. The program is about changing habits in order to change
brains and bodies.’
Anna-Louise designed a program that rebuilds the body to become aligned,
balanced and niggle-free. Rather than a short-term fix, it’s about long-term
change. ‘I set about devising a program that shows people how to fix poor
posture and activate this crucial muscle system, which in many cases hasn’t
worked well for years. A big part of the program is showing people how to
create new habits. The changes are subtle but the results can be significant
because good alignment removes unnecessary pressure from your body.’
I ask if a lifetime of body wobbles and poor posture means it’s too late to
correct any problems. ‘It’s never too late. Like anything, the earlier you start the
better, because there’s less wear and tear. But every aspect of your muscle
system can be activated and improved at any age.’
Each week at her two Sydney clinics, more than one thousand people attend
Physiocise classes. These highly successful classes form the basis of the 21-day
Feel Good Body program. ‘It’s about showing people how to change the way
they think about moving, which makes an enormous difference to the way they
use their body and the way it responds. Once people recognise how damaging
their bad habits are for their body, it’s motivation to change. It sets them up for
years to come.’
I’m already convinced—and so are my achy neck and shoulders.
Phil, 42
‘A narrowing of my spinal canal left me with chronic lower back pain
and sciatica. I really thought I was on my way to a wheelchair later in
life. Doing Physiocise was a major turning point for me and I can now
run for 30 minutes each week. I have a better understanding of the
dynamics of my back and greater strength, stability and flexibility in the
right places. I can manage my problem and am no longer resigned to
the symptoms.’
Chapter 2
Wobbly bodies
F
resh from a yoga class, Anna-Louise is brimming. ‘I had some great ideas
while standing on my head.’ I’m impressed she can stand on her head, let alone
have an idea while doing so. After our coffees arrive I cut to the chase, keen to
learn more about the scaffolding system. ‘I describe it this way,’ begins Anna-
Louise. ‘When you look at yourself in the mirror, you only see part of your
muscle system called the moving system.’ I raise my right arm and flex a modest
bicep muscle. ‘That’s exactly it!’ she confirms. ‘But what you can’t see is a
deeper system, the scaffolding system, which is like scaffolding on the
framework of a building. The two systems work together, controlled by the
brain1.’
‘The scaffolding system attaches closely to the skeleton and not only holds
your body up against gravity, but supports the most mobile and unstable parts,
such as the neck and lower back. When the body is lined up and balanced against
gravity, the brain automatically activates the scaffolding system without you
thinking about it. But the moment you lose alignment, the scaffolding system
collapses. It’s like a systems crash on a computer.’
I make the observation that some people have aches and pains but most
seem to get around and lead active lives even with poor posture. She agrees,
before adding, ‘Until you reach 35, your body is able to compensate for dodgy
scaffolding by using other muscles, particularly if you were active as a child and
built a good base by riding a bike or playing on monkey bars—things that kept
you fit and strong. After 35 it slowly starts to break down, particularly if you
stopped exercising, and you gradually begin to feel niggles and aches. The thing
is, you can reduce these aches by making changes to your posture and the way
you move.’
Slumping strain
There are even more reasons to do the 21-day Feel Good Body program. ‘If you
keep crashing the scaffolding system by slumping, your joints and ligaments are
more susceptible to wear and tear—which could lead to chronic pain.’ I ask why