You Can't Go Wrong Being Strong

When it comes to good physical health, I like to think of it as a whole body system. We are 3D organisms, 360 degrees around, spherical and dynamic. Our bodies were made to be moving constantly. So what happens when we aren’t? And what happens when we move too much repetitively (think running, cycling, etc)?

When athletes use global muscles as stabilizers and the deep stabilizers aren’t being used, they can become injured quick, hard and fast. The body shouldn’t injure easily and there are many ways we can ensure that the nervous system is adaptable to any situation the body comes into. If anything, we have a buffer to become either not injured at all or have WAY less damage.

I feel like you cannot go wrong with being strong. Period. By trying to seek out any stabilizer weaknesses, we can find out what is not working and get it back on board.

Entire faulty movement patters cannot be blamed on one muscle. I will use the hamstring as an example, because it comes up a lot as a problem that needs to be ‘stretched’ out. The main reason why a hamstring may feel tight is that it has some weakness and the body puts up tightness as a protection mechanism to keep that weakness from having an injury. When you try to stretch or have them massaged out, that protection mechanism will only further inhibit movement, actually making the area feel MORE tight. The body is doing its job very well. We just ignore the signals.

When there is a problem with the body (tightness/pain/injury), we need to challenge the existing pattern and upload new information to the body.

Here Is what is happening:

Inappropriate firing of muscles
Poor stabilization
Poor mobility
Poor movement pattern
Poor central nervous system pattern
High levels of compensations.

What My Classes Focus On

In my classes, I always try to isolate an area that may not be working properly. This may be in the form of doing a movement, looking to see how the class executes it, and then seeing what needs to be changed. And then we try to activate it or create more mobilization of a joint around it.

Being deeply stable is one of the most important jobs of the body, everything else is the cherry on top!

So, next time you wonder why class seems boring and why we take our time, you will understand it better.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Lisa Garside

My personal goal in life:
To serve others in having a more vital, capable, and empowered lifestyle.
To have a plan for the future, to not dwell on the past, and to imbue joy in the present.
Lisa is a certified yoga instructor with over 20 years combined experience in both teaching and practice. She began to explore yoga after a car accident left her with multiple pains, nerve damage and weight gain. Having tried many other conventional methods of coping, nothing seemed to help her daily headaches and focus. After taking one yoga class, she was immediately rid of that days headache. It helped her cope with the day-to-day limited mobility. After a couple of years she was able to fully comprehend how yoga can help anyone and everyone. The slow transition, into this lovely science, all happened while she worked in the corporate world for 8 years. Having experience in the work force stresses and long work hours allows her to bring understanding and compassion into her teaching. She was able to practice yoga through her 3 pregnancies, and thankfully, teach through the last. This brings a whole new knowledge and focus on what is needed during pregnancy and the benefits of a good bond during gestation. She has taught prenatal yoga since 2003. She uses intuition as soon as a student arrives in the room, guiding students through brain mapping of isolated areas, activation, mobilization, and then adding strength. She likes to make the nervous system robust, and create a safe space for growth. Due to these aspects class is different each and every time, crafted to the unique needs of the students showing up as well as taking into account the weather, the community/world events, as well as the time of year.

You Can’t Go Wrong Being Strong

What My Classes Focus On

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