Author: Mandy Ryle

  • Activate the Core and Hips

    Activate the Core and Hips

    Guess what? Your core is super smart. I mean, it holds you up, keeps you steady and balanced, allows for breathing and all sorts of positions. It’s brilliant! I truly believe that core “strength” is overrated.

  • Lateral Hip Release

    Lateral Hip Release

    Contrary to popular belief, stretching tight hips will not relieve stiffness and discomfort. Sure, there may be a brief reprieve after a big stretch, but the stiffness situation always resumes.

  • Metabolic Blast

    Metabolic Blast

    Petey and I want you to know that your lower body, especially your calf muscles are highly related to metabolism. The soleus muscle especially, when toned and strong is thought to increase metabolism by returning blood from the periphery more quickly to the heart.

  • Organ Breathing

    Organ Breathing

    This is just a super cool pranayama that I learned from Perry Nickelston of Stop Chasing Pain. It is thought to stimulate each of the organs by special phonation. 

  • Pelvic Floor Breathing

    Pelvic Floor Breathing

    If you suffer from hip pain, pelvic pain, low back pain, anxiety, chronic stress or all of the above, this needs to be a go to practice for you. Our pelvic floor is intricately tied to our sympatheic nervous system, otherwise known as fight or flight. If your nervous system detects threat, your pelvic floor…

  • Sitting in a Chair

    Sitting in a Chair

    This is a lesson from the Feldenkrais Method®. Sitting is a challenge for many of us, especially those with back or neck pain. Somatic Education techniques are refreshing because they don’t preach about the right way to do something. Rather the body’s innate capacity to self organize is respected.

  • Wild Thing

    Wild Thing

    This is a quick and challenging practice to fit into your busy day. All you need is a chair and 18 minutes for an awesome little asana practice. 

  • Deer Core

    Deer Core

    This is a quick strength and mobility practice that you will really feel in your core and hips. Strong hips are not stiff or tight! Research shows that strength training is actually BETTER at improving stiffness than stretching alone. 

  • Mobility Drill: Genie in a Nest

    Mobility Drill: Genie in a Nest

    This is a mobility drill with a somatic twist (no pun intended). This is a really popular assignment with my clients as it just feels great to wring everything out. It’s a nice stretch for the lateral hip as well.

  • Sitting Meditation on Sitting

    Sitting Meditation on Sitting

    For anyone who has suffered from back or neck pain, the innocent state of sitting can be a special kind of hell. Even for our pain free friends, sitting is so frought with controversy. It seems that no matter what, we can’t seem to do it right. This meditation is a gentle period of somatic…