This Sunday I will be offering a 2-hour workshop at Yoga Kamala from 3-5pm.  It is $20, you can pay at the door.

Fascial Self-Care (Movement, Stretching & Massage)

Hosted by Spa Lamar/Yoga Kamala

We are inside The Lamar
5115 N. Scottsdale Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Sunday April 8^rd at 3pm (3-5pm)

$20

Yoga mats and lacrosse ball provided

Presented by Ready State Fitness (Kevin J. Kula)

www.readystatefitness.com, 602-688-2528, Kevin@readystatefitness.com

Free 30-minute consultation in office for KMI Structural Integration or Fascial Stretch Therapy™.

Class Description

Learn how to develop your own self-care routine consisting of movement, stretching and self-massage.  Design a program based on your own body’s needs that will eliminate pain and stiffness, deepen your yoga and exercise practice and increase body awareness through fascial anatomy.

Fitness is defined by unrestrained movement, moving your body (running, jumping, throwing) and external objects (weights, grandkids, groceries) in an optimal way.   A balanced body is symmetrical, elegant in its movements and has a great adaptability to physical demands.  Learn to improve your fitness and strength through basic functional movements like squatting and the turkish-get-up; movements that elite athletes train, and natural movements we need as we age for the hips, low back and shoulders.

Fitness can also be viewed as connective tissue health or what Tom Myers calls, “Fascial Fitness”, which pertains to connective tissue that is hydrated, strong and flexible.  Yoga is great for maintaining healthy connective tissue, enabling muscles and layers to naturally slide on one another.  There are other forms of stretching that compliment yoga, long-held stretches are not appropriate before a workout.  Learn how to stretch in different situations: dynamically pre-workout, at work in a confined space and in different ways like contract-relax.

Self-massage (fascial-release) focuses on the fascia, the layers, not the muscle bellies which anyone who has had a trigger-point or deep-tissue massage can attest is very painful.  The focus here is (by using a small ball) to pin the restricted area and then move into a new range of motion.  This helps to mobilize tissues that stretching may have not addressed.

Fascia, the body’s connective tissue is what enables flexibility, physical strength, and determines the quality of movement.  This class will provide you with the lifelong tools needed to move more efficiently and perform better at any activity.  Instead of learning 600plus muscles in the body, fascial anatomy (based on Tom Myers, “Anatomy Trains”) makes it easy to understand your body and its restrictions in a radically different way.  This new understanding will also enable you to deepen your understanding of your yoga practice through a greater understanding of how the poses work, proper alignment and what your body needs.

Last night was my second lecture at Paradise Valley Whole Foods, the first being, “Optimizing a Vegetarian Diet”, a lecture that focuses on applying Paleo Diet principles to a Vegetarian Diet.

The Paleo framework includes and transcends all dietary philosophies so the vegetarian approach would focus on supplementing with vitamin D and B12, including coconut and palm oils and other fats: olive/avocado, as well as avoiding wheat/gluten and minimizing other grains. Carbohydrate sources would include starchier tubers like root vegetables and squash instead of relying on beans and rice. Adequate protein intake is definitely a concern but a higher-fat diet is protein sparing and minimizing anti-nutrients like phytates and protease inhibitors will help with protein and mineral absorption. So if meat and veggies is what we are adapted to, there definitely needs to be information on, “Optimizing a Vegetarian Diet”.

In yesterday’s lecture I kicked off a 3-part Intro to the Paleo/Primal Diet and Lifestyle series that will run the first 3 Wednesday’s of each month from 6-7pm.

Thank you to Whole Foods for being receptive to new science and dietary approaches, Whole Foods has a great produce and meat department and alot of gluten-free speciality items that fit with a Paleo Diet approach.