WEBVTT - Top Strategies for Improving Mobility with Dan O'Sullivan 0:00:01.760 --> 0:00:06.200 My brother is fifty five and can roll down from 0:00:06.280 --> 0:00:10.840 a standing position into a backbend, and he can keep 0:00:11.119 --> 0:00:15.120 his heels on the floor. He can hold a handstand indefinitely, 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:18.479 and he is so close to being able to do 0:00:18.600 --> 0:00:21.680 the full splits. He also happens to be an ayanga 0:00:21.760 --> 0:00:26.120 yoga instructor. But the amazing thing is he didn't start 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:29.280 any of this until he was well into his thirties. 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:33.040 Prior to that, he was a regular joe, stiff like 0:00:33.080 --> 0:00:35.680 the rest of us. But he just found such a 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:39.120 joy after taking up yoga for stress management that he 0:00:39.159 --> 0:00:40.960 actually ended up making a career out of it. 0:00:41.159 --> 0:00:42.320 Then you have me. 0:00:42.760 --> 0:00:46.840 His sister similar genetics ten years is junior. And while 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:49.839 he was finding his zen in yoga, I was finding 0:00:49.920 --> 0:00:52.519 mine in marathon running. You know. He used to drag 0:00:53.000 --> 0:00:56.000 by plank of a wood for a body into his 0:00:56.120 --> 0:00:59.920 classes and I was just terrible. And I always prom 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:04.000 when this racing season is over, I'll spend more time stretching. 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:06.640 But that day kind of has never really come. 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:10.360 So here I am forty something, still stiff as a plank, 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:12.479 and I'm wondering if maybe I. 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:26.280 Have left it too late. This is helping her with 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:27.200 Amelia Phillips. 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:31.720 Are you like me, always seeming to put off the stretching, 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:35.280 the mobility, or the prehabits it's sometimes referred to. 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:39.080 Or have you seen the light? Have you felt the 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:41.640 joy of a loose body? Here's the thing. 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:46.240 Good joint mobility becomes crucial as we age, not just 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:50.600 for joint health, but for balance, for stability, pain management, and. 0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:52.400 Overall quality of life. 0:01:52.640 --> 0:01:55.600 So I have bought in the big guns today to 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:59.040 help us get motivated. Okay, maybe selfishly, help me get 0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:02.800 motivated to do more mobility and give us the best 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:07.680 strategies for supple healthy joints. Dan O'Sullivan or hands Dan, 0:02:08.040 --> 0:02:11.359 as you might know him on his Instagram account, which 0:02:11.400 --> 0:02:14.840 happens to have over half a million followers, specializes in 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:18.640 mobility for over forty year olds. He runs online programs 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:22.640 and has a popular YouTube channel with really really awesome 0:02:22.720 --> 0:02:25.799 mobility workouts for us all to try. So, Dan, thank 0:02:25.800 --> 0:02:27.680 you so much for joining us today on. 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:29.240 Healthy her Thanks for having me. 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:33.040 Well, firstly, is it ever too late to start working 0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:34.359 on our mobility? 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:36.880 Well, it's a great story about your brother. I actually 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:40.040 only got into this probably on my twenty ninth heading 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:42.600 into my thirtieth year, and that was down to too 0:02:42.639 --> 0:02:45.640 many injuries and needing to fill a void of no 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:47.840 longer being able to play a high level of sport. 0:02:47.919 --> 0:02:49.440 So it was kind of like, all right, I got 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:53.359 to fill this like eagerness of five hours training every 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:55.680 day for the previous twenty years. For me, it was 0:02:55.720 --> 0:02:58.360 the question of like, why is somebody else who has 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:01.400 the same body structure as me potentially not getting the 0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:04.400 same level of interues as me? And obviously now you 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:08.680 know ten years later, what's really evident is that it 0:03:08.720 --> 0:03:12.000 comes just down to your movement capacity, and you hit 0:03:12.000 --> 0:03:14.640 the nail on the head there, like having good joints 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:17.920 is just crucial for everything. So can you get it 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:19.920 as we age or is it ever late to start? Well? 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:22.080 Not starting is probably the worst thing you can do, 0:03:22.160 --> 0:03:24.440 because it's like any form of movement. I guess the 0:03:24.480 --> 0:03:26.760 difference is the focus of what you are actually doing. 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:29.960 If I'm focusing and putting a lot of intent behind 0:03:30.000 --> 0:03:32.480 my movements, potentially at the start I have to put 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:35.040 maybe a bit too much focus because maybe things aren't 0:03:35.120 --> 0:03:37.840 happening as naturally as they should. But you want to 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:39.800 get to a certain point where you have better global 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:43.240 movements right, like things just happen naturally, And so I 0:03:43.240 --> 0:03:46.280 guess the biggest block for most people is actually putting 0:03:46.280 --> 0:03:49.360 their hand up and appreciating what their starting point is 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:52.120 and not always resonating on what I could have done 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:55.240 fifteen years ago, but appreciating that that's there and that 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:58.320 would potentially come back quite quickly because you have a 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:01.000 lot of muscle memory. But actually it's been like, Okay, 0:04:01.040 --> 0:04:02.880 this is where I'm at today, and this is the 0:04:02.960 --> 0:04:05.280 length of time that I can actually invest into it. 0:04:05.640 --> 0:04:07.080 So this is the best way I'm going to do it. 0:04:07.360 --> 0:04:10.600 And in some ways, you know, in my forty starting now, 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:14.160 I've become a lot more aware of my mortality in 0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:18.160 the sense that although I'm barely halfway through my life, 0:04:18.200 --> 0:04:20.960 that second half and setting up your second half of 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:24.880 your life for being pain free and healthy has become 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:28.120 in sharp focus for me. And so I might not 0:04:28.279 --> 0:04:31.000 ever be able to do the splits, and I'm not 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:33.640 that interested in it. But what I am interested in 0:04:33.920 --> 0:04:37.559 is preventing the decline of my joint mobility. So even 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:41.040 if I'm just trying to avoid it getting a lot 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:43.920 worse for me, that's still seen as winning. 0:04:44.080 --> 0:04:45.440 I'm setting the bar Low Dan. 0:04:47.600 --> 0:04:50.400 That's what I mean. It's like the negative of social 0:04:50.440 --> 0:04:53.560 media at the moment is everybody compares themselves and we 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:56.440 have to appreciate that everybody is a story. So if 0:04:56.480 --> 0:04:59.160 I'm training a kid have to become more flexible, I'm 0:04:59.200 --> 0:05:01.600 dealing with a clean shopboard. It hasn't been rubbed out 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:03.680 a few times. It doesn't have excuses. It has a 0:05:03.760 --> 0:05:05.479 left and the right, not a good and a bad side. 0:05:05.520 --> 0:05:07.520 You know, we have to appreciate that as we age, 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:09.400 we do have excuses, and we do have a bit 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:11.640 of a story behind us, and we have to appreciate that. 0:05:11.680 --> 0:05:14.920 But once we understand that, and we're willing to kind 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:17.279 of put a bit of a plan in place on 0:05:17.360 --> 0:05:20.080 how to move from this point, then generally speaking, it's 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:22.960 like consistent steps are better than big leaps, right. So 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:25.440 it's that's the kind of way I like to promote things, 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:27.680 especially as we age, because if I look at you 0:05:27.680 --> 0:05:29.760 as an individual and then I say, okay, based on 0:05:29.800 --> 0:05:32.039 what I can see, this is where you best invest 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:34.599 your time. Because the reality is it might necessarily be 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:36.920 your biggest currency right now. You might have a little 0:05:36.920 --> 0:05:38.640 bit of an interest into it, but I want to 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:40.520 make sure that there's a day doesn't come where you 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:42.480 wish you had have put a bit of effort into this. 0:05:42.720 --> 0:05:44.760 And that's not to scare anybody, it's just to hit 0:05:44.800 --> 0:05:47.560 them with a smack of reality. Like you know, it's 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:49.960 maintaining muscle as we age is harder. So what have 0:05:50.040 --> 0:05:51.680 we got to do. We've got to continue to strength train. 0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:54.120 Our body is very efficient or lazy, whichever way you 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:55.880 want to look at it. So in the context of 0:05:55.920 --> 0:05:58.280 if I'm not using a particular area, my body says, well, 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:00.640 I'm not replenishing those cells or I'm going to focus 0:06:00.680 --> 0:06:02.880 on that, because why would I. We don't do that. 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:04.480 So if I don't put my hand up over my head, 0:06:04.520 --> 0:06:06.400 guess what I lose kind of the ability to be 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:08.160 really good to put my arm up over my head. 0:06:08.320 --> 0:06:10.760 And so all I try to teach people is this 0:06:10.839 --> 0:06:12.920 is a human being, and you're a human being, and 0:06:13.200 --> 0:06:15.000 can you do X, Y and Z, which is kind 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:17.720 of like the foundations of what a human being should be. 0:06:17.760 --> 0:06:20.520 So in the context of can you rotate your shoulders 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:23.880 internally and externally? Can you rotate your hips internally and externally? 0:06:23.960 --> 0:06:26.640 If you can't, but what's the limitation that we're looking at. 0:06:27.040 --> 0:06:29.719 Is there an opportunity for us to give you some movements, 0:06:30.000 --> 0:06:33.680 not necessarily a big training regime, but actually just movements 0:06:33.760 --> 0:06:36.359 that you could potentially do throughout your day that just 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:39.480 allows you to explore that range of motion. Right like 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:41.479 you hit the nail on the head saying, do I 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:44.320 want to achieve the front split? Not necessarily when you 0:06:44.400 --> 0:06:47.159 working towards the front split gives you something visually to 0:06:47.240 --> 0:06:49.160 look at, but you're also then going to improve your 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:51.920 hip extension, your hip flexion, so you're going to get 0:06:51.920 --> 0:06:55.400 better overall movements, and then potentially you get this cool 0:06:55.520 --> 0:06:57.479 visual skill that everybody goes, oh my god, look at 0:06:57.480 --> 0:06:59.640 our party trick. So you know, whether you achieve it 0:06:59.720 --> 0:07:02.600 or not, you're still going to be working on the basics, 0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:04.920 which is what every performer does. Like you look at 0:07:04.920 --> 0:07:07.280 any search to solay performer, all these things, they don't 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:10.080 do all the fancy, nancy things that you see in 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:12.960 their performance. They're generally doing the basics and they're doing 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:15.480 it really really well, which in any sport you would 0:07:15.520 --> 0:07:17.600 see most people actually spend most of their time. 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:18.440 I want to. 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:20.640 Touch on the basics and really explore those in a 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:23.680 little while. But before we get down to the practical element, 0:07:23.800 --> 0:07:26.800 are you able to explain to us the difference between 0:07:27.000 --> 0:07:29.560 flexibility versus mobility? 0:07:29.960 --> 0:07:32.960 So this is like the bait that happens online, right, 0:07:33.040 --> 0:07:35.720 And I guess from my approach and my opinion, I 0:07:35.800 --> 0:07:38.040 try not to overcomplicate things. I'm irish. I'll like to 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:40.240 keep it nice and simple. And I guess the way 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:41.960 I look at things for most people is if we 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:45.040 just look at everything as being on a continuum and 0:07:45.080 --> 0:07:48.800 we appreciate the joint as the main focus point. Well, 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:51.480 then based off where we are on that continuum could 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:54.200 dictate whether we want to layer strength there or whether 0:07:54.240 --> 0:07:56.760 we want to improve our range of motion there with strength. 0:07:56.880 --> 0:07:59.560 So in terms of flexibility mobility, to really make it 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:02.840 quite simple, I would say, flexibility is your range of 0:08:02.920 --> 0:08:06.640 motion for me on my platform, Mobility is the ability 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:09.520 to express that range motion. So very simply think about 0:08:09.520 --> 0:08:11.880 it like, if I want to improve my flexibility, I 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:14.040 need to improve the range of motion on that joint. 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:15.760 So if I can't touch my toes, I want to 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:18.080 improve the range of motion so I can touch my toes. 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:20.960 If I can touch my toes, do I have strength 0:08:21.000 --> 0:08:23.480 when I do it, and people who are heavily invested 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:26.480 in the ooga space who potentially could layer more strength 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:28.480 onto the range of motion that they possess. And a 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:30.840 good visual to think about is if I sit down 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:33.440 into a front split, did I have to use gravity 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:35.120 to allow me to do that? If I look at 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:37.600 like a ballet dancer or a martial artist who can 0:08:37.640 --> 0:08:40.640 stand there and literally lift one leg and nearly touch 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:43.360 their nose with their knee, they have the strength to 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:45.560 possess that range of motion, so they don't have to 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:48.280 sit down with their body weight into a front split. 0:08:48.360 --> 0:08:50.960 And So what I'm more concerned about for people, especially 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:53.680 as we age, is to have good capacity in our joints. 0:08:54.040 --> 0:08:57.720 Very simply, do you have the capacity to facilitate for 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:00.520 everything that life throws at you, Because I want you 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:03.360 to be able to continually make decisions in your life 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:06.400 based off your interests, not on your ability to carry 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:07.200 out those movements. 0:09:07.640 --> 0:09:11.640 So we've got many different types of joints in our body. 0:09:11.679 --> 0:09:15.239 We've got the ball and socket joints in our shoulders 0:09:15.240 --> 0:09:18.040 and our hips that really allow us to do these 0:09:18.120 --> 0:09:22.880 big global rotations. We've got hinge joints elbows, a great 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:25.320 example of a hinge joint that kind of just moves, 0:09:25.400 --> 0:09:28.199 you know, in one plane. Our knees, our fingers and 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:31.480 toes oral hinge joints, and we've got gliding joints such 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:34.440 as our neck, our spine, our ankle, and wrist. 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:36.719 Now I've heard you ask the. 0:09:36.840 --> 0:09:40.160 Question before, and I love this question. Are you training 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:42.920 the way your joints are designed to move? 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:45.360 Can you explain what you mean by that? 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:50.520 So, as an adult, we are very time pore. So 0:09:50.720 --> 0:09:53.400 what we want to always try to do is maximize 0:09:53.520 --> 0:09:55.920 things like if I'm not somebody who enjoys going to 0:09:55.960 --> 0:09:58.199 the gym, as an example, I want you to make 0:09:58.200 --> 0:10:00.960 that as seamless as possible for me. So in terms 0:10:01.000 --> 0:10:03.480 of movement of your joints, I'll make it very very 0:10:03.480 --> 0:10:06.200 simple for people listening. For every joint in the body, 0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:09.840 if we focus on rotation as the primary focus, just 0:10:09.920 --> 0:10:12.560 in the context that's making us more mobile, the only 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:15.080 caveat would be the spine. And I'll explain if we 0:10:15.360 --> 0:10:19.840 just focused on segmentation specifically through flexion and extension on 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:23.160 the spine, that could literally drastically improve your life. So 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:26.280 you said it earlier about the elbows and the knees 0:10:26.559 --> 0:10:29.560 being his joints. But there is also elements of rotation, 0:10:30.040 --> 0:10:31.960 and for a lot of people, what happens is this, 0:10:32.040 --> 0:10:34.360 And we'll take the lower body as an example. Your 0:10:34.360 --> 0:10:36.720 ankle obviously has a lot of rotation. You know, if 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:38.959 you're listening to this, you can roll your ankle right 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:41.520 sitting in a chair. It's very very simple. You can 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:44.800 stand beside a door frame and potentially try to get 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:47.200 some rotation through your hip by just bringing your knee 0:10:47.240 --> 0:10:49.200 up towards a chest and just trying to create some 0:10:49.280 --> 0:10:52.680 form of a circle. Right, But your knee doesn't. For 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:55.160 a lot of people, they've probably never even thought that 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:58.160 it actually does rotate. But what happens is this For 0:10:58.240 --> 0:10:59.880 a lot of people, if you think of all three 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:03.040 those they want to structurally work together. And if your 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:07.040 ankles are weak and unbalanced and your hips are stiff 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:09.760 and don't really want to rotate, but unfortunately, your knee 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:12.560 takes the brunt of that because it does have some 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:14.680 form of rotation, but it's quite minimal because it is 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:16.560 a hinge joint. And so what happens a lot of 0:11:16.559 --> 0:11:19.200 people is the end up with you know, eggs and pains, 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:22.040 because all three are not working alongside each other. And 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:23.880 so what I say to most people is, if we 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:25.400 do think of your neck, and we do think of 0:11:25.400 --> 0:11:27.400 your shoulders, and we do think of your hips, we 0:11:27.440 --> 0:11:29.720 look at the big joint and we do focus on 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:34.400 rotation and whether I'm controlling all aspects of that rotation, well, 0:11:34.400 --> 0:11:36.960 it's going to improve my overall movements. And then with 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:39.200 the spine, the reason why I want you to focus 0:11:39.240 --> 0:11:41.920 on segmentation is because if you can imagine when you 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:43.800 sit in a doctor's surgery or whatever, and you can 0:11:43.840 --> 0:11:45.920 see the skeleton over in the corner and you see 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:48.920 all those vertebrae that are just kind of suspended to 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:50.920 make up your spinal column. You know, if you were 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:53.240 to go over and move it, it would move quite well, 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:56.000 and it was you know, it's quite nearly like a slinky. Right. 0:11:56.200 --> 0:11:58.840 The problem is is most of us spend our days sitting, 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:01.960 especially as we age, and if we haven't been exposed 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:05.280 to kind of mobility based training. We're predominantly doing squats 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:07.880 and deadlifts where we're very much educating our spine to 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:11.240 be in a er braced position. It's not a bad thing, 0:12:11.440 --> 0:12:13.720 but it's one element of the movement of the spine. 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:16.560 And so if all those facet joints are all sitting 0:12:16.559 --> 0:12:18.640 on top of each other and it's quite jammed, what 0:12:18.760 --> 0:12:21.320 actually happens is your body searches for the weak points 0:12:21.360 --> 0:12:23.280 because that's the only point that's going to move. So 0:12:23.320 --> 0:12:26.800 if you have three or four vertebrae stuck together, and 0:12:26.840 --> 0:12:29.040 then your movement comes from the weak point, which is 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:31.280 going to be the top, and then depending on how 0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:32.960 low it is towards your hip, it's going to be 0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:34.800 on the bottom. And so what happens is you're not 0:12:34.840 --> 0:12:38.040 actually rotating through those areas. But if you focus on 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:41.720 segmentation and creating space in between each vertebrae and actually 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:45.240 educating the spine on how to you know, flex an extent, well, 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:47.640 guess what, the rotation's going to get better anyway because 0:12:47.640 --> 0:12:48.720 you're creating more space. 0:12:49.240 --> 0:12:51.120 What do you mean by segmentation. 0:12:51.760 --> 0:12:53.520 I guess the best way that somebody could think about 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:55.480 it would be like a cat kel. So if you 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:57.480 go down onto your hands and knees, and then you 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:00.480 really push your spine up like an angry and then 0:13:00.520 --> 0:13:02.880 you allow your hips to kind of tip out behind 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:05.320 you and really try and extend your backs of going 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:08.160 into more of that kale position. That would be a 0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:12.040 more of a global focus to spinal segmentation, which effectively 0:13:12.080 --> 0:13:15.200 means this, you're trying to get each vertebrate to move 0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:17.200 independent of itself. 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:20.520 Not just those weaker or more mobile parts. 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:23.160 So what you're saying is that for a lot of us, 0:13:23.200 --> 0:13:25.800 we will have these very locked and stiff parts in 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:29.080 our spine, and we think we're doing some mobility work, 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:32.840 but maybe we're actually just allowing those weaker or looser 0:13:32.880 --> 0:13:35.960 parts of our spine. And so by segmenting, you're trying 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:38.720 to get into even those really locked up parts of 0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:39.240 our spine. 0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:39.800 Is that right? 0:13:40.000 --> 0:13:42.400 It is? Indeed, Yeah, there is some contraptions. I use 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:45.760 a specific contraption because it gives me like tactile feedback, 0:13:45.840 --> 0:13:47.960 so you know, obviously that comes with an investment. So 0:13:48.000 --> 0:13:49.640 I have other quirky ways of doing it which I 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:52.200 can I can explain. One of the best ways to 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:54.720 do it is if you put your back against the 0:13:54.760 --> 0:13:57.040 wall and you step your feet out, maybe about two 0:13:57.080 --> 0:13:58.960 feet so you can actually took your butt. That would 0:13:59.000 --> 0:14:01.200 allow you to put as more of your spine onto 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:04.800 the wall. Flat back, yeah, like really really flat against 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:06.839 the wall. Then I would get something like a tennis 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:09.080 ball and I would stick it behind my neck, and 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:11.640 then the challenges You want to took your chin towards 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:14.800 your chest and you're trying to peel one vertebrate at 0:14:14.800 --> 0:14:17.319 a time off the wall. And what that would allow 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:19.120 you to do if you do it right, is the 0:14:19.160 --> 0:14:22.480 tennis ball should just trickle down the wall nice and seamlessly. 0:14:22.960 --> 0:14:25.480 Whilst if you're doing it and you don't feel the 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:28.400 tennis ball coming down nice and seamless, then potentially what's 0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:30.760 happening is maybe three or four vertebrae are coming off 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:33.160 the wall at the same time, so you don't have 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:36.680 that ability to actually move each vertebrae one at a time. 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:39.120 And that's a really really good way. Anybody who does 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:41.080 pilat is you do a lot of that kind of 0:14:41.120 --> 0:14:44.000 segmentation lying on a reformer as well. So it's just 0:14:44.000 --> 0:14:46.320 to kind of visualize what that would look like. Because 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:49.240 as an adult, I would say the biggest challenge for 0:14:49.280 --> 0:14:52.120 people is if I've never done it before or I 0:14:52.120 --> 0:14:54.960 don't remember doing it, then unless you can give me 0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:57.200 a way to really experience it, it's going to be 0:14:57.240 --> 0:14:59.360 really hard for me to decipher that I might be 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:01.320 able to see you do it, but I want to 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:03.320 be able to do it myself. And that's something that 0:15:03.520 --> 0:15:06.600 I've really become good at. Is actually it's like, this 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:08.440 is the way I do it, but if you can't 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:10.760 do it that way, here's maybe three or four different 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:13.680 versions so that you can experience what that feels like. 0:15:13.720 --> 0:15:16.160 Because once you experience it, then you can try and 0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:18.880 change back to the other variation and explore what you're 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:19.640 trying to look for. 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:41.160 Well, I want to get practical. 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:44.360 I want to go through some of the common tight 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:48.280 spots that me and my listeners are feeling at the moment. 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:52.320 And obviously this is not a visual medium, so we're 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:55.040 going to have to challenge you here, Dan to help us. 0:15:55.120 --> 0:15:56.200 But where do we. 0:15:56.240 --> 0:15:59.760 Start if we want to improve our mobility, we're feeling 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:01.520 a bit stiff, maybe a bit a key. 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:02.960 Where do we start here? 0:16:03.040 --> 0:16:04.160 You follow me on Instagram? 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:08.440 Yes, and oh my gosh, your YouTube videos are. 0:16:08.320 --> 0:16:11.080 Fantastic, by the way, For a lot of us, the. 0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:14.680 Thought of doing this online is an appealing Don't you 0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:15.720 need to be hands on? 0:16:16.160 --> 0:16:17.520 How can you do it online? 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:20.080 The way I like to look at it is it's 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:23.720 simple but simple doesn't mean easy. Simple is put the 0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:27.320 blinkers on, stop downloading random videos, put a bit of 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:30.520 structure behind what you're trying to do, and then just navigate. 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:32.720 And you know what I say to most, because if 0:16:32.720 --> 0:16:34.520 you don't want to invest in your health, like, that's 0:16:34.560 --> 0:16:37.160 totally fine. I do appreciate life can be busy and 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:40.000 there's a lot of things happening in life where our 0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:42.560 expenses are going elsewhere. So that's why we created the 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:45.080 YouTube channel. We have some follow a lungs on there 0:16:45.120 --> 0:16:47.760 which are like, you know, twenty minutes, twenty five minutes, 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:49.760 and you can just literally click play and follow along, 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:52.680 and we pick exercises that I can be really clear 0:16:52.720 --> 0:16:55.160 and precise with to help you. But for those that 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:58.720 are listening and potentially don't use YouTube, you know, we 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:01.880 can still simplify lot of our things here. I mentioned 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:05.560 earlier about let's just take the spine, the shoulders, and 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:08.160 the hips as your main focal point. Obviously the neck 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:11.119 as well. But what's interesting is when the shoulder blades 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:13.879 move better and when the spine moves better, you're holding 0:17:13.880 --> 0:17:16.680 on to less tension. It can actually, you know, help 0:17:16.760 --> 0:17:19.560 to alleviate what you potentially are having in the neck anyway, 0:17:19.760 --> 0:17:21.800 We're just like a puppet on strings, and if something's 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:24.000 out of whack, everything else is going to know. So 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:26.959 in terms of the shoulders generally, the one that I 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:30.399 like to give is, I guess, for the purpose of 0:17:30.440 --> 0:17:32.760 not being able to visually show you, what I would 0:17:32.800 --> 0:17:35.639 say is a good option is if you're sitting in 0:17:35.680 --> 0:17:37.199 a chair and you put your hands out like a 0:17:37.200 --> 0:17:39.800 tea position, so you just have your hands straight out, 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:41.720 you know, as far as you can. And the idea 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:43.960 here is you're trying to push your wrists as far 0:17:44.000 --> 0:17:46.440 away from you so you can nearly feel a bit 0:17:46.480 --> 0:17:47.800 more space in the shoulder. 0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:50.640 Oh yeah, my biceps are tired. I'm doing this now. 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:53.040 Got my arms stretched out to the side like I'm, 0:17:53.119 --> 0:17:56.159 you know, Jesus on the cross and my biceps a 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:57.280 lock in. 0:17:57.680 --> 0:18:00.359 So stay in that position right now. We're going to 0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:02.879 do is I want you to challenge yourself. We're not 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:05.760 gonna let our shoulders go near our ears. They're gonna 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:08.600 stay pulled down away from our ears. And the challenge 0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:11.159 is this, We're gonna roll our shoulder. So think of 0:18:11.600 --> 0:18:13.520 like the top of my arm in my shoulder I'm 0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:16.720 gonna rotate it as much as I can forward without 0:18:16.800 --> 0:18:18.280 letting that shoulder hike. 0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:19.399 Up like I'm tipping. 0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:21.520 I'm holding two cups of a cup of coffee in 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:24.840 each hand, and I'm tipping that coffee out as I'm 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:25.960 rotating down. 0:18:26.440 --> 0:18:28.520 Yes, I like to think of as if I had 0:18:28.560 --> 0:18:30.800 a rag in my shoulder. It's like I'm trying to 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:33.640 twist the rag as much as i can. Okay, twist. 0:18:33.960 --> 0:18:37.440