Core and Floor PT Journey

Before I list out some of the exercises my PT has me doing, I want to call your attention to phenomenal Olympic skier, Mikaela Shiffrin. Watch her core as she skis--it's a solid unit! So much control.  Mikaela Shiffrin in Time Magazine, 2023 One of the benefits of physical therapy is that the physical therapist is like a personal trainer. (With the increase in co-payment prices, it probably costs about the same!) The PT instructs, guides, and motivates you. Below are the exercises I can remember at this time and instructions. Note that these all have some variations.  Mountain climbers  (This video shows them at a fast and continuous pace. I did mine one at a time, kind of jumping one leg forward, then back. If you've ever practiced popping up for surfing, it's kind of like that, only with one leg at a time. I brought my legs out, too, not under my torso. These really got my heart beating!) Side plank variations--super strong Mikaela again  Inner-thigh leg lifts (do ...

Lots of excuses, no good reasons why I haven't posted in months. This one is about problems with belly breathing and has been in my brain for a while, so I'm happy to get it down now. As I mentioned before, I have been a belly breather pretty much my whole life. This is probably because I sort of overdid or misunderstood using my diaphragm for singing. (I'm still figuring this out.) I've been singing in choirs since I was 10. When you watch me sing, you see a very active belly! That was particularly amusing when I had big pregnant bellies. I thought my belly breathing was a good thing! I don't make weird wheezing sounds or take shallow breaths like I've heard from other people. My lungs recovered well after a life-threatening illness. So learning how belly breathing is problematic for one's core and pelvic floor has been eye-opening. Think of it like this: when breathing with our bellies, we're inflating a balloon that then pushes outward everywhere, inc...