Most of my writings are to encouraging you to optimise your chances of living and thriving in a healthy body. And for this you need to evaluate your personal environment, which includes:

• Your food choices 
• Your job/hobbies
• Sleep quality 
• Stress levels and how you manage stress
• Relationships
• Commitment to regular exercise
• Your alignment in gait and while working 
• Influence from TV shows, news, social media, teachers, coaches, gurus, friends, etc.
• Time in nature verses time indoors with modern conveniences (that’s anything with a plug or battery)!
• And of course… the thoughts in your head!

if you get a good awareness and balance of these, then that healthy body will not be so elusive! 

And a major factor in this is your interpretation of and reaction to what is happening in any given moment. And in the moment, you make sense of the world with your five senses.

So, this week marks the beginning of a series of clusters that will bring attention to both the subtle and physic...

When you combine anatomical embodiment with awareness of your ribs and lungs you get a great result… true postural integrity.

We now get to our final week of five clusters dedicated to posture and I am hoping that you are noticing some positive shifts in your alignment, body awareness and tension levels.

I find it amazing the difference that seven days can make

Think of doing no dynamic exercise (workouts, HIIT, sport) for a week. The likely end result would be low energy and feeling on the weak side. Compare that with two energy boosting HIIT sessions, a strength workout and a game of competitive (but fun) pickle ball. Then you’ll likely end up feeling quite spirited, on top of your game and ready for the next session.

Or how you might feel after a seven day holiday (refreshed) compared with a week at the office to meet a deadline... (likely mentally fried and physically exhausted). Another example would be posture... I am sure you can imagine the difference between slouching for ...

Over thinking can lead to poor posture and poor posture can amplify a bad mood. I say, become present, deal with what you need to deal with in a calm yet direct manner and step forward with good alignment!

Good posture has so many benefits… tension reduction, better workouts, easier breathing, movement confidence and perhaps most significantly, you feel better on the inside. And at this start of our alignment focus, I am hoping that you are already feeling a positive difference.

It’s hard to have good posture and be in a bad mood

I think that we get in negative states when over-thinking. And, thought usually stems from the past or future. I call it the ‘speech bubble’ concept… it’s like you get projected out of your body and out of the moment. This of course might be unconscious but either way, it is quickly remedied by being more present and registering your alignment.

If thought persists, it can contribute to poor posture. One example is the head position; it either drops down, j...

Please read the blog and then join in with above video

This week offers a guide to seated and standing posture and how a minor adjustment to the angle of your body makes a huge difference. Success lies in knowing how to do two key movements… ankle hinge and hip hinge. And then to find your best angle.

Here’s a present moment question:

What degree of angle is your spine at right now?

If you are sitting or standing with posture straight (so that your spine is parallel to the walls) then you are at zero degrees. If you are leaning into a typical office chair then you are probably somewhere between three and eight degrees reclined to the back (perhaps more if using a sofa).

As for a standard dining room chair, well most are designed with a seven degree angle. Car seats are about the same but, of course can be changed.

However, in terms of good body ergonomics, I would like to see you sit with a spine that is actually a degree or two forward.

And, for much of the time, that you do no...

On the Dojiva membership site we currently have 120 classes dedicated to the subtle side of exercise. I call it Mobility and the classes are basically a three way combo of stretching, posture and body awareness.

However, beyond Mobility sessions…

• Our Dojiva workouts often target postural muscles and we always train with good form.
• Our mindfulness practices and meditations find a neutral yet relaxed posture.
• Many of our ergonomics videos focus of how to move and sit well well in daily life.
• Also, under the HEALTH tab we have the sub category of ‘how to eat’ which discusses the impact that poor posture can have on digestion.

So, posture really does affect so many aspects of life

But what causes poor posture and when did it start?

Potentially, this is a long list. But for sure includes your beliefs, mood, job, sports, hobbies, chair choice, amount of time spent seated verses standing verses walking, dominant sides, postural holding and those ‘hard - to - die’ exercise cues.

A...

Throughout March, we will be dedicating our Dojiva focus to posture. And we will consider the many paths, exercises and practices that should help you embody lasting good posture.

But what’s the number one intervention for this?

Well, it’s not a mysterious stretch or a perfect yoga pose and certainly not some device that you have to wear! The answer is simple…

to notice (to be conscious of) your posture in daily life

This might seem a bit too easy but if we go by time alone, it makes sense. If you add up all the time spent at Pilates/yoga classes, workouts and even private sessions with postural coaches it pails into insignificance compared to 16 hours a day (112 hours a week) of waking life.

So, for postural success, daily awareness really is of primary importance. But the story doesn’t end there and it maybe that you have some present physical limitation or an environmental consideration that doesn’t yet let you express your best. In other words, quick change might not be poss...

Please note the above video and ‘what to buy’ links below

But, I think it best to read the notes first!

It’s not new information that a sedentary lifestyle has been tied to a host of common illness such as obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, trouble with veins, cardiovascular disease, poor posture and low back/neck pain. And mental conditions too such as anxiety and depression.

And, a few years back, there were headlines going around that suggested that ‘prolonged sitting is the new smoking’. In other words, being sedentary is associated with poor health outcomes. Now, the smoking comparison might sound extreme but maybe there really is more to all this.

Get up - stand up

The short antidote is to get up more frequently. Whether you’re watching TV, doing desk work, hobbies/crafts, reading or listening to a podcast, simply get out of that comfy position and walk around the house/garden for a few minutes. 

The only exception is while eating and sitting becomes a must
(yes even for s...

Dojiva workouts help you self develop on so many levels. They not only boost your physical strength, but also help you to be strong on the inside. Keep up with your training and you’ll be less likely to become fragile. Rather you develop an element of toughness…

‘you become hard-to-break - in mind and body’

In line with this, there is a phrase that I first heard when I was 10 years old and I carry it around to this day. In the depths of a martial arts class, my sensei would often say:

”Use your Ki”

In Japanese, ‘Ki’ translates as ‘vital life force or energy that flows through the body and the universe. Similar terms come from China as ‘Chi’ and India as ‘Prana’. 

But what is required to tap in your vital energy?

“There is an intensity journey to dynamic exercise…

one that begins at the start of fatigue and ends at total failure.

The question is, what stage are you ready for”?

Last week, we had a class cluster about muscle building that included a list of 15 benefits that you c...

Today and this week, our focus is about muscular strength and developing the ability to:

Pull, Push and Lift 

And, read on for info about a great list of benefits that you get from resistance exercise.

Let’s take a simple functional example

When you come to lift a heavy box, you have to push the ground away with your legs at the same time that you pull with your arms. Then you reload to push again, this time with arms and legs to place the box on top of your wardrobe.

It’s a whole body experience of functional movement and we replicate function in our Dojiva workouts.

What happens if you don’t push, pull and lift?

Well, for starters your ability to maintain and develop muscle tissue diminishes and that means your metabolism (which it’s a major driver of over-all health, and body composition) will suffer. But with a good weekly regime of strength training (along with adequate amounts of protein), muscle can not only be spared, but regained! A never ending message from Dojiva is t...

This month, as a lead in to the Posture reset course coming up in March, I would like to address posture related topics. And for this week, we are revisiting the topic of body shape. 

We’re are all built differently and certain measurements such as height are determined by the end of puberty. However, our weight, shape and perhaps more importantly our body composition (lean verses fat) can vary throughout of life.

What can be the norm and unfortunately even expected is that as time goes on, we gain weight and lose height. I say expected because beliefs can shape our life. If you’ve witnessed elderly relatives and friends become hunched over, gain weight around the middle and look a lot shorter, then you might think that’s inevitable for you.

If you do have that belief, it could override or at least influence physiology and before you know it, you’re heading that way too. So before we even consider diet, exercise and postural awareness we need to do something I mention often…

to get...