Knee Pain with Cinder Ernst
April9
When I tell you I’m lucky I mean I am one lucky gal indeed! This past weekend I got to meet with none other than Cinder Ernst for a very special one on one session at her home (apply here http://cinderernst.com/
I won’t lie, I woke up after a very short night of sleep (out late the night before at my Beloved Raven’s for her b-day! Woot!) and was so not ready to be up and out in the world. But get up and out I did! I even looked cute, if I do say so myself. 😉 Cinder was ready for me and welcomed me right away with a big smile. She’s the best! I hadn’t seen her since she spoke at last year’s Fatty Affair (still seeking a suitable venue for the next one, so hit me up if you’ve got info) but I’ve tried to keep up with all of her events and goings on. She is a busy lady! And for good reason, I say. No one is more caring and compassionate about knee pain. She really listens and asks questions and wants to be sure that you understand the exercises and how certain sitting/standing/laying positions can cause more problems.
My size, weight, ability or health status were not mentioned once, she simply asked what I wanted to get out of our session together. I explained to her about my upcoming rehearsals and the pain and struggle I went through with them last year. She told me how she just started to get into boxing and how it’s helped her. Sounds fun! But we went through my thoughts and feelings and experiences with this knee injury and I was surprised to hear that my suspicions about it were mirrored by her…an expert! Yeah! I was glad because I always feel like I’m coo-coo bananas about my suspicions. She agreed that my tighter-than-a-banjo hamstrings might be the cause of my 2.5 years of knee pain. I always feel like I can’t stretch them enough! She also surprised me with some tips for my commute! I love that! I do spend a good chunk of time in the car each morning and night, so this was just bonus awesomeness!
We went through sitting exercises and she explained to me how my usual way of stretching by flopping over in half and touching the ground and then stretching my hands outward more and more as I stretch is actually not the best since it forces all of my weight to hang off my spine. Oops! I’m learning!!! She offered some suggestions on how to achieve the same stretch without putting addition strain on my spine. She even offered modified ways to stretch areas I wasn’t stretching which will help support my knees. I loved that! I forget that the upper leg muscles support the knee ones, but even when you think about the anatomy we often forget how it can relate to or feel for us in our own bodies.
I will say this here time and again and to myself, be kind, always. Be kind to yourself. Be kind to your body and all of it’s parts. Be kind to others, you don’t know what they’ve been through or living with. When we are young we don’t think about the impact our current actions may have on our future, older, bodies. We accumulate wear and tear ya know? We spend so much of our lives in chairs and beds, it’s so important to develop habits that will support us now and later. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to spend some quality time with Cinder and her expertise and care. Now, back to my “butt bouncers!” 😉
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Sarah, it was wonderful being with you and yes you did look really cute. Keep me posted about how your knees do with your new dancing duties!