Back2Yourself

Thanks !

-- Karen

Hi Karen,
I'm glad you signed up for the free exercises. It sounds like you are interested in exercising and that you want to be able to exercise. It is good to be cautious so to avoid injury; however, it would be unfortunate to avoid exercise that would be beneficial to you because of fear that you won't do it well enough. This fear is a very common obstacle. It is ok to have the fear, to know it is there, but it is important that we don't let that fear guide our actions. Please don't judge yourself by comparing your exercise ability to the person in the demonstration video. There are two very important things to keep in mind and to commit to: 1) try, and 2) maintain safe practice.

If the exercises seem too difficult, then begin practicing the setup position and core breathing. So far, the videos demonstrate three different setup positions -- standing, lying on the side, and on hands and knees. The setup position requires core awareness and strength to protect the back. There is great benefit from practicing core breathing in a stabilized (strong core) setup position. Don't underestimate how important this is. Once you are comfortable practicing core breathing in these setup positions with a strong core then try one repetition of the exercises.

Last, but not, least, please notice if the exercise is too difficult to do even one repetition, and notice exactly what the difficulty is. Once youknow the exact nature of the difficulty we can find a modification to allow you to do the exercise. However, if the issue is that you feel defeated before you start because you can't do it as well as in the video, then adjust your expectation of yourself and begin with goal of breathing in the setup position. Strong core breathing is more challenging than it looks and more beneficial than most people imagine.

Please give this a try and let me know if this works for you.