Redefining Movement

Ahimsa means non-harm. This is one of the first principles in yoga philosophy and where my mission stems from. And it’s not just about being nice or kind to others. It's also about the impact we have on the other beings that we're sharing this planet with. Early in my career I began to bridge my neuro physical therapy knowledge with my yoga teaching and practice. At the same time I became vegan af...

Today’s episode is about posture. Posture is so much more than how you stand. It is your presentation into the world. Our bodies contain everything - our energy, our emotions and our spirit. And the external frame, our posture, has an effect on all of those things. A lot of people realize their posture is not great, but they don't know what to do about it. So I want to give you some ways to check...

Breath is a big part of any kind of movement practice. And I also think it's the one that's not often taught in a functional way. Having a deeper experience with your breath will increase your oxygen intake. You're going to have more energy, you’re going to calm your nervous system and you’re connecting to your core. In this episode I take you through exercises that will help you take bigger, full...

Building shoulder strength is really about building a robustness to the shoulder so that it can be adaptable both in terms of mobility and stability. In this episode I take you through a simple exercise series that pretty much anyone can do, even if they’ve had a shoulder injury.   To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: movementbylara.com   Resources: Check out: movementbylara.com...

This episode is about how soon to practice yoga after giving birth, what to start with and how to teach someone who has just given birth. The answers to these questions will be different for everyone, depending on how active they were during pregnancy and how their birth was. So most of all, listen to your body.   To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: movementbylara.com   Resource...

The color red is a key part of my logo and branding. This represents the first chakra, the root chakra. This episode is all about the root chakra, why it’s so important and how we can strengthen it.    To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: movementbylara.com   Resources: Check out: movementbylara.com Instagram: @lara.heimann Facebook: facebook.com/movementbylara Redefining Yoga is...

Today's podcast is called, what's my purpose? Everyone is searching for their purpose. But how do we find it? Is it only one thing? What happens to people who don't think they have a purpose?   To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: movementbylara.com   Resources: Check out: movementbylara.com Instagram: @lara.heimann Facebook: facebook.com/movementbylara Redefining Yoga is a produ...

Asking how to stretch your hamstrings is like asking, what's the meaning of life? I say that because, although I get asked how to stretch the hamstrings all the time, there’s no simple answer. In this episode I want to expand your idea of what the hamstrings are and what stretching them actually means.   To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: movementbylara.com   Resources: Check o...

This podcast is about how movement practice can be seen as a preparation for life. Movement has to do with life and transitions. Life itself is one movement after the other. We move through stages. And even within the cycle of a day, we're moving. Our movement patterns can offer us a unique opportunity to pay attention and improve the way we respond to and interact with situations in our life.   T...

Today’s podcast is about lightening up. We can tend to get stuck in the things that bog us down. So how can we lighten up emotionally, mentally, physically and in response to situations? By connecting to and strengthening our core center, our physical and spiritual self, we can get that feeling of lightness and that belief that we can handle anything, even when things don’t go our way.   To learn...

Today's podcast is about the snowball effect. A snowball that rolls down a hill, gathering more and more snow can have a massive impact when it gets to the bottom, kind of like a runaway train. So what happens when we let our thoughts or suboptimal movement patterns snowball? In terms of our mental state, we get more and more overwhelmed. With movement, one thing compounds another and we can end u...

Today's podcast is about repetitive strain injuries, also known as RSI. What are repetitive strain injuries and what can we do about them? I’ll be focusing on two of the most common repetitive strain injuries - carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis.   To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: movementbylara.com   Resources: Check out: movementbylara.com Instagram: @lara.heimann Facebo...

In this episode, my brother, John Frank, joins me to discuss the shoulder complex. John is a physical therapist, athlete, and fellow lover of movement. So often, we think that the shoulder is simple, but the shoulder is, in fact, quite complicated!    To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: movementbylara.com   Resources: Check out: movementbylara.com Instagram: @lara.heimann Facebo...

Today’s episode is about why I don't teach or practice seated forward folds. I'm not saying they're bad, but there's a lot of reasons I don't do them. Primarily I want to make sure that people get the most bang for their buck out of any movement they do, and this is particularly important for people who don’t spend a lot of their day in movement.    To learn more, and for the complete show notes,...

The position of the pelvis is fundamentally important for the alignment of the spine, all the way up into the skull. It forms the basis for our movement patterns and for our energy levels, and that’s why today’s episode is all about creating and maintaining a neutral pelvis.    To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: movementbylara.com   Resources: Check out: movementbylara.com Inst...

Today's podcast is about what we can learn from professional athletes. Athletes are so fascinating to observe because of the discipline involved when working to be one of the best or the most elite in your sport. They can also teach us a lot about the power of drive and determination and inspire us to think about the potential of our own bodies. For instance, what would happen if we put a little b...

Today’s podcast is all about stress. Whether it’s physical, mental or emotional, stress is not a bad thing per se. It helps us to be motivated and get things done. If we didn’t put any stress on our bodies or our minds, we wouldn’t grow stronger or improve. But it’s also easy to get too stressed, and sometimes that point of overwhelm can come on quite quickly. Too much stress can lead to injury, i...

Today's episode is what to do about over-developed or, as I like to think of them, over activated muscles. I get a lot of questions, particularly about the upper trapezius and the latissimus dorsi, otherwise known as the traps and the lats.  As always, share this with friends, especially anyone who has been complaining about neck or shoulder tightness.   To learn more, and for the complete show no...

Private yoga or other movement sessions can be a game changer for people because it offers an opportunity to dramatically improve their practice. In this episode I offer some tips for working with private students.   To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: movementbylara.com   Resources: Check out: movementbylara.com Instagram: @lara.heimann Facebook: facebook.com/movementbylara Red...

Today's episode is all about the scapula, otherwise known as the shoulder blade. A lot of people have problems with their shoulders, but 90% of these can be solved if you understand where to put your shoulder blades, how to move them and how to strengthen the muscles that control them.   To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: movementbylara.com   Resources: Check out: movementbylar...

Today's episode is all about what to look for when hiring a yoga teacher. It’s important to have some kind of standards when you're hiring, and especially for yoga studio owners. Because when we hire yoga teachers, those teachers are branches of us, they're representing the studio motto and studio ethos.   To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: movementbylara.com   Resources: Check...

In today's episode I cover what to do instead of a seated forward fold. I get this question a lot. When I say I never do it, I'm not saying it’s wrong. If it feels good, I'm not telling you not to do it. But I'm offering you some other ways to get that same feel-good sensation from a forward fold. When people do a seated four fold, and they really love it, what they love is the feeling of that pul...

Today's episode is all about connecting to your core without doing abs. In other words, the traditional kind of sit-ups or anything that involves getting on the floor. I really love doing those at the beginning of class because there's something about awakening these muscles before you ask them to do the job that they're supposed to do, which is primarily to hold your center steady and strong so t...

Today's podcast is all about knee pain. I have so many people ask me on a regular basis what they can do about the pain that they are experiencing in the knee or knees, and the knee is one of the most common body parts to get injured. The types of knee pain that people experience are due to a variety of causes and a lot of it is to do with the anatomy of the knee itself. The most common thing that...

Movement can help overcome procrastination because exercise has such a positive effect on your brain. Tune into this episode to learn exactly how I use movement to keep my days productive.   To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: movementbylara.com   Resources: Check out: movementbylara.com Instagram: @lara.heimann Facebook: facebook.com/movementbylara Redefining Yoga is a producti...