Are your ankles messing up your hamstrings?

"Brainy What-Why-How"

Your weekly nibble of brain-based tips to help you move and feel great!

🧠

What:

Weak or tight hamstrings may be remedied by stretching the back of the ankle 😮 

Why:

Because our ankles receive the first impact of every step we take, they send very important signals to the central nervous system about how safe you are as you tread through life.

If the ankles become compressed 

(which they often do, especially at the back, due to the design of modern footwear), 

this can lead to weakened and/or tight hamstrings. 

(Because if your brain thinks: "hmmm ankles aren't in great shape" 

it will also think "my human won't be able to run from danger very well" 

and therefore "I will keep my human safe by making them weak and thus less likely to take risks, more likely to stay curled up in a ball.")

How:

First: test your hamstring compression strength by pulling your heel to your butt.

Then: stretch the back of your ankle, aiming to create space between the calf and heel.

Finally: retest your hamstring compression strength.

If it improved, it may be a sign that you are missing out on your optimal hamstring mobility because of your ankles! 

If you noticed no change, that's cool too! This doesn't work for everyone 😉 

We incorporate this into the new ​Gentle Ankles and HIps Wonder-Flow on Move With Adell!

Happy ankles = happy hips = happy YOU,

Adell xoxo

Want to go way deeper on all of this geeky brain stuff?​
• Join my next NeuroYoga TTC ​here​!​
• Check out the courses from Z-health, where I started my education in brain-based approaches: ​Click here​ for my discount codes on their first 3 courses!
• Practice with me on ​MOVE with Adell ​where I blend yoga + neurology to help you acquire skills, feel great, and grow older with resilience!