======================KNEE SOLUTION SEMINAR====================== Do you have knee pain?Have you suffered a knee injury?Does this joint limit the sports and activities you do?  [caption id="attachment_5348" align="aligncenter" width="289"] Come learn why we have knee problems and what we can do about it If you answered 'yes' to any of these, or would like to continue having strong and healthy knees, than you should join us for our Knee Solution Seminar on Thursday November 8 @ 6 pm. The presentation will take place at Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC) located at 1876 Cooper Road. During the presentation you will learn about:* The structure and proper alignment for the knee* Why we experience so many knee injuries* What we can do to have strong and healthy knees All are welcome. Pre-registration is required. To register send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with Knee Solution in the subject line.

What motivates you to train? You know on the days when it's cold and maybe even rainy outside? Of course it's still dark outside. Your bed could not be more comfortable. Yet for some strange reason you defy what is easy. You pull back the covers to be shocked with the cold of early morning. You throw one leg over the side of the bed and stub your pinkie toe on the edge of the bed frame. Then you shock yourself further with the brightness of the bathroom lights which are one or two degrees brighter than looking directly at the sun. You feel dizzy, Your head may be pounding. The last thing you are thinking about is putting food in your mouth and venturing out into the cold. Yet you do so anyways. Have you been there? I'll bet you have. Anyone who has trained long enough has. Every athlete has. Anyone who is serious about their goals has. What is is that motivates these people? Well for most people it's the avoidance of pain. Sometimes this might be an actual physical pain. Pain from an accident, a disease or some other cause. And these people know how bad the pain can get. And how this pain can affect their lives. And prevent them from doing things they enjoy. And that missing out on these things will bring them sadness. [caption id="attachment_4676" align="aligncenter" width="300"] According to Aristotle, the masses are wise.  But pain doesn't always have to be physical, Some people are alone, depressed and not feeling the best about themselves. They would like to have more confidence, to have a better physique and to be noticed by someone else. And so for them the option of living in pain or getting out of a warm, cozy bed in the...

This is the third part of a series on learning proper body position and alignment. Please see below for Parts I and II.At the end of Part II I mentioned the importance of body awareness and how we know when we are in or out of alignment. Because sometimes the clues as to being in or out of alignment are a little more subtle. We don't necessarily have to be in excrutiating pain in order to recognize something is wrong.And so I gave you three ways to work towards proper alignment.1. We need to understand what the muscle we are trying to contract is doing.2. We need to know what the opposite muscle is doing.3. We need to recognize when both of these change and step back at that point, recuperate and try again fresh.Consider something as simple as being in a half kneeling position.What does the ideal position for half kneeling look like? Well it should resemble the following:Straight lines and 90 degree angles.From the front the foot, knee, hip and shoulder should all face straight forward.From the side the there should a 90 degree angle at the knee and hip of the forward leg. And the trail leg should have the knee under the hip which is under the shoulder. The chest should be up, shoulders down and back, with a neutral head position.Take a look at the following picture.From the side the front leg has a 90 degree at the knee and the hip. And the left knee is under the hip and the shoulders stack up nicely over both of these.If you notice my arms hang a little bit in front of the body and you can see more of my pinkie than my thumb. This gives a clue that I am slightly internally rotated on the...