I'm a bilingual yoga teacher who helps people who sit a lot gain mobility, move without pain and reduce their stress.
Your back pain isn't what you think it is
Where does it hurt when your back aches?In the last few months, I've had a few new clients who all pointed to the same spot: on their lower back, just above the hips. They all told me they had a back problem, which is the logical thing to think. But most of the time, the issue doesn't come from the back... but a bit lower. I know, you know, we all know that we sit too much. And when we do, our hips become tight and weak. They gradually lose their ability to both move and stabilise our lower back. I don't want to bore you with the anatomical details, all you need to know is that your back is probably the victim, not the culprit. The 3 most common mistakes I don't want you to makeMistake #1: Stretching the back - It's only a mistake if that's the only thing you do. It will ease the tension for a while, sure. But that treats the symptom, not the cause. Mistake #2: Doing superficial ab work - Doing crunches won't strengthen the deep core muscles, the ones who actually support your back. It some cases, it can even make things worse. Mistake #3: Ignoring the nervous system - Chronic stress equals chronic muscle tension. If your whole system is on high alert all the time, your muscles will never relax and your pain will never lessen. A short story of back pain and reliefCaroline came to me a few months ago after trying everything: osteopath, ab strength programmes, painkillers... Her lower back pain was waking her up every night, and without sleep, only got worse. We started seeing each other twice a month, and I built her a 10-minute daily routine that included hip mobility, deep core work and a light breathing practise. She's now off the ibuprofen and sleeps through the night (when her young kids allow her to anyway 😅) What you can do nowTry this right now: stand up on one leg, bring your other knee to your chest and make big circles with it. Does it feel super stiff? That's the first problem to address. You can start with this 7-minute routine I made to restore a bit of life into your hips. And if you want to address the root cause and build yourself a routine that will help you get rid of pain for good, I'm opening the doors for two 1:1 clients this month. If you want to discuss it, reply to this email or head to yogawithclem.com to learn more and enquire :) Take care 🧡 Clem |
Clémence Dieryck
I'm a bilingual yoga teacher who helps people who sit a lot gain mobility, move without pain and reduce their stress.
Yoga with Clem turns 10 this year 🥳 And I've turned 40. That felt like a good moment to look back with something more honest than a highlight reel. So I recorded an episode sharing the 10 mini habits that have genuinely made a difference over the past decade. True to my philosophy, I'm not sharing big impressive habits, but the ones that actually stuck. Some came from yoga. Some from running a business on my own for ten years. A couple from realising, slowly, that willpower is a terrible...
I talk about the pelvic floor a lot with my pregnant clients. They quickly understand how important this kind of work is to keep them comfortable during pregnancy and for their postpartum recovery. But the pelvic floor isn't just a women's health topic. You might be surprised to learn that... men have one too! It's just as worth looking after, but nobody talks about it. sorry about the unsollicited d*ck pic The pelvic floor is a group of muscles, kinda like a hammock at the base of the...
If you've ever been mid-yoga session and heard a loud crack from your knee, a pop in your shoulder, or an unexpected sound from somewhere lower 🫢 you're in good company. Body noises during practice are incredibly common, and they're one of those things people quietly wonder about but rarely ask. So let's talk about it! The three types of sounds that can come from your joints (and when to worry) The first is cavitation: the same mechanism behind knuckle cracking (btw, it used to be so common...