Movement with Stef

Me: Why is there blue tape on the doorways?

My dad: It reminds us to reach up and touch the top of doorways like you taught us in class.

Now I get reminded to do a movement for more strength, heart health and better breathing while I’m here! It took him a while to take that photo cause my camera was being funny, so a longer hold 😁. Thanks, dad!

🤗🤩🥰🙌🏻

My friend, Lety & I walking barefoot along the beach in Malibu. We met in my classes well over a decade ago and were sand walking buddies too. She’s 83 now and still feeling great! Last year, she decided she needed more variation and learned how to swim for the first time at 82 years old. Her swimming classmate was a 5 year old. Amazing. ❤️.

I’ve been a lot of cool places all over the world over the last 2 years, but my old home sweet home is still a favorite. Already walked 8 miles without even trying and the healthy eats here 🤤 🤤. Plus, it’s where the endless study of movement began 🌴 🥰.

I’ve been a lot of cool places all over the world over the last 2 years, but my old home sweet home is still a favorite. Walked 8 miles without even trying and the healthy eats here 🤤 🤤 Plus, it’s where the endless study of movement began 🌴 🥰.

After class, Sallie came up to tell me how much she appreciated the class. I loved her shirt ‘May The Forest Be With You’. She said she is writing her second book about Forest Bathing and she just finished her first book at 80 years old.

The people in my classes inspire me so much! You can do cool stuff for the rest of your life and being able to move well helps!

Take a moment to stand up and stretch your arms out and then check out Sallies first book ‘Reinventing Your Life After Retirement’.

https://www.amazon.com/Reinventing-Your-Life-After-Retirement/dp/B0CCCVJ82S/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=28EMWRJK80ROR&keywords=reinventing+your+life+after+retirement&qid=1698340883&sprefix=reinventing+your+life+after+%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-1

“We must cultivate a practice of ‘check-ins’.”

What are your feet doing right now? Ankles? Knees? Hips? Torso? Arms? Neck & Skull?

Example:

If you look at all of the photos below, my knees are dropping in towards each other and for 3 of them my arms are together in front of me.

When I ‘check in’ with my body many times each day, these musculoskeletal patterns are a major habit. It’s teaching me how I am and am not using my muscles when I’m stationary and moving around. It’s one part of a bigger story about compensation patterns, ailments, and circulation.

Step 1 is ‘check in’ with your body parts more often and observe without judgement.

Step 2 is change up your position over and over and over…accept that it’s going to be a wonderful life long journey 😉.

Step 3 is learn about alignment and practice simple movements to counteract habitual body patterns.

Make it a habit to improve your range of motion all day long. 🌲 🌳

“I have finally gotten the hang of dropping my ribs down and back throughout the day, and this is really improving my core strength and breathing!

I achieved this breakthrough after 6.5 years of practicing. 😄 Wow, time flies!”

- Dr. Ken Gattis

There are positive results all along the way, but depending on your compensation patterns, some of the breakthroughs take years. It’s so worth it to feel more spectacular over time! I feel like I am growing younger in ways and so do many of my clients 🌱.

Crawling, Hanging, and Moving Like a Kid Eased My Back Pain—And Made Me Feel Stronger Than Ever Primal movements have shaped human anatomy. Only recently have many of them fallen away.

How about sitting or standing differently right now?

If you practice my classes, you have lots of tools in your movement box! I just ate so I’m going to take a twist!

Stretch break on the Upper East Side of NYC. 15k steps and it was only 1pm.

A 102 year old woman teaches 4 exercise classes a week.

‘I’m trying to keep everyone walking’: 102-year-old leads exercise class 4 times a week Jean Bailey is all business as she leads an exercise class at an assisted living facility in Nebraska.

I love being outdoors and I love walking, so seeing pretty lights and lantern festivals during the holidays is fun. I would be even more stoked if we turned all the city lights off and could see the stars more often ⭐️. Sometimes I wonder if that’s why we like the sparkly lights so much…we intrinsically miss the stars.

Sitting on the floor. Changing my shape. Gently loving my body as I wait to go to Nashville.

This is movement. The air moves us. The sun moves us. This is something I’ve been working on.

Stretch open your fingers and spread your toes,
Reach your arms up and out, open and close.

Stand up, straighten your legs and turn your feet straight,
Shift your hips side to side and then equally balance your weight.

Take a side bend and twist on all days,
Love your body in a million little ways.

“Walking changes our brains, and it impacts not only creativity, but also memory.”

On the Link Between Great Thinking and Obsessive Walking Moreover, you must walk like a camel, which is said to be the only beast which ruminates when walking. –Henry David Thoreau, “Walking,” 1861 * Charles Darwin was an introvert. Granted, he spent alm…

Have you stretched your fingers and hands lately? This interlace stretch is one of my favorites and I do it nearly every day. Take a few breaths and then switch the crossing.

A few reasons to stretch your fingers and hands often:

1. Remember all the amazing things they do for you. Return the love.

2. The chain from your fingers to your neck is connected. Excessive tension is one area can easily impact other areas.

3. Improve your grip strength.

Always chilling in different ways.

“To me, the only way to break the age-old strengthen-condition-injury-rehab model is to incorporate the most important missing leg: pliability.”

-Tom Brady (above & below)

Cool shadow and I love this hill.

Looking up