Franklin Method Fellowship

Episode 9: The Spine Part 2

In this episode we continue with the spine and look at the facet joints. The facet joints are where movement occurs in the spine. We look at how the orientation of the facet joints changes as we move from cervical to thoracic to the lumbar spine. We look at how the individual vertebrae slide and glide on top of each other and get a sense of how the vertebra move in flexion, side bending and rotation. We bring our new facet imagery into the spine dance and band exercises for the spine. Lastly, we notice the positive changes we feel in the spine after this movement practice.  We encourage you to bring the imagery of facet movement into your daily life and exercise practice. Enjoy the episode!
 

Episode 8: The Spine Part 1

In this episode we look at the design and function of the spine. Our spine is incredibly important to the health of our body yet many of us don't know a lot about it. We also tend to have negative associations of pain and injury with our spine. We hope this episode will change your outlook and give you a better understanding and felt sense of how your spine can support you and movement can be freeing and healing for the spine. We finish with the Franklin Method spine dance which is a nice routine to incorporate into your daily practice. Enjoy the episode!

Episode 7: The Neck Muscles

We have noticed in prior episodes that exercises for the pelvis, breathing, heart and lungs improve our head and neck posture and give us a sense of a relaxed jaw. In this episode we look more closely at the muscles of the neck. We begin with an embodiment of where the cranium sits on top of the spine and get a sense of nodding our head moving the occipital condyles and rocking back and forth on the sit bones. We do exercises for our SCM (sternocleidomastoid muscle), Trapezius and Scalenes. Lastly, we look at the movement of the trachea with neck flexion and extension. These exercises in series create an incredible relaxation in the neck and shoulders and an openness across the chest. Enjoy this practice and share your experience and images in the comments! 

Pelvic Floor Q&A

This is the replay of our live pelvic floor Q&A this week. We answered questions about the pelvic floor exercises in episodes 5 and 6 of the podcast and our attendees came with some great questions about the pelvic floor. We answered questions including how to use the exercises in the podcast to help with urinary urgency from pelvic organ prolapse, what are the best exercises for incontinence, and should we be practicing Kegels? If you have questions that weren't addressed in the Q&A please email them to franklinmethodfellowship@gmail.com. 

What is the Franklin Method and what are the benefits of practicing it?

In this episode we talk about what the Franklin Method is and what the benefits are of using imagery with functional movement and exercise. We talk about all the positive changes you can expect to notice and feel from a Franklin Method practice. Lastly, we share our recommendations for how to get the most out of watching and listening to the podcast. And for people wanting more, we have a patron program including exercise practices from each episode, recorded live Q&As and more. Enjoy the episode!  

Episode 6: Dynamic Pelvic Floor Training

In Episode 6 of the Franklin Method Fellowship, we look at training the pelvic floor dynamically. We show you simple exercises taking your pelvic floor through a full range of motion and exercises that address creating a balance in hip external and internal rotation. Have a listen as we demystify training the pelvic floor. And if you are part of our patron program you get bonus content how exercises for the face and feet can impact our pelvic floor! Enjoy the episode! 
Episode 6 Time Line
Remember to breath during all movements.
1:44 mins Why do we have a pelvic floor?
3:40 mins Where do you sense your pelvic floor. Locate boney landmarks. Can you sense when your pelvic floor is relaxed?
4:08 mins During a pelvic floor contraction do you grip your glutes or inner thighs or hold your breath?
5:55 mins Can you imagine your ilium being the ends of a book and your sacrum a book binder? Now imagine closing the book.
7:10 mins We’ll show you a dynamic approach to pelvic floor contraction.
8:42 mins It’s important to get the pelvis to move in conjunction with the full body, walking, in functional movement.
9:40 mins Images to feel your transversus abdominus and pelvic floor contractions. Closing the book image. Bring your tailbone to the back side of your pubic bone image. Imagine a zipper from the pubic bone to the belly button and zip up in your mind only.
19:00 mins Check in and notice your pelvic floor. Notice your posture, level of tension and increased tone, asymmetry. Notice if your pelvic floor muscles are telling the organs above “I got you”!
26:05 mins. Bend your hips and knees with your hands on your sit bones, you can feel your sit bones slide apart and when you straighten your hips and knees you can feel your sit bones slide together.
29:52 mins. Breathe into pelvic bowl and imagine it widening as the sit bones float apart.
31:33 mins. Lift your leg up, the sit bone swings forward and as you lower your leg it swings back.
37.47 mins. Let’s combine the movements of sit bones forward and back, with sit bone out and in.
43.25 mins. Go for a short walk and turn back. Which side are you going to turn to, dominant side or non-dominant side? Does it affect your pelvic floor?
46.29 mins. The levator ani muscles insert into the fascia of the obturator internus. The obturator internus exits and wraps around the back part of the sit bone and to the greater trochanter/hip groove.
48:25 mins Slightly flex your hips and knees. Slide your heel out and in on one leg. Rub on the outside of the greater trochanter to wake up your obturator internus.
58:39 mins. Start with the knees and feet turned in and squat down (internal rotation) for lengthening. As we stretch our legs, slide your heels together as you go into external rotation for shortening.
Stretch your legs as you go into external rotation where you will slide your heels together and rise up into releve.
65:00 mins Hip abductor and adductor movement as your sit bones slide apart and together

Tutorial to Sign Up for Podbean

In this short video we show how to sign up online on Podbean and how to access the Patron content. It will walk you step by step through the process. If you are having difficulties logging into your account please email us at franklinmethodfellowship@gmail.com.

Episode 5: Breathing and the Pelvic Floor

The pelvic floor is one of the most misunderstood parts of the body and in this episode, we help to demystify it. We help you to connect to the pelvic floor and sense and feel these muscles with breathing. We also use shapes and patterns to help develop an embodiment of different parts of the pelvic floor. Did you know there are over 14 muscles that make up the pelvic floor? The good thing is you don't need to know any names. In this episode we simplify the pelvic floor by using imagery. You will walk away from this episode with a sense of the front part of the pelvic floor that supports the bladder, the back part of the pelvic floor that supports the rectum, and the front side part of the pelvic floor that relates to our hips. Make sure you watch until the end, as you will love the Franklin Method ball exercises!
Episode 5: Breathing and the Pelvic Floor Timeline
Introduction3.00 mins. Patient story, fecal incontinence with improvement after 3 treatment sessions.5:10 mins. How do we know what our pelvic floor muscles are doing? Gaining a good connection of your pelvic bowl.7:09 mins. Walking to achieve good pelvic floor function.8:30 mins Dynamic images of your pelvis organizing itself as you lie on the blue Fascial Ball.11:13 mins Check in around your pelvis. What do you sense and feel?15:57 mins What are the functions of the pelvic floor? Why do we have a pelvic floor?18:30 mins. The pelvic floor can serve as protection whether physical or emotion.19:30 mins. Finding your boney landmarks.21:30 mins. Finding your mid point on your sit bones.24:30 mins What are the muscles of the pelvic floor?26:50 mins There are 14 supporting pelvic floor muscles.30:56 mins. Imagine breathing and the pelvic floor.36.05 mins What are qualities of the pelvic floor?42:05 mins. Imagine with your mind only, your ilium are the ends of a book and your sacrum is the binder. Now, imaging closing the book.46:00 mins. What happens to the pelvic floor when we’re breathing in relation to the diaphragm?51.00 mins PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) a diagonal movement to increase flexibility in the pelvic floor.53:30 mins. What do we know about the front part of the pelvic floor?58:00 mins. What do we know about the back part of the pelvic floor?1:03:00 mins. Coordinate your pelvic floor with your breathing as you move your hips and knees.1:05:52 mins Franklin Ball exercises for the pelvic floor.
1:12:12 What emotions do you feel after doing these exercise movement? Calm and gratitude for your body and pelvic floor.