winter

Oh it is winter. It really really is. It is varying degrees of extremely cold. It is frequently wet and windy. It is inhospitable outdoors and your body knows it. There is a distinct winter tension pattern that I watch swing around every year with the following key elements:

Nose In Scarf: The upper trapezius and levator scapulae are lifting the shoulders up up up noseward to try to keep the face warm. That's hard work made harder by the way we hold our heads forward against the wind or as though we might get where we're going an inch faster.

Core Protection: The shoulders curl forward and inward in effort to keep the core of the body warm. It's instinctive, sure, but let's face it, we've got layers of wool or down or polarfleece or somesuch wrapped around all those vital parts, and the thoughtful efforts of our pectoral muscles (which, incidentally, when chronically tight tend to overstretch the mid-traps a bit. Anyone feeling achy between the shoulder blades lately too? Mmm hmm...) just aren't going to make a big difference in how warm we feel.

Walking On Ice: We do the most absurd things when walking on slippery surfaces. We tighten up everything from our feet to our hips, as though we could pull ourselves right up off of that ice and just float over it. So that leaves us (a) walking in a way that we never walk otherwise and are therefore unpracticed in on a (b) challenging surface after we have (c) effectively impeded the ability of ankle, knee, and hip joints to bend, shift, or react in any way. Right. No wonder we fall.

If you can remember to relax your neck, shoulders, and legs when out and about in the frigidness you can cut down on that sore and stiff feeling that lurks around all winter. You can trade that hard fall on the ice for a soft and gentle tumble if not a smooth sail across it. And if the subzero temps have frozen your brain I'll let you off the hook this once, but do have a nice wiggle and stretch once you get back indoors, OK?