In the words of Amy Whinehouse, sometimes you’ve got to “rock your f*&# me pumps.” While wedges and pumps might look jaw-dropping, ever wonder what damage they are doing? Slipping into heels everyday, over time, causes untold damage to our feet and backs. That small pinch of pain in your low back or slowly developing bunion might not bother you now, but a few years down the road you’ll be wishing you had switched to flats every once in a while.

The truth is you can have your cake and eat it too. You can click-clack down the street in your wooden wedges as long as you “do your homework” and take care of your body after you kick them off at the end of the day. With a few simple adjustments to your posture and what I like to call foot rehab you’ll be strutting your stuff without the negative side effects.

1.) Stretch Out: One of the reasons our legs and booty look so damn great when we wear heels is because the heel causes the calf and hamstring muscles on the back of the leg to work. The heel also jacks up the booty, causing more pressure on the low back. Overtime, tight hamstrings and an overextended low back can cause low back pain and tight hips putting undue stress on the spine. The simple solution is to stretch your hamstrings, low back, and calves with a fold over. Hold this stretch for at least 30 seconds and repeat every time you take off your heels.

2.) Swap For Flats: If you currently wear heels everyday, swap them for a cute pair of flats every other day. Or better yet, save the heels for going out at night only. If you have to wear them at work, slip on more comfortable and supportive shoes to and from the office.

3.) Strengthen Your Core: Part of healthy heel wearing has to do with how you hold your posture while they are on. The tendency is to sit or rest in the low back with hyperextended knees, a swayed back look. Combat this while you stand and walk in heels by pulling in the low abdominals. Stand as straight and tall as you can and watch what your belly does. Does it just hang out over you jeans or are you actively trying to stand up tall and support the low back with your core? Strengthen your abdominals with the plethora of ab exercises out there. To target the low abs try this one:

4.) Massage Out The Arches: Use an old tennis ball to roll out the arches of your feet. After a long day on your feet, stand on a tennis ball under your heel and slowly roll the ball under the middle and both sides of your arch. Lean on the ball with more weight to increase the intensity. Spread out the toes and get those bones moving around. Over working the muscles and fascia of the arches can lead to plantar fascitis and other foot ailments.

5.) Watch Your Alignment: When you are walking in your favorite pumps do your ankles wobble or roll in? Take note of how your ankle and foot are aligned. Ideally your ankle is not rolling in or out of the shoe. You want your knee cap to line up with your ankle, which should line up with the middle of your foot. Check out how you weight bare as well. Are you carrying all your weight on the ball of the foot? Weight bearing on the ball of the foot will cause the bones of the foot to move/grow to carry the weight (a bunion). Try to even out the weight distribution to both sides of the foot.

6.) Find Shoes That Fit: If you’ve got a wide foot there’s no way your going to squeeze your feet into those cute Chinese Laundry pumps. Be realistic and find brands that fit the width and shape of your foot. When shoe shopping make sure you can feel the whole foot pad, ball of the foot, middle and pinky side. Avoid super pointed or flat toed shoes since they cramp your toes and force the bones into really unnatural shapes. Overly cramped toes can lead to hammer toes, stress fractures and black nails. Ever looked at a models feet?

As a life long dancer and current Pilates professional, who has tortured her feet in point shoes and now bare foot, I have seen and felt the woes of foot related pain. Take care of your feet now so can walk, run and dance into your 90’s. For more facts and information about the effects of high heels, click here.

Ever wake up feeling super stiff? I know I do at least a few mornings a week. In my experience, a great way to reduce that stiffness and wake up the body is to do some light stretching before you head out for the day. Stiffness is mainly due to tight muscles that constrict or in some cases “lock” joints. By warming up and lightly stretching your bodies main muscle groups you’ll prepare you body for all the activity of the day ahead. Just getting your blood moving and oxygen pumping will boost your energy. Here is an awesome series I do almost every morning:

Child’s Pose: Stretch out that low back and get some nice hip flexion with this pose. Kneel with either your thighs together or hip width apart. The forehead rests on the mat or floor as the arms stretch by your sides. I also love to place my arms above my head and get a nice back and shoulder stretch. Hold for at least one minute.

Piriformis Stretch: There are several ways to stretch the little piriformis, but this is my utmost favorite. The piriformis is a small muscle that sits deep inside the hip. It’s responsible for rotating your leg outward, so as you can imagine this guy can get pretty damn tight, especially if you sit a lot. By stacking the lower legs on top of one another you’ll really open those hips. I like to place my hands on the floor in front of my legs and walk them out until my body is lying on my thighs. Hold for at least a minute on each side.

Cat Cow: OMG! This is the most fabulous way to awaken the spine in the morning. If you want a nice healthy spine for life you’ve got to build strength and flexibility through movement. Cat to Cow gets you moving in almost all of the spinal mechanics. Cow nails the flexion, Cat pushes for extension, and if you do my version you can get lateral (side) flexion as well! Start on all fours with a neutral or flat spine. Move into Cat by curling the pubic bone towards your nose as you exhale. Make a nice even “C” curve in the back. Go back to neutral spine and then extend into Cow by reaching your tail bone up to the ceiling as you press the chest forward, head follows. Try to make an even “U” with your spine. To get that much needed lateral flexion, go back to neutral spine, abdominals pulled in, and reach your ear to your hip. Same on the other side. You’ll kind of feeling like a dog wagging her tail, but it feels so good!

Forward Bend: This is another great low back and obvious hamstring stretch. Stand with feet together or hip width apart. Roll from the top of your head all the way down your spine until your hands reach the floor. If they can’t reach don’t worry, it will get better! I also like to cross my arms above my head holding each elbow with opposite hand and just hang there, letting my head dangle and swivel from side to side. Or you could clasp your hands together behind your back and reach your arms behind your head towards the floor for a nice shoulder opening. Hold for at least 30 seconds. Roll up through your spine the same way your rolled down. Trying to articulate every vertebrae.

Now your ready for your shower! Why not walk out the door feeling ease in your body every morning?

All year we work hard to maintain our fitness routine- even waking up super early or taking a precious hour out of our hectic schedules- but it’s often the first thing to go during the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Staying active is key to sleeping more soundly, handling stress better, keeping weight off, suppressing appetite, and managing moods, all things we need the most over the holidays. As the second part of Epic Self’s holiday survival guide, here are some fun ways to stay on track and still have the time (and energy!) for all that shopping.

1. Change Your Definition: If your typical workout routine is an hour at the gym three times a week, or walking to a yoga class every other day and think that’s all that counts as exercise, you’re missing out! Several holiday activities are major calorie burners and those absolutely count. Carrying several shopping bags and walking all over town is a workout all in its self! And shopping is just the beginning… between all the wrapping, chopping, mixing, lifting, and decorating it’s hard not to break a sweat. Also try to incorporate exercise with your holiday to-do list, like riding your bike to pick up some items at the grocery store.

2. Consider Shorter Workouts: A lot of us feel that if we can’t squeeze in an hour workout than we might as well forgo it all together. Smaller amounts of time might feel like a waste of time, but they definitely add up. If you can’t find an hour to hit the gym, try running with the dog for 15-20 minutes in the morning, do some lunges in the kitchen and have a snowball fight! You could also try wearing a pedometer throughout the day so you can track how many calories your burning with all the festivities.

3. Have A Blast: There is no reason to run to the gym, lift weights and hit the miserable Stairmaster when all you want is to be with your family and friends. Get creative and cook up some fun ways to break a sweat with those you love. You could organize a scavenger hunt, go for a hike, or get the whole gang to walk to look at holiday lights.

4. Try Something New: To stay motivated treat yourself to a fun new class or type of exercise. Slip on those heels and head to that salsa class you’ve been dying to try, or jump into that Bikram yoga class to sweat out any toxins. Go indoor rock climbing with a friend or learn to snowboard.

5. Make It Matter: Look at exercise as a way to take a break from the holiday chaos instead of adding to your stress levels. Taking time out for a mindful workout is a great way to de-stress and clear you head. Meaningful walks with your mom or yoga class with a dear friend are a perfect way to connect and still stay active.

6. Set Goals: Plan ahead for the season. Set goals and pinpoint what usually gets in the way of exercise. During this time of year don’t be too hard on yourself, and stay flexible. Set reasonable goals that you are actually able to fit in and feel good about. If your normal regiment is 1 hour, five days a week, reduce it to 1 hour, 3 days a week. Sanity is important! Especially when you’ve got the in-laws to deal with.

7. Reap The Benefits: Energy begets energy and the only way to stay up all night joking and laughing with your loved ones is to keep it up. I don’t think anyone has ever regretted going to the gym or breaking a sweat. Exercising feels good and gives you much needed energy for this fun and crazy time of year.

Suddenly the dreaded holiday weight gain is no longer that menacing. These 7 Stay Active Solutions mixed with Part 1: 7 Tips For Mindful Eating, complete my holiday survival guide and hopefully will make this season one to remember! Happy Holidays!

It’s roller time again, and this week I’m highlighting my utmost favorite roller massage, the low back and sacrum roll out! Last week we all reduced tons of tension and found more flexibility in the upper back, but now we’ll hit it where it really hurts.

As someone who used to suffer from chronic low back pain, I can attest to this roll out’s fabulous benefits. Here I am demonstrating how it’s done:

-Lying on your back with knees bent, lift up your hips and place the roller under your pelvis. The roller should sit on your sacrum above your tailbone, but not too high as to rest on the lumbar vertebrae.
-You upper body should be resting on your shoulder blades with abdominals pulled into create a curve in the spine. The key here is to prevent arching the low back.
-Bring your knees into your chest so they are stacked over the hips and roller. Hands to the end of the roller to keep it from slipping.
-From here hold your knees together and make circles with the knees. Reverse the circle and repeat. Rock side to side and back and forth. Whatever feels good to you.

Heaven, right?!

Bonus Stretch: Bring both knees into the chest and extend the legs straight holding onto ankles. Pull the ankles and use your abdominals to lift the pelvis off the roller and legs parallel to the floor. This will stretch out the hamstrings and low back as well as create deep hip flexion, all which are important to low back health. Flex the feet for more of a stretch.

Couple this massage with abdominal work and you’ll be on your way to a pain free low back. If your back is still bugging you try this sacrum massage with a partner!

Stay tuned for more Roll It Out easy massages!

Welcome to the Roll It Out series of massages on EpicSelf! Seeing as I have a love affair with my foam roller and all the sweet tight muscle relief it can offer, I thought I would start posting the best roller massage techniques I have come across so we can all benefit from this incredible tool. All you’ll need is a simple foam roller. If you haven’t purchased one yet, here are some great options. Read on to get a feel for why a foam roller is a must-have tension reducer.

Lets get rolling! The first massage in this series is the all important upper back (thoracic region). This roll out will target all those over worked, tense back extensors, lats, trapezius, and romboids (in between the shoulder blades).

-Place the roller on your mid back. Legs bent in parallel and abdominals engaged to support the low back.
-Arms can straight out in front of the chest, above the head, or placed behind the head.
-Roll up and down the upper spine by pushing from the legs. Make sure not to roll onto your neck or roll lower than the ribs.
-Rock and roll to one side then the other for even more massage goodness.

Bonus Stretch: End your roll out session with the roller sitting below the shoulder blades. Sit on the ground with your pelvis tucked to anchor your low back. With hands behind the head, slowly extend back over the roller and take a couple breaths here. Use your abdominals to bring you back up to vertical. This will help increase flexibility in the thoracic spine and give you an amazing pectoralis stretch. Yeah!

After slouching over a desk all day long this will feel divine. Tune in for more incredible Roll It Out sessions!