Yoga causing heel spurs?

Dear Reader,

I wrote yesterday about Percie, a man who I’ve known since ages (since I went to University, for that matter) – and a person who recently commented upon a meme I wrote an email about.

To add on to this, it’s worth mentioning that Percie has been in the food and beverage industry for almost his entire life – so if there’s a recipe you need tweaking – or certain ingredients you need sourced – or anything to ask about food, for that matter, hit me up and I’ll send you his way – he “da” man in that regard, hehe.

Anyway, we’ve been carrying on the convo I wrote about yesterday.

Yesterday’s convo was about his daughter Emily – but carrying on from that, he told me that he had developed a nasty case of “heel spurs” in his heel from doing yoga.

Quoting from what he said …

I’m ok was doing yoga but developed heel spurs and having severe pain in the tendon behind my heel.Downward Dog did me in ??…Foot Dr has me in a boot to keep pressure off the heel

And my response?

Heel spurs are never nice! Hope that resolves itself soon – that sometimes happens if you’re overweight and do yoga (a lot of the positions are basically static holds and if you’re overweight, well … )..

Yes, the downward dog position can cause issues for some folks – – lack of hamstring flexibility is often the case as well with some people. Try the position on your toes – – it becomes easier that way … Otherwise, the downward dog position is a great position — my “Hindu” pushup that I promote is a mix of downward / upward “dog” – – and is one of the best exercises to stretch, strengthen and BUILD the spine, shoulders and entire body (yes, legs as well if done right!). Yes, natural cures do the trick the best. I’m NOT a believer in modern medicine for the most part – at least for these sort of aches and pain. The Chinese have traditional “massage” oils they use   – – and the Indians have what they call “tiger balm” – – but they both work pretty well!

Ok – so why am I telling you this?

Well, first off, because yoga is one of the activities that is “touted” by the “experts” as a one stop solution for weight loss, better health, more flexibility and all that – and while there is nothing essentially wrong with yoga, the fact remains that a) a lot of those teaching it out there don’t teach it the right way, and b) NOT everyone is ready for all yoga positions.

Exercise isn’t a “one size fits all” deal – – and neither is yoga (especially not).

And as for those teaching it? Well, it might sound astounding, but a lot of folks teaching the downward dog are teaching it incorrectly – – as well as NOT telling you a lot of hidden tips and tricks that will make this position easier to hold / more beneficial.

The Hindu pushups as y’all know is one of the KEY exercises in the 0 Excuses Fitness System. It’s a great, great exercise – one of the best, in fact – to build strength, flexibility and MUSCLE in the shoulder and upper body area – not to mention the legs as well – but there’s another benefit to this that is often overlooked.

It builds the TENDONS in the shoulder area – an area often neglected by the average Joe and gym rats alike.

Not good, my friend. Neglect the tendons in the shoulder – and you have a shoulder waiting to “rupture” as the muscles grow too large from those heavy weights you’re hoisting but the tendons don’t keep up.

I can’t mention the number of people I know that can’t do squats without knee wraps – or can’t deadlift without wrist aids – all of which are completely unnecessary and do nothing but hinder your progress, but yet, they need these aids as their ligaments and tendons are shot to high hell and beyond from lack of proper care.

This almost never happens with bodyweight practitioners, my friend.

Not just the Hindu pushup – the host of other exercises (and specifically, pushups) in the System do NOT focus just upon the muscles.

No – they focus upon the entire body – from the inside out.

When you partake of a 0 Excuses Fitness workout, you’re not only strengthening your muscles – – but your joints, ligaments and tendons all get a vigorous workout as well – not to mention your cardio system – which is something you do NOT get from yoga (the cardio) and you do NOT get from the gym (the tendon strength).

You can grab 0 Excuses Fitness right here – – http://0excusesfitness.com/0excusesfitnessystem.

It is truly an “all in one” solution as opposed to what the “experts” tout, and if you needed any further proof beyond what I’ve said (and ranted, hehe) about the “experts” – – well, Percie’s email is a case in point.

Last, but not least, if you have extra-stiff hamstrings, work into the Hindu pushup by doing them on your toes.

You’ll find this makes the exercise easier  until you get the hang of it.

Other tips (including one VERY minor, but equally important “must know” tip) are mentioned in the videos in the System – and YES – you DO need to watch the videos before diving into the workouts.

Do so daily, and heel/bone spurs, back pain, wonky knees and a slew of other problems will soon recede into the background – and disappear ultimately.

All for now – back later!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

P.S. – Quote of the day – – “Be a VOICE- NOT an echo!”

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