Finding Your Body's Mind (originally published in Massage and Bodywork Quarterly )

Even when we are still, we are moving. Blood circulates, lymph flows, the heart beats, stomach juices swirl, cerebral spinal fluid pulses, cells migrate, rib case and lungs expand and contract. There is a universe of silent movement occurring inside us every second. Read more

The Rotator Cuff-An Overview

The rotator cuff is a combination of four muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis; commonly known as the “SITS” muscles) that work to stabilize the head of the humerus during all shoulder movements (essentially most upper body movements). It keeps the humerus stable and centered in the shoulder joint to allow other muscles to function properly. Think of them as guy wires pulling on a tent pole: the supraspinatus pulls the head of the humerus into the glenoid fossa from above. The infraspinatus pulls it in from the rear. The teres minor pulls it in from bottom/rear. And the subscapularis pulls it in from the bottom/front. Some sources define the cuff as the tendons of these four muscles, but as massage therapists we use a broader definition that includes the muscles. Read more.

If you'd like to do some research on the proper amount of time to hold a stretch, here are some good articles: