Stretching Archives - Mother Trucker Yoga

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4 Quick and Simple Exercises with the Good-N-Tight Ratchet Strap Tightening Handle

When you are a truck driver, time is of the essence. And either you have a lot of time, or you have none. But there are moments throughout your day where you can sneak in a few quick moves to help you feel better, wherever you are with your Good-N-Tight Ratched Strap Tightening Handle handy. The Good-N-Tight is amazing when you don’t want to throw out your shoulder or back tieing down a load and gives you three times the leverage. And as my husband always says, “work smarter not harder”. This is one tool you definitely want to get and have handy anytime you need to use a ratchet strap.

But this blog isn’t about how to use this tool for securing your load. It’s about how to double down and use this tool to help you feel better, whenever you are with small simple moves you can do it anytime, anywhere. These four simple moves are perfect for those in-between moments when to help reduce stiffness, bring a little energy back into your body, stretch, and strengthen so you don’t throw your back out getting in and out of the truck (it happens).

Here are 4 Quick and Simple Moves You Can Do With The Good-N-Tight:

Good-N-Tight Oblique Side Bend

This is a great move to help tone your waist and both stretch and strengthen your lower back, hips, and obliques.

Step your feet wider than hips-width apart.
Point your toes forward and square your hips.
With your Good-N-Tight in hand reach your arms up overhead.
Relax your shoulders down and soften your front rib cage down as well.
Take a deep breath in and gently slide your hips to the right as you lean your upper body and arms to the left.
Press your arms straight and reach through the Good-N-Tight, like you were to stamp it on the wall next to you.

VERSION 1:

Hold this for 5 breaths, and on the exhale come back to center and repeat the opposite side.

VERSION 2:

Inhale press your hips to the right and tip your upper body and arms to the left.
Exhale return to center, pulling your hips back first and your upper body to sit on top.
Repeat the opposite side: Inhale to lean, exhale to return.
5-10 times on each side.

Oblique Stretch Tightening Handle

Good-N-Tight Triceps Stretch

This is a wonderful stretch to combat all that drive time opening your chest, toning your upper back, and releasing your shoulders.

Standing tall grab the Good-N-Tight with your right hand and extend your arm up overhead.
Bend your top elbow and tuck your hand behind your head, laying the Good-N-Tight down your spine.
Roll the top tricep inward towards your head, turning your triceps to face forward (this may be difficult, especially if your shoulders are tight or bulky).
Tuck your left hand behind you to grab the bottom of the Good-N-Tight and work to roll your left shoulder open, feeling the shoulder blade press inward towards the spine.
Stand even taller and breathe calmly for 5 to 10 breaths.
Repeat the opposite side.

Good-N-Tight 1 Minute Moves Tricep Stretch - Mother Trucker Yoga Blog

Good-N-Tight Chest Expander

Slouching, leaning, hunching, driving, and carrying often leave our body hunched forward and frozen in place. This quick move gives your body a break and counterposes all that rounding forward. Breathe easy and feel your chest, pecs, and shoulders open as your core gets a little wake-up call.

Standing tall with your feet at a comfortable distance grab your Good-N-Tight.

Tuck your hands behind you and grab hold of either side of your new exercise equipment.

Roll your shoulders in towards your spine as you drop them down away from your neck.

Inhale drive your hips and pelvis forward as you pull your arms down and back.

Gently look up and stretch!

Hold this for 5 breaths, and repeat 3 to 5 times.

Chest Expander Good-N-Tight Mother Trucker Yoga Blog

Good-N-Tight Calf Stretch

Your calf is the hydraulic pump for your lower body to get blood flow back up the heart. Restricted calves inhibit the calf to do its job, making the heart have to work harder. Tight calves also cause knee and back pain. Let’s give the body some relief with a quick stretch!

Place the Good-N-Tight on the ground.
Standing tall, place the ball of one foot up on the lip of your new exercise equipment, keeping your heel on the ground.
Square your hips and slowly inch your free foot forward until you feel a stretch in your calf.
Stand even taller and press down into your stretching heel as you hold the stretch for 5 to 10 breaths.
Repeat the opposite side and do this stretch 1-3 times each day.

Calf Stretch Good-N-Tight Mother Trucker Yoga BLog

Pushing yourself in a quick workout is important, but you should never allow yourself to just sit there because you think you need fancy equipment. Make sure you’re choosing quality over quantity. And look around your truck, what do you have laying around. What could be multi-purpose? And remember instead of thinking you need all sorts of crazy fitness in your life, think movement, where can I get more movement in? Along with your new Good-N-Tight moves get out and walk for an added boost to your body, mind, and spirit. Happy moving!

This blog post is in partnership with Bud and Tony’s Truck Parts! Bud and Tony are on a mission to give back to the trucking community and by teaming up with Mother Trucker Yoga, they are doing it, one move at a time. Check out more about Bud and Tony over on their site: www.BudAndTonysTruckParts.com

April 2, 2021/0 Comments/by pbeue

6 Rules for Over the Road Fitness

Lifestyle, Trucker Fitness

6 Rules for Over the Road Fitness

The idea of over the road fitness is not the norm for some. And for others, they think of it only as taking their traditional workout with them. And that is great. But for the rest of us, being smart and looking at how you can add movement, fitness, health into your day, even while doing what you always do is what I call over the road fitness. And fitness in your everyday life!

Long drives can trigger multiple health issues! Old News!

We can pull through the long-distance travels effortlessly!

Good News!

Let us take look at

“How can we avoid backache on the way?” Back pain is not new news, but the reality is there is a large group of people who have back pain, or any pain and it doesn’t bother them enough to make a change. There is a story that a mentor told me some years ago.

There was a cat laying on a nail crying meow.

And the owner’s friend asked, “why is the cat meowing?”

And the owner said, “oh, she’s laying on a nail”.

And the friend said, “well, why doesn’t she just get off the nail?”

The owner said, “Because it doesn’t hurt that bad”.

The moral of the cat story is some people’s pain is only bad enough to complain about it. They don’t actually want to do something about it. Where is your pain? Where is your desire for being healthy and improving your fitness? We won’t change anything we don’t want to change. Here are a few road rules to help you stay healthy, fit, and happy while traveling, driving, rolling down the open road.

Forestall the trigger

Each time you enter your car or any vehicle, open your door wide. Use your hand to hold the seat, keep your back straight, bend your knees, and take your seat at your near edge of the seat while facing the vehicle. Then, in one move, lift and swing your legs together and place them on the car’s foot-mat.

Adjust your seat accordingly.

You just can’t fix your seat where you can see everything clearly to feel like a boss on the road and let your back handle all the discomfort in the world.

Setting your seat at a height that your hips lie in the same height as of your knees is more befitting.

Are you in need of a new truck seat? Many drivers think they can’t afford a supportive truck seat. But can you afford years of pain, spinal damage, and discomfort from years of driving? Invest in yourself before things breakdown- that includes your body! Check out the AIR CHIEF STANDARD STYLE ON-HIGHWAY TRUCK SEAT from Bud and Tony’s Truck Parts.

Standard Features to this seat include:

20” Wide Soft Seat Cushion
Height Adjustable Headrest (can be removed)
Fully Reclining Backrest
Triple Chamber Air-Lumbar Support System
3-Position Seat Cushion Extension & Tilt Adjustment
Fore & Aft Slides (7 Inch Tracks)
Poly-Dynamic Air-Suspension™
Integrated Isolator
ICP -moves with Suspension & Isolator
Bellow

Relax Your Body

Easy Stretches for Travel with Mother Trucker Yoga Do not sit like a statue and try checking regularly, reminding yourself to relax your arms or legs while driving. Not only will it trigger back problems but will also hamper with blood circulation. Muscle cramps and stiffness. Let’s be honest, we get lazy and even though we can move while driving, we don’t. So make it a point to move more while driving. Need help getting creative with movements? Check out Mother Trucker Yoga’s Audio Easy Stretching for Travel: Safe Yoga While Driving Download.

Arms position and pedal distance

Your arms should be bent at 20-30 degree angles while your legs should bend at a 45-degree angle. It will prevent you from slouching and support your spine. Look for your sweet spot and commit your driving for a lifetime to it. This may require you to purchase additional support tools for your truck or vehicle.

Lumbar Support

This invention is no less than a blessing for people suffering from backache—use quality lumbar support to keep your back in a right and comfortable position. BackShield is lumbar support designed for a comforting cushioning effect to your back and improves your posture. It is conveniently portable and can nicely fit in cars, trucks, and R.V.s. Purchasing yourself a BackShield is a profitable investment for your lifetime. Use our code at checkout: MTY10

In case you don’t want to buy lumbar support, you can roll a towel and place it in the back near the lumbar vertebrae. But take it from me, it won’t work like a BackShield.

BackShield for RV Driving

Mirror Positioning

Position your mirror at the right angles to avoid unnecessary twisting and turning of your neck and back. And when you look out at your mirrors use your whole body, look at that mirror peek as a movement for your body too.

Other Important Points

Take small intervals

If you travel a long distance, it will help your body relax from stiffness in your muscles. Stretch your body, walk for a few minutes, and restart your journey.

Hydration

Keep yourself hydrated on your way. Generally, our mind and body are on autopilot mode while driving, and our blood pressure tends to lower down a bit, and we start to feel off. To maintain your blood pressure, you need to hydrate your body frequently to stay in a conscious state and a good mood.

Music Therapy

Listen to your favorite music album. It will help your nerves to calm down and relax your entire body.

Fuel your body

Don’t let your stomach starve. Give it proper nutritious food because, “When the tummy is happy, nothing is crappy!” when you are in a good mood, it will fight the stress hormone released in your body.

Drive Safely

Last but not least,

“Drive Cautiously”

“Follow the traffic rules.”

“Don’t get a ticket for speeding.”

Being fit is not an overnight change. And in my mind, it’s not based on weight, size, or gender. It’s based on how you feel. So ask yourself: “how do I feel?” And don’t be afraid to answer. So many people deny that they need to work harder, improve themselves, and pay more attention to their fit-ness in life. These road rules are meant to help you see the options available. You probably noticed that the rules above are not based on squats or hundreds of push-ups daily or running a couch to 5k. These are rules to help you improve the quality of your life!

See more clearly where the road is taking you.
See more clearly where it is you want to go.
See more clearly how easy it can be to change lanes in your fitness and health.

This post is sponsored by:

Bud and Tony have known each other for over 50 years (brothers – from another mother you could say) and have been in business together for over 30 years. They have always believed in our economy thriving and work hard to make sure it continues upward. They both know the trucking industry has and will continue to be the backbone of our economy. With this in mind, they came together to be a part of this ever-growing, ever-changing but steadfast, and traditional business that will always keep moving American and the world forward.

October 1, 2020/0 Comments/by pbeue

What is Plantar Fasciitis & What to Do About It

Trucker Fitness, Yoga for Truckers

What is Plantar Fasciitis & What to Do About It

I never had ANY issues with my feet until I was pregnant. Plantar Fasci.. Who? And it was right about that time that I began my journey of diving into the body. Not yoga poses. Not fancy exercises, but how the body moves and why it moves the way it does. How we are an adaptation of our environment over time and things don’t necessarily happen to us, they accumulate within us.

To be honest, you don’t catch plantar fasciitis like you do an airborne virus. Your body moves or doesn’t move, it adapts to the environment you put it in and it responds. When your muscles scream, cramp, tighten, clench, sag, freeze they are responding. The question is, are you listening?

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

But what IS plantar fasciitis? Plantar fasciitis means the inflammation in the muscular band around the sole, which supports the arch. It is the main reason for pain at the bottom of the heel. And that plantar tendon is then connected to your achilles tendon, which then connects in with your calf muscles, to your hamstrings to then your sacrotuberous ligament and so on (that was a mouth full). My point…everything is connected. Our bodies are not separate parts, we are not parts, we are whole. And when we are in pain, like foot pain, we cannot just look at the area screaming. We must step back and look at the entire canvas and how that canvas moves or doesn’t move. If someone was to be holding a gun pointed at another who would be screaming, the shooter or the victim? The victim is the bottom of your foot, the persecutor is the cause of it.

In modern busy lives, one is always on his feet. Our heels are constantly under the pressure of our daily life hustles. This pressure ultimately damages or tears your foot ligaments resulting in pain and stiffness under the sole. And furthermore, the long bouts of sitting, tightening of the calves and hamstrings coupled with extreme fitness shortens and tightens those areas causing a pulling and aggravating pain.

Causes of Plantar Fasciitis

During the later months of pregnancy, women carry a lot of weight on their feet and are more at risk for Plantar Fasciitis.

Men and women between the age group of 40-70 years and majorly women among them are at higher risk for Plantar Fasciitis.

Obese individuals, due to high pressure on their heels and repetitive tensile overload from walking, standing, or squatting, are more prone to the inflammation of the muscle band around their heels.

Certain activities or exercises that include running, dancing on heels or ballet dancing, skating, aerobic dance, inadequate stretching, or walking long-distance without a proper pair of shoes, etc.

Pronation (walking in a way that your whole body weight tends to be on the inside of your foot) is one major cause of Plantar Fasciitis.

Long term sitting with minimal bouts of movement, stretching or activity.

People with structural foot abnormality (Foot Mechanics) like flat feet, protruded, or extended heel bone or high arches usually suffer from Plantar Fasciitis. Weak plantar flexor muscles and intrinsic muscles of the foot are the bio-mechanic causes of Plantar Fasciitis.

Certain occupations that involve excessive use of feet or dynamic jobs like teachers, factory workers, police, labor, etc. are at higher risks.

Heel spurs were implicated as one of the causes of Plantar Fasciitis. It was later clarified that this is a very weak association and may not necessarily be a cause of Plantar Fasciitis.

Symptoms

Stabbing pain and tenderness in the heel is the typical symptom of Plantar Fasciitis.

The pain can be triggered by a long period of standing.

The pain generally kicks off after exercise as the pain flares up due to increased irritation or inflammation but doesn’t show any symptoms during exercise.

The nature of pain may vary from person to person. It can be dull or sharp, burning or ache in the heel.

The pain is commonly worse in the morning. You will feel a wave of pain the moment you take your first step out of bed. Climbing stairs would be the last thing you want to do as it aggravates the pain to a higher extent.

Management

Statistically, stretching is believed to give the best long-term results at home.

Calf and arch stretch

Sit on the bed with straight legs.
Take a folded towel (or a strap or belt)
Hold the ends with both hands.
Place the balls of your feet in the middle of the towel and pull back the towel/belt flexing the foot (place the towel over the ball of the foot).
Hold this for 30 seconds with a rest interval of 30 seconds and repeat this 3 times. Or hold until tension passes.

Seated Forward Bend with Strap to Stretch Arches, Calves, and Hamstrings

Downward Facing Dog

Start down on all fours.
Take a deep breath in and lift your knees.
Without walking your hands back, press up through your arms and shoulders.
Exhale and draw your belly in and lift your hips high.
Let your heels sink towards the ground and “walk the dog” by alternating lifting and lowering each heel and bending the opposite knee.
If you are feeling tight, bend the knees (the goal is not to have straight legs, but to feel a stretch).
NOTE: Try Half Downward Dog on the step of your truck. Does your truck step need an upgrade? In need of more grip? >Shop NOW<

Half Down Dog on Truck Step

Downward Facing Dog

Roll the arch on our Massage Roller Stick

Keep a ball or our massage roller stick by your bedside.
Roll your foot on the ball three times for 1 minute with 30 seconds of the rest interval.
Do this exercise after waking up and before going to bed.
NOTE: Your feet may feel tender due to wearing shoes too frequently and not stimulating the muscles in the feet often enough.

mother trucker yoga massage roller feet

Manual Stretch

Before taking your first step out of bed, stretch and massage your feet manually with the help of your fingers.

Treatment

NSAIDs
Stretching
Formal physical therapy
Night splints
Custom orthotics
Corticosteroid injections
Platelet-rich plasma injections
Botulinum toxin injections
Fasciotomy
Topical Pain Relief Cream – STIFF Mother Trucker

Stiff Mother Trucker Pain Relief Cream in Hand

Thank you to BUD & TONY’S TRUCK PARTS for being the sponsor of this blog.

Are you ready to try out Mother Trucker Yoga’s Half Down Dog on the step of your truck but you need an upgrade?

Bud & Tony’s Truck Parts got you covered! They have dozens of selections perfect for your rig!

See what they have waiting for your ride!

September 12, 2020/0 Comments/by pbeue

4 Poses to Banish Stress Instantly While Traveling

Trucker Fitness, Yoga for Truckers

Stress can be overwhelming and even debilitating. It can cause headaches, muscle tension, difficulty sleeping, and irritability. Obviously, we all know that stress isn’t good for us physically or mentally. So, how do we banish stress in our every day lives?

As a yoga teacher, I encourage others to live a life where they can stay grounded, focused, balanced, and content. Yoga has helped me a great deal with handling stress and the side effects of stress. It helps to relieve tension by keeping me focused on my breath rather than all the thoughts racing through my heads.

Whether you are at home, work, or somewhere in between, yoga is a great way to find stress relief. So, to help you on your journey of finding ways to banish stress, here are three of my favorite yoga poses.

4 Poses to Banish Stress Instantly While Traveling

Heart Opening Yoga Pose – Shoulder and Upper Back Stretch

This pose not only relieves pain in my upper back and shoulders; I can feel my mind and emotions melt when I do this. This heart-opening pose is one of my go-to poses after a stressful day when I can’t sleep or help relieve the tension of carrying life on my shoulders. As I work to widen my knees slowly, I feel relief to feel such space (even if it doesn’t look like it). The freedom of my body letting go into the safety of the floor for a few minutes is all I need to feel more like myself.

Constructive Rest Yoga Pose- Reduce Back Pain

Constructive Rest pose is a simple pose to relax and separate from the day. It diminishes back pain and can ease the immediate discomfort mentally, emotionally, and physically life can bring about. Lying on your bed, widen your feet slightly wider than your hips and let your knees fall together and completely support each other. If your knees do not touch naturally, then place a pillow or rolled towel between them so your legs can completely relax. Do this pose on your bed or the floor and focus on your breathing or listen to some relaxing music or guided meditation.

Seated Forward Bend – Complete Stretch from Foot to Forehead

Stress - Version 2 Seated Forward Bend Yoga pose Mother Trucker Yoga Blog

This pose is often used in yoga therapy to help manage depression. It is also known to soothe headache and anxiety and reduce fatigue. The feeling of bending forward eases the mind. Try to deepen your breathing during this pose and hold for one to five minutes. This pose brings me full circle to the simplicity that I am okay the way I am something we all can benefit from when stress steps in.

Be gentle to yourself so that life can be gentle back to you. Never force yourself into a forward bend, especially when sitting on the floor. With each inhalation, lift and lengthen the front torso slightly, with each exhalation release a little more fully into the forward bend. If you are new to this pose, it helps to hold a strap around the feel. If you are incredibly tight, place a rolled-up blanket under your knees for added support. The more you relax in this pose, the more naturally your body will open up.

You Are Worth It

Don’t overthink it. Sometimes you don’t have the time or the mental discipline to jump up and get a workout in, or strike a yoga pose. I get it. However, what I have discovered is that if you do make the time for yourself, you will see how yoga can help you physically, mentally, and emotionally. You are worth it and you owe it to yourself to make time for you. It can feel that if we work ourselves into the ground that we will somehow win an award. But the only award you will be winning is one of disability and mental uneasiness. I am telling you that it is OK and vital that you take care of you, and you can do that starting with just a few minutes a day right in the cab of your truck.

If you want to get professional, inspiring, functionally-safe classes all in the comfort and privacy of your own rig. I invite you to check out Mother Trucker Yoga Online Studio Platform. No stress, no hassle, no sitters, and no fuss. This is not just another fitness program showing you moves from their gym where you try to figure out how to make this work in your truck.–it’s a fresh approach all done in and around the cab of the truck! I know that I know you will enjoy it.

If you are experiencing stress right now, here are some other helpful resources:

10 Steps to Setting Goals as a Truck Driver

Benefits of Meditation- Simple Ways to Start Meditating

The 13th Step of Addiction Recovery

May 27, 2020/0 Comments/by pbeue

3 Stretches to Improve Hand Mobility While Driving

Trucker Fitness, Yoga for Truckers

Pain can halt any job dead in its tracks. But when you are a truck driver the last thing you need is to come to a dead stop. Having a good grip is one of the number one things a truck driver needs. Why? Because controlling that 18 wheeler while out on the open road requires several things, one is gripping the steering wheel. Having good hand mobility includes your fingers, wrists and arms.

Sure it may seem insignificant, but not being able to grip the steering wheel, ratchet down your load, or open your truck door all require your hands to work properly.

If you find daily tasks difficult to do because you suffer from stiffness, swelling, or pain in your hands, the right exercises can help get you back in motion.

Repetitive strain injuries are not just for those who type on a computer or hold a hammer. Continuously holding your steering wheel in a particular way can also cause pain and discomfort. And the lack of having full range of motion regularly is a big part of the problem with anyone with hand and wrist issues.

Taking a time out and stretching your fingers, hands, and wrists is one of the best ways to keep pain and discomfort at bay and increase hand mobility and function.

Below you will find five commonly recommended exercises for hand and wrist problems. However, if your hand condition is painful or debilitating, it’s best to get exercise advice from a physical therapist. All exercises should be done slowly and deliberately, to avoid pain and injury. If you feel numbness or pain during or after exercising, stop and contact your doctor.

FINGER AND HAND STRETCHES:

Most of the time the only way we are moving our fingers is into flexion. AKA curling them into the grip. When you repeatedly do something over and over you create a pattern. Like driving a dirt bike on the grass over and over, you eventually create a dirt path within the grassy ground.

TRY THIS: Open and outstretch your hand as wide as you can. Look at it from the side and see if all of your fingers straighten up. Is it hard to do? When is the last time you stretched (extended) those joints? Did something that didn’t require you to “grip”?

PRO TIP: Twice a day stretch your fingers, you can pull back on each finger one at a time. Or you can also use the steering wheel and stretch each finger again the wheel. Try to hold the stretch for at least 10-20 seconds each.

Finger Stretches Mother Trucker Yoga Blog

WRIST AND HAND STRETCHES:

Most of us have jobs where we use our body by folding inward. Bending forward. Rounding forward. Gripping. Internally rotating. Not only does this create patterns in our body to where we start to stand, sit, move and exercise with those patterns, it also plays a negative role in how we feel. Closing off the chest, can increase anxiety, depression and decrease breathing.

When it comes to the wrists we need to reverse it. if you want to increase hand mobility and if you suffer from tennis elbow, wrist strain, or even shoulder strain, a little extension in the wrists could bring relief.

TRY THIS: Next time you are standing next to your truck, a wall, or even use the steering wheel, turn your forearm up and stretch your palm/wrist out. Try to keep the fold of the elbow facing upward and if you are using your truck, lean your elbow into your body to brace the stretch. If you are in your truck create a full extension on your elbow and keep the eye (the fold) of the elbow facing upward.

PRO TIP: Do this at least twice a day and try to hold this for 30 seconds to one minute. You may notice a ripping like feeling. Don’t be alarmed, that is the fascia of the body stretching and releasing. Think of it like fuzz melting off. If you haven’t melted the fuzz in a while, it’s going to be sticky!

Wrist Stretch Mother Trucker Yoga Blog

Wrist Stretch in truck mother trucker yoga

SHOULDER & UPPER ARM STRETCH:

When there is physical pain, oftentimes those in pain only look to where they “feel” pain as the culprit of the pain. But when it comes to the shoulder, elbow, and wrist, any one of the three just listed can cause another pain. So next time your wrist or hand is giving you grief, look up a little higher to the shoulder. Tennis elbow? Could be the shoulder to blame. Hand mobility doesn’t just mean you have a hand issue, neighboring body parts can be to blame.

TRY THIS: Next time you are waiting to load or unload, have a little downtime or are on break, try this quick and easy shoulder and upper arm stretch. Simple cross one arm in front of your chest and latch it in with the other, hugging it tightly. Try to straighten the arm that is laying across your chest to increase the stretch. Hold it for at least 30 seconds. And then repeat the opposite side.

PRO TIP: While stretching, it is important to try to relax your shoulders and breathe deeply. Hold the stretch until the initial pain drops at least in half. Look towards the stretching arms side to get the neck involved as well.

Shoulder Stretch Mother Trucker Yoga Blog

Don’t let pain be the reason you stop doing what you love. Or keep you from your job. Taking preventative measures is one of the best ways to keep your body working with you and not against you. Regular stretching not only is good for the body, but it releases endorphins to the brain and leaves you happier and healthier.

The next time your wrists and hands start calling a TIME OUT, remember these simple easy stretches you can do no matter where the open road takes you.

And don’t forget about our Stiff Mother Trucker Pain Relief Cream, perfect to use after you stretch your hands, wrists, and arms. Stiff Mother Trucker Pain Relief Cream was specifically formulated for professional truck drivers to meet their body’s pain in contact. We believe that every driver can feel better wherever they are with simple easy stretches and practices, one of them being pain relief cream.

No matter where you are, on the road or at home, remember there are simple and easy things you can do today to start to feel your best.

Want to read more from Mother Trucker Yoga?

10 Tips for a Functional Body Blog

March 31, 2020/0 Comments/by pbeue

Trucker Fitness: Expectations vs. Reality

Trucker Fitness

Trucker Fitness: Expectations vs. Reality IS something that needs to be discussed because it IS tricky to stay fit and healthy while on the road. But with a little planning ANYONE, can improve their over the road lifestyle.

Now lets be clear: I am not a trucker. But I have had the privilege of working with drivers over the last fifteen plus years locally in my Wisconsin yoga studio. And now hundreds of drivers through Mother Trucker Yoga.

And as someone who does travel quite a bit, fitness on the go has to be a priority or, it can fall to the bottom of the list quickly.

Fitness first.

Let me say that again: fitness first.

I don’t care how old you are, how stiff, overweight, arthritic , what your gender, skin color or what brand of truck you drive. Fitness first.

And to be even more clear: Fitness does not mean you have to be the most fit. And it surely does not mean you have to chisel out 60 consecutive minutes each day to qualify for such a badge.

When many hear “fitness” they instantly think long workouts, classes, and getting to the gym. But for most drivers that is not reality.

Reality is, you if you are a driver, then… wait for it… you are driving for most, if not all of the day or all night.

But wedged in between tough traffic and arranging your load are small bouts of time where you CAN insert fitness.

Yes! You, the one who rolled your eyes at the sight of my website titled: Mother Trucker Yoga, but were intrigued enough to read on CAN be fit while being a truck driver.

I’ve done a lot of research, I mean a LOT of research when it comes to fitness, and what I call everyday functional fitness. Meaning: movements that make sense for your life and lifestyle and enhance your abilities to keep doing what you love and assist in you living life.

So that means for you- AKA the truck driver, that trucker fitness IS a reality and can be achieved. If you are open minded enough to start to make some small yet powerful changes to your every day life.

Exercises for Truck Drivers (small changes you can make to improve your health):

Stretching your fingers and wrists against the steering wheel to help combat tightness and arthritis in those very necessary joints.
Twisting your entire spine on purpose when reaching for your seat belt and buckling up- because it’s the law.
Stepping up into your rig, and instead of doing those two steps just once and in. Creating your own stair climber and for a minute straight stepping up and down as quick and safely as you can.
Filling up with fuel and down dogging it like no one is watching (like the Half Dog pictured below). And if they are… Asking them to join.

These are just a few ways you can create a reality around fitness for YOUR lifestyle.

When I dove deep into research on yoga and fitness for truckers I found a few videos with someone standing next to a truck doing push ups or jumping rope. And for the one app I downloaded, it was again someone doing jumping jacks next to a big rig, toe touches and then a few demonstrations of sit ups. That with all my research on core health, I wanted to come through the phone and offer some tips on how to safely and more effectively work your core.

Today, I want you to not over think fitness. Consider what you can insert into your already busy day. What moments (and that is all it takes) do you have that you can make a conscious effort to insert a quick move here or there.

Mother Trucker Yoga’s whole premise is 3 – 5 minute EASY moves explained for the drivers body for a move that make sense and you can feel the difference with. Why? So you can keep doing what you love with less pain.

So don’t be distracted by someone telling you you NEED 60 minutes of exercise daily. And what they mean is hitting the gym for 60 straight minutes.

What I’m telling you today is if you add a move here, and a move there and a few moves at the end of the day right inside your rig. You WILL feel the difference! And as a result start to make more positive changes to your life.

Because every little movement adds up! And we are meant to move. Not just once a day for 60 minutes. But all day long. And Mother Trucker Yoga is here to show you that it CAN be done! And currently truckers all over the US are incorporating this very idea into their day with BIG results.

So what is one move, one thing you can add to your day today?

What one move?

For just a few minutes?

Master that move.

And before you know it, fitness will become a reality.

April 29, 2019/2 Comments/by pbeue

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