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By Rachael Bird, Myotherapist Myotherapy offers significant benefits to individuals engaged in activities such as martial arts, boxing, and self-defence due to its focus on addressing muscular issues and enhancing physical performance. These activities often involve repetitive and high-impact movements, leading to muscle strain, fatigue, and the risk of injury. Myotherapy techniques, including targeted massage, trigger point therapy, and specialised stretches, can help alleviate muscle tension, improve flexibility, and promote better muscle function specific to the demands of these practices. For martial artists, boxers, and self-defence practitioners, myotherapy plays a crucial role in injury prevention and rehabilitation. By targeting the muscle groups involved in these activities, myotherapists can relieve muscle tightness, reduce pain, and address imbalances, allowing individuals to train more effectively. Additionally, myotherapy can aid in post-training recovery, facilitating faster recuperation from intense workouts or injuries. Moreover, myotherapists often design customised exercise and stretching routines tailored to the specific needs and movements of martial arts, boxing, or self-defence practices. These tailored routines not only help in preventing injuries but also contribute to improving overall flexibility, range of motion, and physical performance, enabling practitioners to perform at their best while minimising the risk of potential injuries. Ultimately, myotherapy serves as a valuable tool in enhancing the overall physical well-being and performance of individuals engaged in these physically demanding disciplines.  I recently met Jim from RAW Life Australia. He's an experienced Martial Arts trainer who operates his gym just around the corner from us here in Rowville. I interviewed him about his training style.
Rachael: Hey Jim, tell us more about the services you offer to our community! Jim: In short we provide training in confidence. We run tailored group kickboxing fitness classes, teens martial arts, adult combatives, self protection courses, workshops, as well as personal 1 on 1 sessions where we tailor the session to whatever the clients needs are. I do a lot of 1 on 1 work with people who are neurodiverse and to those that have extra needs. Rachael: Where is your gym located? Jim: We’re located at Factory 2, 3 Hi-tech Place, Rowville. Just off Laser drive. Rachael: How long have you been operating? Jim: Our full time centre in Rowville has been open since January 2020 but I have been teaching for over 35 years. Rachael: What are your opening hours? Jim: We’re open Monday to Friday from 6:00 a.m. until late, as well as Saturday and Sundays from 7:00 until 12:00, mainly for private sessions. Rachael: What inspired you to teach martial arts? Jim: I first started it as I felt I needed to learn how to fight but eventually realised that it was all about improving who I was as a human being, a husband, a father, a son, a brother, and as a friend. The synergy between the martial arts and life really grabbed me and now it all blurs into one. Rachael: Tell us more about you and your experience Jim: I have been training in the martial arts for almost 40 years and teaching for over 35 of those years. I am an instructor in several martial arts from around the world as well as an experienced personal trainer. I have competed in the UK, Australia, and the Philippines. I teach around Australia as well as having taught in England, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Indonesia, UAE, and New Zealand. I have taught various community groups, private and public schools, as well as private organisations over the last coupe of decades in and around Australia. These days I actually find it hard to tell people exactly what I do. The best I’ve come up with is: I help people help themselves become better, whatever ‘better' means to them. Rachael: We primarily treat people who have pain, injuries and ongoing health conditions. We see a variety of patients, from very sedentary office workers to highly physically active labourers and athletes. Our patient base varies from highly health conscious to people who struggle to maintain good health habits. What types of people does your business serve? Jim: I help a wide section of the community, both here and abroad. From those who want to move better to those that want to become stronger and/or lose weight. I help people who want to be more confident or to build a better version of themselves. I also help people who want to learn self protection skills to those that want to explore the martial arts. I train people from 3 to people in there 80’s and people of varying needs. I help professionals to stay at home parents, people who are neurodiverse to people who are neurotypical, people who have disabilities to people who are able-bodied, as well as survivors of many of lifes trials and tribulations. Every day I have very different clients, on paper at least, in reality we’re all very similar so I just train ‘people’. Are you interested in joining a martial arts class? Check out RAW Life Australia and let Jim know that Rachael from Simple Wellness Myotherapy sent you! By Rachael Bird, Myotherapist
Pilates is highly effective in addressing muscular imbalances, as it focuses on core strength, flexibility, and body awareness. This makes it a perfect addition to your pain or injury recovery plan! Pilates can help you in many ways, including: Core Strengthening: Pilates exercises specifically target the core muscles, including the deep abdominal muscles, pelvic floor, and back muscles. Strengthening these muscles helps improve stability and support for the spine and pelvis, assisting in correcting imbalances. Muscle Symmetry: Pilates workouts emphasise working both sides of the body equally. By engaging in exercises that promote symmetry and balance, Pilates can help correct discrepancies in muscle strength between the left and right sides of the body. Alignment and Posture: Pilates focuses on proper body alignment and posture during exercises. By practicing correct alignment, individuals can retrain their muscles to maintain proper posture, which helps in addressing imbalances caused by poor posture. Mind-Body Connection: Pilates encourages a mind-body connection, promoting greater awareness of how you move and use your body. This awareness helps identify imbalances and allows you to correct movement patterns that might be contributing to the issue. Flexibility and Mobility: Pilates exercises often involve stretching and improving flexibility. Tight muscles can contribute to imbalances, and Pilates helps in lengthening and strengthening muscles to restore balance. Targeted Muscle Groups: Specific Pilates exercises can be tailored to focus on particular muscle groups that are imbalanced or weaker. This targeted approach helps strengthen weaker areas to bring balance to the body. Rehabilitation: Pilates can be used in rehabilitation programs to correct imbalances caused by injuries. The controlled movements and low-impact nature of Pilates exercises can aid in the recovery process. It's important to start Pilates under the guidance of a certified Pilates instructor, particularly if you have known imbalances or injuries. They can assess your situation and tailor exercises that specifically target your imbalances while ensuring movements are performed correctly to avoid exacerbating any existing issues. I recently met Anke Wagner, an amazing Pilates instructor here in Rowville. I interviewed her about her approach to pilates, and can recommend her classes to help with pain relief, injury recovery and maintaining a healthy and happy body. Consistency in Pilates practice is key to seeing improvements in imbalances. Over time, with regular practice and proper guidance, Pilates can significantly help in addressing and correcting muscle imbalances, leading to a more balanced and functionally efficient body. Head over to Anke Pilates to help build up your strength, Increase flexibility and movement today: https://www.ankepilates.com.au/ Anke and Myself have partnered up in helping to offer more to our clients, and we’re excited to help share this with you. She loves helping clients that have limited range of movement, and will help tailor classes to adjust and support each individual's needs. |
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