Thanks for everything Emily and crew. Everything has been so helpful. I really enjoyed having all the poses of the assessment sheet broken down like you did with photos. This forum is a great tool to refer to. I also want to thank you for making it happen and for updating it regularly, it is nice to know I am supported however far or close I live…so thank you!
Since you are asking for suggestions:
– Could we have a video showing a few assists for backbends (especially for wheel or to help people coming into wheel)
– Could we have a video or several showing a few real funky flows with skater, inversions and all 🙂 I love these flows when you go back on forth and sideways on the mat
– Few other of Tiffany’s playlists would be sweet

Thanks so much, keep up the amazing work!
See you all soon xx

Hey there Tiffany and crew and all other teachers from Bali,

Thanks again for the Bali training, I got out of it so much more than what I was expecting. Not sure what I was expecting but definitely not such a practical course, great tools and in-depth and targeted knowledge that I can use with my students on a day to day basis. So how’s the info from Bali sinking in? Well, I feel that I have only retained 20% of all of what we covered. Annoying but exciting at the same time because I know that there is this vast area that I want to know more about and need to spend time studying (and thank f#&k for my notes and the booklet you gave us to go back to when unsure:)).
So since I got back, I have evaluated 2 students. I told them that I was still in the process of learning and that they would be my guinea pigs (which they don’t seem to mind). I have another 3 who would like me to evaluate them. So I find that doing it more and more makes me more confident about the process but I have to say that I am still so unsure of what I am doing and what I am finding. And it’s freaking me out a bit being out in the wild like that diagnosing people (even if I warned them that I’m still in the process of learning) – I guess that there is this insecure part of me who is afraid of messing up and do something wrong. I’d like to share with you and the rest of the team one case I have been working on, his name is Jamie and he is OK for me to share his information with all of you guys. I would find it very useful to hear some feedback on my findings and also any suggestions from you Tiffany and also from everyone else who is keen to contribute. So here it is:

Jamie is in his mid fifties and is an avid tango dancer, he is a lawyer and his job can get quite stressful at times. He complains from pain in the SI joint on the left side and sometimes a mock sciatica in the left leg. He also complains that his neck is “crooked”. He doesn’t have a very athletic built but is flexible for his age. He practices yoga with me twice a week (group sessions), does Body Balance at LesMills (lesmills.co.nz) twice a week and dances tango twice a week.

Onset: 9 years ago in a pilates class. Also doing deadlifts and squats and he remembers an episode loading the boot. Also sometimes when the situation is stressful, his left inner adductor tenses right up to the groin – it feels like a cramp. It has happened a couple of times this year.
Palliation: Hard massages-trigger points. Pigeon is great, figure 4 feels great (left foot on Right knee)
Quality: Dull/stiff, it’s not sharp or nasty, it just feels tight most of the time
Region: around SI joint left
Strength: 4or5/10. Once or twice a year, he has sciatica
Timing: Sciatica in the mornings sometimes

He didn’t have surgeries and there was nothing worth mentioning re energy, sleep, family, emotions, diet etc.

When doing the evaluation, this is what I found:
-There was a lot more movement in the Right SI joint
-The left side is a bit weaker when pressing inwards and outwards (more torquing of the pelvis when pushing the L leg in, less stability)
-Abductor on Left side a bit weaker
-More internal rotation on the Left side
-Good range of internal and external rotation on both sides but slightly less external rotation on Left side
-when doing the test lying down on the side, there was not much range of motion taking the Left knee down
-When doing one legged squat, he is more stable on Right leg
-Warrior 3, stronger on Right leg

Based on these findings, I have found that Jamie’s superficial layer of his left abductors: left TFL is tight. It might be due to the weakness of his gluteus medius and minimus on the Left side (which was shown when doing one legged squat)
I’m thinking that maybe the glute max could also be weak and the vastus lateralis

I haven’t come up with a series of exercises yet as I’m not entirely sure that I’ve come up with the right diagnostic. But so far, I’m thinking about myofascial release with a tennis ball for TFL, but not too sure about what exercises to do to strengthen glut med and minimus (perhaps on all 4 lifting leg to the side?)

Thanks for taking the time to read my novel 🙂 I hope everyone is good. I can’t wait for the next training in Nicaragua. Hugs xxx Cathy