Getting to know Dr. Kate
Jun 27, 2021
Hi! My name is Dr. Kate Eckert with the Form, Function, and Flow Lab podcast. I am a chiropractor, a yoga instructor, and a movement educator.
Why I Love Yoga
I have been teaching yoga since 2011 and I have been passionate about it ever since then. Recently, I even came up with courses online for my patients, new clients, and movement educators/yoga instructors to help them incorporate prehab and rehab movements into their daily lives or classes.
Yoga is something that doctors will tell patients that they should try out if they have pain. It is a general statement and made in good intent, but it is not necessarily what’s best for a person. Sometimes, practicing yoga can even result in injuries if not done with intention, good form, and a balanced routine.
Training Our Core Effectively, Changing Our Routine And Lifestyle
Recently, I had an issue with my hip during the winter. I am not immune to injuries. I used to be super consistent with doing PREHAB exercises to avoid this exact injury. I got lazy and the hip issue was caused by not training my core effectively.
I am hypermobile. I have been dancing since I was a child. I relied on my innate flexibility instead of my strength for a good portion of my dancing, cheerleading, and yoga careers. I have only tapped into stabilizing and harnessing my flexibility within the past fifteen years.
I have been better since the incident, but it is definitely a long road to recovery. It is so much easier to prevent an injury when you know your weakness as opposed to rehabbing an injury. What people need to know is that there must be changes to their routines and lifestyles to see the changes they want. It does not need to be extensive or for a long time, as long as it is incorporated well.
Do not hear core exercise and think you can do crunches and bicycles to cure your problems. When I talk about the core, I am talking about keeping things completely balanced. You can actually cause a low back problem by uneven core work.
Getting More Education To Help More People
Continuing my education is something that I take very seriously. I think that it is the best way to stay at the top of my game and bring the best quality care to my patients. Not to mention that I love it. It is not a hardship to spend a weekend at a seminar for me. And I love distilling what I learned down for other people to learn in a digestible format. I want other people to learn from all of the trial and error I have been through since graduating in 2007.
Getting continued education also helps me individualize the approach that I make to every patient as everybody is different.
Helping More Women During Postpartum
My prenatal patients are so good about coming in when they have issues. There is a stark drop off after they have their babies and not because they are lacking issues. I think that it is typically all about the babies and all their appointments. I am looking to give postpartum moms a chance to help themselves on their own time through the pelvic floor, diastasis recti, and c-section course that I am working on. It will hopefully be released in August 2021!
I Want To Help Yoga Instructors
Through my podcast, I also want to help yoga instructors know more about anatomy and physiology not just to help the instructors, but also their clients.
You can subscribe to my podcast HERE and feel free to download Episode 1 as well!
