Noreen Gray
ELDOA
Southern Alberta
What is ELDOA?
The ELDOA approach uses exercise movements, myofascial stretches and posture techniques to increase the space between joints while lengthening the spine.
ELDOA classes improve posture, muscle performance, flexibility while reducing stress, chronic pain, joint inflammation, and delay spinal disc degeneration. It also relieves back pain as well as neck and shoulder tension.
If you are looking to incorporate mobility and injury prevention into your fitness goals, ELDOA is a great place to start.
ELDOA is an acronym from French words, which in English translates to longitudinal osteoarticular, decoaptation stretches.
- “Osteoarticular” means bones and joints,
- “Decoaptation” means opening,
- “ELDOA” is the name of both the method and the postures involved.
A typical ELDOA for wellness class, with a mix of postures, “feels like cardio or strength training — or really like any workout you might have done before.”
Yoga is the closest comparison, but only because ELDOA involves holding postures, otherwise, similarities end there.
The goal of ELDOA is not to gain flexibility. “When you stretch, you are elongating a muscle, but when you do an ELDOA, you are contracting a muscle,” “ELDOA works with the nervous system, rather than on muscle flexibility.”
There are ELDOAs for the spine, shoulders, hips, ribs, and skull. The basic postures are performed sitting, lying down, half-kneeling, or on all fours, and held for 60 seconds.
Getting into the postures is not hard but holding them feels challenging and precision is important. A common sentiment among first-time ELDOA students is “that’s one of the hardest workouts I’ve ever done and it feels amazing!”
History of Eldoa.
ELDOA was developed by French osteopath Dr. Guy Voyer. Dr. Voyer started his career as a trainer and physiotherapist, studying orthopedic and biomechanical medicine with a variety of specializations.
He went on to study osteopathic medicine in Europe and completed several doctoral programs. He began studying back pain in the 1970s and, over the course of the next 10 years, developed the ELDOA postures to treat spine and back pain.
ELDOA Exercise can rehabilitate disc herniation’s without the need of surgery.
What is fascia?
Fascia is a thin casing of connective tissue that surrounds and holds every organ, blood vessel, bone, nerve fiber, and muscle in place. In addition to providing internal structure, fascia has nerves that make it almost as sensitive as skin.
Fascia looks like one sheet of tissue, but it is actually made up of multiple layers with liquid in between them called hyaluronan. It is designed to stretch as you move but there are certain things that cause fascia to thicken and become sticky.
When it dries up and tightens around muscles, it can limit mobility and cause painful knots to develop, that is where ELDOA comes in handy.
Benefits of ELDOA
Reduces tension in the body | Reduction of stress |
Improved flexibility | Reduced inflammation of the body
Reduces pressure on spinal discs | Improved posture | Reduction of back pain
The statistics surrounding back pain are staggering. According to the Global Burden of Disease 2010, lower back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide, , and Americans spend at least $50 billion a year treating back pain.
Each ELDOA, or posture, is carefully designed to “create space” within a precise joint or a segment of the spine using myofascial tension, muscle contraction and the autonomic nervous system, which is encased in the fascia.
ELDOA Exercise can rehabilitate disc herniation without the need for surgery.
By creating myofascial tension (tension in the fascia) from the tips of the toes to the tips of the fingers, the ELDOA can affect the tissue, ligaments, nervous tissues, and organs associated with that joint or spinal segment.
“After your first ELDOA class, you feel this unusual high,” “It’s as if you’ve awakened all the senses and parts of your body, like no other time before. ELDOA can help reduce your stress which causes inflammation in the body, compression in the joints, and eventually dysfunction. It’s hard to put into words, but you immediately feel that you’ve done something different, that you’ve pushed your body in a very unique way.”
Who Should Try ELDOA?
EVERYONE can benefit from ELDOA. The wear and tear on the spine from sitting, poor posture, injuries, etc., have given most people some sort of disc degeneration (even if they are not in pain). Like most of us today, sitting at a desk is not something that we can avoid, but practicing ELDOA helps counter that damage.
Everyone can benefit from ELDOA, and people are typically grouped into three categories for classes: ELDOA for athletes, ELDOA for wellness and fitness, and ELDOA for people who have pain.
“ELDOA can help balance and strengthen the spine and reduce the pressure on the discs to keep you healthy.”
ELDOA is an excellent addition to any workout routine, whether you are dealing with a specific pain or injury or trying to keep your body healthy. Frankly, it feels great!
TOP REASONS TO DO ELDOA EVERY DAY:
11. Anyone that has “tried everything under the sun” to help themselves solve their aches and pains as well as people who are treating pain or trying to avoid surgery
10. If you wake with aches and pain everyday, in addition to getting a new mattress, you should ELDOA everyday.
9. If you slouch, text message, and/or have poor posture every day you should ELDOA every day
8. If you sit drive or stand for long periods every day you should ELDOA every day.
7. If you have neck or back pain every day you should ELDOA every day.
6. If you deadlift or CrossFit any day, you should ELDOA every day.
5. If you train as a professional athlete every day, you should ELDOA every day.
4. If you are training to run a marathon, you should ELDOA every day.
3. If you have scoliosis you should ELDOA every day.
2. If you have a herniated disc(s) you should ELDOA everyday.
And the #1reasonwhy you should #eldoaeveryday …
1. If you are living with GRAVITY every day you should ELDOA every day!
Meet Noreen
I first learned about ELDOA when while attending a C.H.E.K practitioner course in Florida in 2010. All of my classmates had completed the first two levels of ELDOA. Listening to them talk about the benefits piqued my interest and. I immediately signed up for the next available course.
When I started doing the ELDOA postures, the constant pain and tightness in my neck and shoulders began to dissipate. I have compressed vertebrae in my neck from many accidents and scoliosis in my thoracic spine; the ELDOA is now relieving the pressure. “It was like magic. Within a few weeks, I was pain free!” Although, the scoliosis will continue to get worse and cause me more pain as I age and engage in fitness activities, with continued use I will be able to straighten my scoliosis by 50%.
It is important to learn from a certified ELDOA trainer, since there is a lack of accurate information available through other sources.
As a fully certified Level 4 ELDOA trainer, I look forward to helping you with your wellness goals.
Certifications include:
- LLC ELDOA Level 1 Certified
- ELDOA Level 2 Certified
- ELDOA Level 3 Student – Practitioner Certified
- ELDOA Level 4 Certified Trainer
- Analytical & Segmental Strengthening of the Lower Limbs Certificate
- Analytical & Segmental Strengthening of Abdominals Certificate
- Myofascial Stretching Certificate
- Global Postural Stretching Certificate
Classes
ELDOA Southern Alberta offers classes at various times and locations for your convenience. Please contact Noreen for the next available class.