What is ELDOA™?
I feel very humbled to have been personally chosen by Osteopath Guy VOYER, DO as one of only 20 internationally to be an ELDOA™ teacher trainer, to help spread the method worldwide. My passion for ELDOA™ is rooted in the fact that it can change bodies so profoundly, thereby increasing our wellbeing and really just make things right. Given these exercises as a tool, people now have the ability to become their own therapists.
Those of you who know me, know that I am a huge advocate for the brilliant power ELDOA™ can unleash. Having been in this industry for many years and operating as one of the top ELDOA instructors in Toronto, allows me to be on the forefront of what is really a revolution in back health, we now possess the ability to take ownership of our overall health, and make a change.
ELDOA™ certainly isn’t just some flavour of the month buzzword in the health industry. In fact, I feel very confident in proclaiming it the next big trend in back health; it is here to stay.
First off, what does ELDOA™ stand for? And where does it come from?
ELDOA™ is a French acronym that stands for:
Etirements Longitudinaux Decoaptation Osteo-Articulaire
(in English: Longitudinal Stretching of the Osteo Articular joints).
Basically through stretching and strengthening, targeted muscle and fascial chains, ELDOA™ creates space around the joints of your body. It’s like holding onto an elastic band and pulling it (elongating it) to create length, once that happens the architecture of the muscles and fascia will change and support the body in a stronger way at the deepest level.
The French Osteopath, Guy VOYER, DO, developed the ELDOAs over his 40yr career, as a way to relieve back pain. He worked with his patients to create extreme muscle contractions and remodelled their fascial chains via specific targeted arm, leg and spinal movements, getting positive results for back pain and in the process also effecting the organs (the viscera) leading to better bowel movements, reduced menstrual cramps, relieving headaches, and better sleep and an over all sense of wellbeing (ahh the nervous system!). So ELDOA™ helps us on many levels.
Short version: ELDOA gives you healthy joints, a happy back and a calm mind!
Back Pain is still an epidemic worldwide!
Back pain is a serious epidemic that can have a rippling effect on the overall quality of your life.
Did you know that 31 million Americans experience low-back pain at any given time (that’s like right now this minute) and spend at least $50 billion every year on back pain treatment? And those numbers are just for the more easily identified costs.
The idea of ELDOA™ is that you can help take preventative measures to help reduce compression through every level of your spine to help alleviate back pain and in turn improve your posture (working with not against gravity – mastering your body’s gravity line!).
ELDOA™ works with the nervous system to provide a renewed strength and balance throughout your body, you have more energy.
What I’ve found over the years regarding how we collectively treat back pain issues, is that we’re more focused on managing the symptoms – rather than treating the root of the problem. That’s where the ELDOAs can make a huge difference. You can truly take your health into your own hands and instead of treating the symptoms you look towards the root cause.
This practice is a way of life – not just an exercise method.
Who can benefit from ELDOA™? And what are the top benefits?
Basically everybody can benefit from this revolutionary practice! The desk worker, the athlete, the construction worker, if you’re recovering from surgery – everyone from every walk of life! These brilliant stretches help align your spine more naturally and work to reduce restrictions so you can move more safely. You can personally benefit from these stretches in the morning when you wake up, before bed (the best time), midday at work should you suffer from “sitting syndrome” or after workouts as a cool down.
Here are 10 magnificent ways the ELDOAs can help you in every facet of life.
- Helps with arthritis in your hips or spine,
- Breathe better,
- Improved joint mechanics, more space around a joint
- Alleviates back and neck discomfort,
- Improves poor posture; your knees and feet can become stable and supportive,
- Improves your athletic performance (ie. improve your golf swing, tennis arm, basketball throw, run more effectively)
- Helps you stay healthy,
- Fixes slow digestion, and abdominal discomfort
- Battles against depression and lack of overall energy and general malaise,
- Avoids surgery to your spine, hips, knees, and battles against sciatica.
Beat Gravity – by working with it in a balanced spine!
Why you need to start including ELDOA™ into your daily routine
So we’ve touched on the benefits at a superficial level, but you might be asking yourself what’s the body’s physiological response and what happens to our muscles on the microscopic level?
Fascia is the tissue that essentially holds you together. It is a web of connective tissue formed in bands that wraps around all the internal parts of the body from head to toe and brings it all together making us whole.
“Fascia is the link…between all the structures of the body, making the body a global structure. [It] is the skin of the structure that gives it shape and structural integrity.” – Guy VOYER, DO
When we stretch the fascia that surrounds all the muscles, organs and nerves in our body, it helps soothe restrictions and that are replaced by a calm and balanced feeling because our body’s systems can now work more effectively producing hormones, releasing waste, etc.. The ELDOAs have an incredible calming effect on the nervous system by opening up your spine, hips and shoulders, letting the energy pass through.
ELDOAs also help to build your cortical map – the “map” inside your brain that allows you to sense where your body is in space. The more detailed it is, the better you move, less strain on your body.
“Only with good awareness is it possible to ask the body to correct itself.” – Guy VOYER, DO
Spreading the gospel of ELDOA™ to your clients or for yourself
As a movement instructor (Yoga, Pilates, Trainer) or manual therapist (Osteopath, Chiropractor, PT, Massage Therapist) learning from a certified ELDOA™ trainer can help you teach your clients how to properly do these exercises at home. It’s a huge value proposition to include into your service offerings where your clientele can have exercises that will equip them with the proper tools to do from anywhere. Helping your treatments become more effective in the long run as your client continues to remodel their post treatment.
Here’s an article on the Frequently Asked Questions About the ELDOA Course for more information on what it can mean for your practice!
If you are interested in ELDOA™ for your own body taking regular classes with a certified instructor is truly the way to learn this method because of it’s specificity. The ELDOA1 course is also open to you! It is a great way to learn the foundations for regular self-practice and maintenance.
Here’s to being part of an exciting new path to back health and wellbeing!!