Today, in Club Bonheur, we welcome Samuel Urtado .
In this episode, Samuel Urtado, osteopath and founder of the Somasana centers, talks to us about osteo-yoga. He tells us about the health benefits of yoga and osteopathy and gives us a ton of advice to improve your posture and feel better in your body and mind. Are you ready to get better?
What is osteo-yoga ?
Samuel first wanted to combine health, osteopathy and the practice of yoga in the same place. He offers us a clear definition, based on his journey and what he created. Osteo-yoga is first of all a place where people can have consultations with different therapists, but also a place of practice with group classes supervised by yoga teachers who are also osteopaths or other therapists.
“Creating a health-anchored yoga approach”
With this practice, Samuel really wants to respect tradition and speaks well of adapted yoga. Indeed , many people of all levels can practice it: whether beginners or even experienced teachers.
How to bridge the gap between osteopathy and yoga?
After many trips to South-East Asia and learning traditional treatments (Thai massage, yoga, etc.), he had the idea of supporting his osteopathic patients outside of consultations in a way that would allow him to be an actor in their health. For this reason, collective yoga classes in small groups are a good time to empower yourself in your health as well as in the way you live with your body in addition to osteopathy.
What are the benefits of this practice?
First of all, there is a double vision of the practice: a holistic vision of the body (osteopathic) and an environmental vision (with yoga). The benefits can initially be mental : the fact of feeling good, but also linked to the body , particularly for city dwellers who are very mentally active but not physically active.
“Eat better, move better, stress better for better well-being”
Samuel also talks about flexibility: flexibility of mind and physical flexibility which allow us to age well and better. Indeed, the term “better” is also very important because we can be good and want to try to stay that way or to be better. It is a qualitative notion, just like the qualitative of well-being which is well-being.
Some exercises and postures to implement in the office and at home:
Samuel first reminds us that there is no good or bad posture but that we must be careful not to be static.
- At the office: according to many posturologists and biomechanists, the chair is the most toxic element in our daily lives. You must therefore try to regularly change postures (sitting, standing, on the ground) and furniture, closer to the ground and in movement, (Swiss balls).
For example in American start-ups: developers stand on treadmills and walk at the same time as they code. This helps circulate the blood and thus makes you more calm and concentrated.
- At home: do small, regular exercises, find a routine to do in the morning or evening (or both). It must be a routine adapted to each person, which brings together movements, mindfulness, breathing and which allows one to be sensory and physically alert.
Osteopathy, preventive help for stress and digestion
As an osteopath, Samuel will treat functional disorders of the body, which are not just mechanical disorders. These are therefore digestive, hormonal and circulation disorders which can lead to migraines, stress, etc. Osteopathy is preventive medicine and we are supposed to practice it before pain appears and not when it is already present. Taking care of your health means being aware of what you do to be in good health.
Samuel's answers to our “Tonic Quiz” (quick questions - quick answers) :
- A book to recommend : In Praise of Flight by Henri Laborit
- A sport to recommend : An endurance sport like cycling for 30/40 minutes
- A place to discover yoga : Somasana
- One last tip: Do something new and fun to have fun.
If you liked this episode, find Samuel on his personal Instagram account @sam_offtheroad and as well as on @somasanaparis and on his website https://www.somasana.fr/ .
Listen to the episode on your favorite platform.