This week on the show I had the opportunity to talk with physical therapist Lauren Polivka. Dr. Lauren Polivka is a licensed physical therapist who graduated from Northwestern University with a Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2007. After graduating, Lauren began pursuing a career in sports therapy believing that, "it just makes sense [for me] to heal bodies in motion and be 100% dedicated to keeping people moving, healthy and pushing themselves forward."From a young age, Lauren had career aspirations of becoming a physical therapist.  She began researching graduate Physical Therapy programs at age 16, even before receiving her undergraduate acceptance.  On a personal level, as a teenager diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Lauren grew to understand the importance of physical therapy from a patient's perspective. Lauren has found a true passion in manual soft tissue treatments, as she loves to actively work with her hands and experience the unbelievable power of touch. Over the past few years, she has focused more on alternative manual therapy – with a strong influence from Eastern medicine. Lauren also performs cupping treatments, trigger point dry needling, Gua Sha (instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization), and is certified in Rock Tape fascial movement taping. Her approach is to combine treatments that trigger your body to begin healing itself. She considers herself a "reset button" for injury or pain. One of Lauren's most fundamental goals for everyone she works with is to help teach the body how to respond to pain or injury in its own way.  She then focuses on guiding and teaching her clients specifically exercises and movements that help maintain alignment, balance, and the body's natural state.  Her approach proves effective both on a daily basis and in the long term.

In this episode Lauren talks about what an effective warm up and cool down look like, how to correct your bad posture habits, and the importance of breath work while doing mobility. Lauren has a tremendous amount of knowledge that is applicable for CrossFit athletes of all ages. You don’t want to miss this one!

Follow Lauren on Instagram @lapolivka11

and check out her website at www.repairperformrecover.com

After you’ve listened to the episode be sure to head over to iTunes and give me a review and a 5 star rating! Enjoy!