Your ankle is not the two bumps on either side of your foot. In this episode I walk through the mortise, the joint your two lower-leg bones form around the talus, and why it has to open a little on every single step you take. I explain what happens when the tibia and fibula freeze and stop opening, why the whole back of the leg then has to overstretch, why runners feel it most, how a half-open mortise makes you pronate, and why an ankle that stops working so often shows up as knee pain.

This episode is for education and isn't medical advice.

My writing, teaching, and book live at https://leighankrum.com
Practitioners: https://leighankrum.com/practitioners

CHAPTERS
0:00 Coming up
0:13 The Body Knows
0:28 Welcome: how the ankle works
0:37 The malleolus: inner and outer
1:06 The talus and the mortise
1:38 Every step, the talus widens the ankle
2:17 When the two bones freeze
2:44 Overstretching the back of the leg
3:29 For runners
3:50 Half open: why you pronate
4:27 What to do about it, and the knee
4:58 Until next time

Everybody says the body is all connected — but what does that actually mean? In this episode I introduce the central chain: the line of fascial connections running from the top of your head, deep through the neck, to the heart, the liver, the small intestine, and down to the pelvic floor. I walk through why trouble in any one structure pulls on all the others, how the chain creates the forward-pulled posture so many of us carry, and where practitioners can begin to release it.

This episode is for education and isn't medical advice.

My writing, teaching, and book live at https://leighankrum.com
Practitioners: https://leighankrum.com/practitioners

When I look at a body — standing still or in motion — it tells me a story. In this episode I share how I read that story: the three things I'm looking for (position, mobility, vitality), why a high right shoulder usually points to the liver, what the arm swing and the stride reveal about the fascia underneath, and the quiet figure-eight the hips are meant to make when we walk. My hope is that you start seeing bodies — including your own — with new eyes.

This episode is for education and isn't medical advice.

My writing, teaching, and book live at https://leighankrum.com
Practitioners: https://leighankrum.com/practitioners

Most people think a concussion comes from a hit on the head — but concussions can begin as early as birth, and each one adds to the ones before it. In this episode I walk through the many ways concussions happen, what concussive force actually does to the brain, the long list of symptoms it can create, and the story of a high-school football player whose life stopped after his fourth concussion. Then I speak to practitioners about the biodynamic approach I use, and to anyone who's ever had their bell rung: don't blow it off.

This episode is for education and isn't medical advice — if you've had a head injury, please get evaluated by a physician.

My writing, teaching, and book live at https://leighankrum.com
Practitioners: https://leighankrum.com/practitioners

Our bodies are designed to move with ease — but stress, repeated patterns, and hours of sitting slowly take that flow away. In this episode I look at how that happens, then walk through the way we're actually meant to sit down, stand up, and walk: folding from the tops of the legs, reaching for the chair with the sit bones, and letting each step begin at the level of the navel. A few small shifts in how you move can make everyday movement feel easier.

This episode is for education and isn't medical advice.

My writing, teaching, and book live at https://leighankrum.com
Practitioners: https://leighankrum.com/practitioners

ABOUT LEIGH
Leigh Ankrum is the founder of the Ankrum Institute and a master teacher of Functional Bodywork — a whole-person approach rooted in osteopathic principles. On The Body Knows, she shares forty years of hands-on practice in plain language, for practitioners who want to go deeper and anyone who wants to understand the body they live in.

CONNECT & GO DEEPER
The show: https://leighankrum.com/show
Work with Leigh: https://leighankrum.com

Your body is pressurized — from the top of your head to your pelvis, in cavities that all work in relationship to each other. When those pressures shift, it can show up as dizziness, headaches, shoulder pain, sluggish digestion, or ringing in the ears. In this episode I walk through what the pressure system actually does, a few simple things you can do for it yourself, and where a skilled practitioner comes in.

This episode is for education and isn't medical advice.

My writing, teaching, and book live at https://leighankrum.com
Practitioners: https://leighankrum.com/practitioners

ABOUT LEIGH
Leigh Ankrum is the founder of the Ankrum Institute and a master teacher of Functional Bodywork — a whole-person approach rooted in osteopathic principles. On The Body Knows, she shares forty years of hands-on practice in plain language, for practitioners who want to go deeper and anyone who wants to understand the body they live in.

CONNECT & GO DEEPER
The show: https://leighankrum.com/show
Work with Leigh: https://leighankrum.com

In this episode of The Body Knows, I want to help you get to know fascia — the continuous web of connective tissue that surrounds every muscle, organ, nerve, and bone in your body. I walk through the three layers of fascia, the many roles it plays, and what happens when it becomes dehydrated or begins to adhere. My hope is that you come away seeing fascia the way I do: as one of the biggest, most interconnected systems in the body.

This episode is for education and isn't medical advice.

My writing, teaching, and book live at https://leighankrum.com
Practitioners: https://leighankrum.com/practitioners

ABOUT LEIGH
Leigh Ankrum is the founder of the Ankrum Institute and a master teacher of Functional Bodywork — a whole-person approach rooted in osteopathic principles. On The Body Knows, she shares forty years of hands-on practice in plain language, for practitioners who want to go deeper and anyone who wants to understand the body they live in.

CONNECT & GO DEEPER
The show: https://leighankrum.com/show
Work with Leigh: https://leighankrum.com

Almost everybody thinks a car accident is about what happens to your neck — but the effects reach much further than that. In this episode, I walk through what whiplash actually does to your jaw, your heart's pericardium, your diaphragm, your left kidney, and your brain, and why symptoms can keep developing long after the first day or two. Then I share what I'd suggest for the person who's been in an accident, and for the practitioner working on them.

This episode is for education and isn't medical advice — if you've been in an accident, please get evaluated by a physician.

My writing, teaching, and book live at https://leighankrum.com
Practitioners: https://leighankrum.com/practitioners

ABOUT LEIGH
Leigh Ankrum is the founder of the Ankrum Institute and a master teacher of Functional Bodywork — a whole-person approach rooted in osteopathic principles. On The Body Knows, she shares forty years of hands-on practice in plain language, for practitioners who want to go deeper and anyone who wants to understand the body they live in.

CONNECT & GO DEEPER
The show: https://leighankrum.com/show
Work with Leigh: https://leighankrum.com