Episode 7 - How Truck Drivers can Reduce Pain with One Small Change

We met Hope Zvara of Mother Trucker Yoga at the Great America Trucking Show in August where she led numerous sessions to help truck drivers implement simple and easy stretches and other techniques to improve their health over the road. 

We chat a little bit about how she got involved in trucking, how important it is for truck drivers to make proactive changes to improve movement and posture, and go over a few practical things anyone can start implementing immediately. 

Article referenced in episode: BCBS Millennial Health Report

Link to Hope's website: https://www.mothertruckeryoga.com/

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Michael Clements:
Welcome to Trucking for Millennials, where we engage with the future of freight happening now. My name is Michael Clements.

Aaron Dunn:
And, I'm Aaron Dunn and we're here to help trucking and logistics professionals stay up to date and ahead of the curve as our industry evolves.

Michael Clements:
We're connecting with every step of the supply chain, as part of our mission to increase transparency and provide a world-class freight solution.

Aaron Dunn:
Hey, thank you for listening to Trucking for Millennials. This is Aaron and I am super happy to be joined by Miss Hope Zvara of Mother Trucker Yoga. I was aware of her before I got to meet her at Great American Trucking Show in Dallas.

Hope Zvara:
I'm Hope.

Aaron Dunn:
Aaron.

Hope Zvara:
Nice to meet you.

Aaron Dunn:
Nice to meet you.

Michael Clements:
Michael.

Hope Zvara:
Nice to meet you guys.

Michael Clements:
Nice to see you again.

Hope Zvara:
So what do you guys do?

Aaron Dunn:
Well, we're a freight brokerage. PDQ is...

Hope Zvara:
Okay.

Aaron Dunn:
... and here in East Texas, and then we just started the Trucking for Millennials podcast. I know you're a podcaster.

Hope Zvara:
Yeah, I love it.

Aaron Dunn:
Because she seems to be everywhere on blogs and social media and all kinds of things and it's always a welcome thing to see her because she's full of enthusiasm for helping truck drivers, specifically, and anybody else live a healthier lifestyle. Hope, how are you?

Hope Zvara:
I am doing fantastic, especially now that I'm talking to you.

Aaron Dunn:
Well that's very nice of you to say. Fill in the gaps there. I just wanted to give you an opportunity to introduce yourself to our listener, that may not know who you are.

Hope Zvara:
Absolutely. So my name is Hope Zvara. I have spent almost 20 years in the yoga and mind, body, space. About two years ago, I stepped into the trucking arena. My former partner was in trucking, I was in yoga. We met at a local business mixer here in Wisconsin. I'm based out of Wisconsin. I was trying to pitch him corporate wellness. Because I go into companies, aside from other truckers, I go into companies and teach corporate wellness.

Hope Zvara:
I was trying to pitch him corporate wellness and he looks at me and goes, "Do you have anything for truckers, in the cab of the truck?" If you've met me, I'm a pretty lively individual and I throw my arms up in the air and I was like "Mother Trucker Yoga." Dopey, right? He sticks out his hand and he's like, "Let's do it."

Hope Zvara:
After a 20 minute conversation, I had a business partner, a new business. The next day he called me up and in four months we built a website, a membership platform, full media. We shot about 24 hours of video. We launched at Matt's that year. So, that was November of '17 and then March of '18, we launched at Matt's and Mother Trucker Yoga was born.

Aaron Dunn:
That's awesome. So, you're definitely full of youthful energy, but I was raised to never ask a woman her age. But, do you fit within the millennial demographic?

Hope Zvara:
So, I'm just on the cusp. I'm 35.

Aaron Dunn:
You're there.

Hope Zvara:
Yeah. So I'm right in that cusp of I'm a millennial, but I'm not a millennial. I know there's a name for that, I can't remember what it's called. But, I fit all the attributes demographically, as a millennial, but my approach and my drive and my personality, to life is probably not necessarily a millennial. But, I fit all the attributes and definitely there are some things where I'm like, "Oh yeah, that's totally millennial."

Aaron Dunn:
I just applaud you. First of all for really laser focus on the industry. I wanted to ask based on you jumping into your yoga career so many years ago, did you ever think that you would be serving truck drivers and palling around with truckers across the country, when you first got in?

Hope Zvara:
Well, owning a yoga studio in the town I'm in, we have a lot of trucking companies, we have big industrial areas. So, a lot of my students were the wives of trucking companies and I had a lot of [inaudible 00:04:38] truck drivers in the yoga studio space and arena or their wives or their sisters or their children. It's not that I was ever unfamiliar to it and I'm very aware of the lifestyle. My neighbor growing up drove truck and my husband has a CDL holder. He doesn't do over the road long haul, but he does heavy machinery. So I'm exposed to all the challenges that come with that. But that being said, not exactly.

Aaron Dunn:
So, but your husband has a CDL as well, so I mean you are in and around it for sure, it sounds like.

Hope Zvara:
Yeah. Yeah. Just not necessarily the long haul, over the road. That's a newer space for me. But I'm very aware of the wear and tear of driving any type of heavy machinery because let's be honest, a semi-truck top in, 80 thousand pounds is a piece of heavy machinery driving down the highway. So, I'm very aware of the impact and the challenges in driving things like that and the wear and tear on your body.

Hope Zvara:
That's really where I come in and where I'm different than maybe some of the other programs that have tried to attempt to make an impact in the trucking industry in the past and have not been so successful. One, because I come with almost two decades of knowledge of actually how the body moves. So, this is where I was trying to be very clear with people, especially in the yoga arena.

Hope Zvara:
I'm not teaching you poses like, "Hey, shove your body in this position and voila, you're practicing yoga." I really understand how the body moves. Although I'm not a trucker and I will never claim to be a trucker, I fully understand how the body moves and I fully understand some of the limitations and challenges that you're coming up against. Although I do not live your lifestyle. I'm just being very honest with you. Most of us in society in the US all struggle with pretty much the same issues, back issues, knee issues, weight problems, sleep problems, however you got them, is not necessarily the case. It's now what you're going to do about them.

Hope Zvara:
I think that's one thing that in the trucking community, I really want to encourage drivers is that you owe it to yourself. You owe it to your family, you owe it to your company to start taking better care of yourself because the reality is you and I both know and those listening, you know that wit DOT regulations changing and the requirements that you have to now meet in order to keep your CDL, you have to start taking better care of yourself. Where, if you're a company driver, you're either an asset or a liability and truth be told if you're a liability, you can be the best driver that they have, but if you are going to jeopardize their company's health and status with their insurance company or the like, they're going to get rid of you. That's just the reality

Aaron Dunn:
That is very true. There's a lot of talk about HOS changes happening with the FMCSA. But, as I was researching and learning a little bit more about trucker health, in preparation for our conversation, I learned how there's physicals you have to do and your health and wellness can be a significant impact on whether you have a job or not. That does go for...

Hope Zvara:
You can be the smartest person. You can be the best driver out there. You can be so knowledgeable. But, if you were a liability behind the wheel, 3 out of every 10 accidents on the road involving a semi are health related. So, translate that. For the most part, it means that was something that could have been prevented. Just truth be told, laying it all out there. That could have been prevented. Whether it is a sleep related issue, because I know I talk to so many drivers, sleep is such a problem. But if your diet is not fluid, you're not drinking enough water, you're not getting enough good foods, you're not getting enough movement. Because, if you're not tired in the right way, you're not going to sleep well.

Hope Zvara:
These are things that we can change, and I'm not saying you have to go to the gym, you don't have to find a plan of fitness every time you parked somewhere or run around your truck 20 times. I think it's ludacris because most truckers have knee problems and back problems. That is not a good representation of health, as a trucker. There are solutions that are noninvasive and very easy to adapt to your life. I don't care what age you are. That's why I'm here with Mother Trucker Yoga.

Aaron Dunn:
That's excellent. So let's start diving into a little bit of those things. What people can do to make those changes. This is Trucking For Millennials. We're, we're certainly talking to truck drivers out there, but also the industry as a whole. I know that even though I work behind a desk doing media and things like that, I work, we broker freight as well at PDQ, and our brokers are often sitting at a desk, behind a screen like myself and, and talking with truck drivers, in that capacity.

Aaron Dunn:
So, there's really not much difference. Of course, the level of work, I'm not trying to diminish the work that a driver does over the road because the level of stress behind the windshield is significantly more than an air conditioned office. But, just in terms of posture and things like that, I've experienced sciatica and things like that from sitting and being stationary for long periods of time. These are things that I think about. You're sitting in a driver's seat or you're sitting behind a computer, you're going to have similar issues, if you don't get that movement. So, what are some things that the listener and myself can start doing that aren't downward dog or whatever you do?

Hope Zvara:
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. You're spot on, as far as the similarities. I would never discount some of the challenges and concerns in both demographics because they are equally different. But, truckers have a unique situation again because their office is their home, is their vehicle, is their everything. They do not have a bathroom accessible all the time. If they get up and stretch their leg, they are going to be in an accident. So, definitely, they are more tied to the impact stricken truck seat versus somebody that may [inaudible 00:11:22] a sit stand desk or get up and walk around or whatever it is.

Hope Zvara:
So, there are definitely some very clear differentiating factors. But the overall gist is people that work in corporate have back problems. People that work in corporate have sciatica, people are from corporate are tired, are whatever. So, there are some definite similarities. So what can we do as a driver, especially as a millennial driver, to nip it in the bud before it even happens, because that can really be the magic sauce. If you're adapting these types of practices early on. This could be the name of the game. I can't tell you how many drivers I talked to that are 40, 50, 60, 70, even and go, "Man, I wish I would have started sooner." Or, if they have, then they're in great shape.

Aaron Dunn:
Right. Before you jump into those practical steps, I was just reading, it's Blue Cross Blue Shield and I'll put this in our podcast show notes, they just did the health of millennials, in general. We're a little bit outside of the realm of trucking, they just did the age demographic in general, but they said that they found that health outcomes start to dip at age 27. So, just to speak to your point of preventative health, that everybody's healthy. At least in the millennial generation, the health percentiles is pretty high until you hit age 27, and then you can imagine just work life, kids, family habits, all those things start to just take a dip.

Aaron Dunn:
It's pretty dramatic, how fast it nose dives into the unhealthy zone, as people age. So, just to your point of at 27, if you're not doing it, then you might not ever will. So, it's a really good idea to start as early as possible.

Hope Zvara:
I agree. I agree. I think for many people, it's overwhelming and I can attest to the overwhelm of making any change in our lives, especially if it's not something we maybe have been doing before. But, it can start really small, part of Mother Trucker Yoga, it's about one small change. That's part of our movement, is the feel better wherever and all starts with one small change. So, what if you're driving and you just make the effort to sit up a little bit taller to really invest in understanding good posture, that might be an investment in something like Back Shield, which I am a huge supporter of. It's a great product. It's a $80 investment, something like that. It will literally help your spine stay in alignment and help you avoid some of the issues that come with sitting in a little bit too cozy seat.

Hope Zvara:
Actually, one of my truck drivers just within an accident unfortunately, and the paramedic looked at his seat and go, I don't know what that thing is, but that just saved your back. Things like that. Or, you're sitting upright in your feet and you're driving. Take notice as to where your shoulders in your head are. It's called kyphosis or a rounded upper back and forward head position. Every 10 degrees forward your head goes, it puts 10 to 20% of pressure on your upper back and neck. So, if you don't want to be that hunchback woman or man that you always saw going to church growing up, you best fix that now.

Hope Zvara:
When you're driving, think about your head being on top of your shoulders. If you're at a computer, tuck your chin back a little bit. That may feel a little off and it may even be fatiguing because you have not been using your muscles in that way for a really long time or ever. So, the body is going to get tired, the body is going to get fatigued. You're supposed to have a little curve in your lower back, curving inward towards your abdomen. What for many of us, our lower back is curved like a [sleeve 00:15:26] . We imagine what a sleeve [inaudible 00:15:28] looks like. That really takes our spine out of alignment.

Hope Zvara:
Think of your vertebrae like jelly doughnut stuff and all the jelly donuts, have this nice, perfect pressure down from the center. Now, all of a sudden you start slumping into your truck feet and now there's pressure only on one part of the jelly donut. Well, you can imagine what happens to the jelly. It squirts out. Now you have a herniated disc. Now you have a bulging this. Now you wonder how that happened. Yes, it will, the impact of the truck, but that could have been prevented if you had understood good posture.

Hope Zvara:
When you're sitting in your truck, you're sitting on your sitting bones, those bony protrusions underneath you. Your seat is that the right height ,so that your knee is not higher than your hip. Hopefully, unless you're 7' 4", then we might have to figure out something else for you. But, I don't go down without a fight. [inaudible 00:16:21] tight ranges, your hip and knee should be somewhat in align with each other when driving. If you're sitting at a computer, you don't want to be sitting at 90 degrees. You want your hip higher because you want to open up that hip channel, but that's for another day.

Hope Zvara:
Your lower back, you should have a nice little art in it. You're not rounding into your seat. When you go up your back, your shoulders should be pulled back a little bit. Your head should be on top of your shoulders. You should not feel like you're laying on your steering wheel or you should not feel like you're ready to hug your computer screen. I don't know about you all, but I work in a computer a lot. By the end of the day sometimes I'm like, "Why am I like on top of my desk" Seriously.

Hope Zvara:
So, these are all things that we have to start paying attention to because 20 minutes of exercise at the gym isn't going to fix that problem. I know that from 20 years experience in the industry. Exercise and going to the gym and going to yoga is going to teach you the skills, but now you need to apply it to your life. So, how about I just teach you the skills and if you do a little yoga or you go for a walk or you lift some weights, that's just a bonus.

Aaron Dunn:
Well said, you've got me shifting around in my seat, right now. I'm very conscious about my spine and where it is. Somehow, you made me rethink the appeal of jelly donuts, by reminding me of that. [inaudible 00:17:45]

Hope Zvara:
The idea here is to create an awareness that fosters change because like I said before, if exercise was the solution, we'd all be healthy. If exercise was the solution, we wouldn't have the problems that we have. But, here's what I've seen over many years of working with people, from all different facets, is how we exercise is how we live during the day, the problems, the issues, the way we operate. We just do that then in yoga, unless someone corrects us and says, "Hey, do you know when you stand and walk, your feet never point forward that they always seem to point? The right leg is always turned out slightly and you actually swing your left leg out to the side when you walk. That might be part of your back problems. But, here we are, going to yoga, trying to like fix ourselves or going the gym trying to fix ourselves or, or trying to have an identity within our unique problem because God forbid we fix it. Instead, we need to educate ourselves on how we got here in the first place.

Hope Zvara:
So, I don't care if you're a trucker, I don't care if you are an office worker, a sewer pipe layer, electrician. I don't care what you are. But, we need to start investing in ourselves on a person level, beyond exercise, beyond just eating, nutrition, eating good food. Because I know, you know there's Keto out there. I am indifferent to any diet. I'm not going to give any diet advice for you today, but I'm going to say one thing. If you are telling yourself that I can eat this type of food and never have to exercise, you are missing the whole point. Because, movement exercise, call it what you want, plays a huge role in the serotonin and endorphin levels in our brain in the elasticity in our skin. I don't know about you, but I don't want to scaly skin all over my body. I'm sure many of you don't either. [inaudible 00:19:44] In our sleep, in our digestion, in our muscles, in our circulation.

Hope Zvara:
You cannot just rely on diet to fix all your problems. It may help you lose weight, but what about all the other stuff? So, that's where this whole idea with Mother Trucker Yoga, of. we need to move more. We need to find the pockets within our day. I don't care if you're 20 or you're 80, we need to find the pockets within our day, while driving truck that we can insert more movements. So, you spend a lot of time driving. What about pelvic tilting? So, you're sitting, you're driving. You can also do it, sitting at your computer and I want you to try to arch your lower back, like there's a pin coming out of your seat. As much as you can try to arch your back. Your tailbone is going to turn in towards the feet. That might feel a little bit pinchy or sore because your back is stiff because you've been sitting with the spine curving in a wrong direction for a really long time.

Hope Zvara:
Now, try to round out your lower back like letter C, like you're tucking your tailbone. You're going to do this 20 times, 30 times, for a minute straight, until that starts to loosen. This is going to increase circulation in your pelvis. This is going to increase mobility in your lower back. One of the big things that's not talked about enough with truck drivers is circulation in the pelvic area and having different issues that come with prostate, that come with urinary tract, that come with all of these things because you're not getting enough circulation in that area. With all of the rumbling that goes on with the seat and all of the heat at your body is producing, major problems for male truck drivers. Nobody's talking about this stuff.

Hope Zvara:
This can be somewhat prevented, if you're adding more simple movements in during the day. What about when you're driving, maybe you're on... What is that called. My brain is not working right now. Cruise control. Or, you're parked and you're waiting at the dock. I am not endorsing doing anything while driving. That would jeopardize your, your focus and concentration. But if you're sitting at your computer desk, I call it chair running. One of the big problems with truck drivers is getting your heart rate up. You're going to sit as tall as you can, not leaning against your seat or chair. You're going to start lifting and lowering your legs, like you're marching and then you're going to progressively try to speed it up, until literally your legs are running in your seat, running in your chair.

Hope Zvara:
You're going to get a great core workout, you're going to trigger your pelvic floor muscles, you're going to increase circulation in your pelvis, you're going to trigger back muscle strength. And, best of all, you're going to get your heart rate up. So, for those of you that have back issues, knee issues, you say that you can't be doing running, I only run where there's bears chasing me. So, you can imagine how often I run. This is one really great way to fix the problem of getting your heart rate up and improving your cardiovascular system. Again, I don't care what kind of diet you have, reality is your heart is a muscle and you need to work it. You cannot just rely on diet enough to change your personal status of health and wellness.

Aaron Dunn:
Yeah. One small change. Hope, you're a wonderful wellspring of knowledge. I really appreciate you spending some time with us. You certainly have a lot of content available. For anybody who's interested in diving a little bit deeper, what would you, where would you like to send people? What would you like to end the show with?

Hope Zvara:
Oh, absolutely. So, I just want to one, reiterate again to drivers that you matter. I want to thank you so much for all you do, but it's all about one small change. So, if you're feeling like you have a mountain in front of you, commit yourself to one thing. I don't care if it's drinking one less soda or it's doing one movement or it's joining Mother Trucker Yoga, and I'm going to watch one video a day. Whatever it is, I don't care. Just one small change. That being said, where you find out more about us, mothertruckeryoga.com. Check us out on Facebook, we're on Instagram, we're on Twitter now.

Hope Zvara:
Say hi to us. Let us know if you're watching our videos and you're reading our content because I do all of this for you all. I truly, truly, truly want you to live your best life. I want to help you. I want to see you succeed. As a millennial driver, as a young driver, you have a long road ahead of you. There's a way, maybe an interpreting, but you have a long road of many years to be driving and I want you to be doing it at your best.

Aaron Dunn:
Hope, that is a perfect way to end it, I think. Thank you so much for joining us on Trucking For Millennials. I want to encourage any listener out there to go to her website, go to her social medias, follow her. She's got a podcast as well, A Daily Dose Of Hope. Hope, have a wonderful, wonderful day. Thank you so much, for just being a part of our podcast.

Hope Zvara:
Thanks so much. We'll talk soon.

Aaron Dunn:
All right. Bye-bye.

Hope Zvara:
All right, bye.