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Maybe it’s walking the golf course, or even just walking. Perhaps it’s being able to bend over to pick something up or play with your kids or grandkids. Maybe it’s to feel overall stronger or sit comfortably at your desk. Maybe it’s taking your hockey game to the next level (or biking, or hiking, or asana, or, or, or….. I’m not a sports snob).

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Whatever your reason is is great! The reality is is there’s pain or tension or something that is just not easeful about moving.

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Here’s how I view pain:  it’s there to tell us something. Pain and tension are the result of something…a natural, intelligent, organic response to something.

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…we just have to figure out what that something is. Your something is not the same as someone else’s something.

We get to piece that together specifically for you. Because we each have our own ways that our pain language.

 

We can get mad and frustrated with it (and believe me I’ve been there) or we can choose to tap in and dig a little deeper to see what it’s really showing you. That wisdom can be highlighting  something that is not moving well, sitting for too long, an old story your mom told you about rolling our shoulders back or sucking in the gut, getting so excited about something that you bend forward at your desk to see the screen better (or you need glasses, or it’s a habit).

 

Like a string of lights thrown into a container, pulled out once a year and get all tangled up. The pain patterns and tension habits get kinked in their own specific way, no two strings can be untangled in the same way. But there are some consistencies to unravelling – seeing where the knots are, creating space to help get the lights back in alignment and working properly and turning the light on so we can what bulbs are working.

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That’s as far as I’m taking that metaphor – don’t hang onto that too tightly. It’s get confusing quickly because we are not strings of lights! 

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THERAPEUTIC MOVEMENT

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Forget what you see in magazines – there will be no headstands or legs wrapping around your head, or other stylized fancy pants yoga poses (unless you truly want to work towards that, in which case, let’s do it!). Rest assured though, No flexibility is required for therapeutic movement.

We use breath, stillness, and movement to create ease, stability and function, so that you have less pain and have a higher quality of life. This work gets down to your core to build more natural resilience in your body, we do small steps that offer big results…but IT TAKES TIME.

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Progress in Therapeutic Movement is not the same as what many of us are used to. It takes awhile to understand how it works – but don’t worry, it still works even if you can’t explain it yet. That’s why I suggest five sessions for your first time with therapeutic movement.

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Your body is a web of relationships, often where your pain is is not where the problem is.

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Here’s a case study from one of my clients (name has been changed for privacy):

Sharon came to me wanting to be able to walk long distances without pain in her shoulder. She had had several injuries from a major accident.

Her pain was making her stop walking as much as she would like. Walking was one of the things she loved the most, it brought her peace and helped release the stress of the day.

When we went to work on her shoulder, it was obvious that there was going to be no movement from all the tension there, so the first thing Sharon learned to do, was to breathe differently. As we worked on quieting her ribs and getting more movement back in her hips, her shoulders began to relax enough to allow for movement again.

It took 7 sessions and a series of small baby steps but Sharon is now able to walk 3 hours without pain in her shoulder.  We’re now working on getting Sharon to slow down so that she can see the yellow lights that lead to tension in her daily life, and how to breathe more fully.

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HOW TO  KNOW IF THIS IS A FIT:

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The best way is read this list below and if you still aren’t sure, call me and we’ll talk.

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Who this is for:

• people who are serious about decreasing their pain – serious enough to do the programs at home,

• people who are not looking for a quick fix. We do small moves, they have big results, but they take time. Most people see a foundational shift and decrease in pain within one or two sessions, although I highly recommend at least five sessions so that you can understand how this works,

• people who have a sense of humour/positive outlook, life happens – let’s make the most of it,

• people who are active in their healing process.