CENTERED BODYWORK- STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION, CRANIOSACRAL AND ORTHOPEDIC MASSAGE
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Messages from the Body: Pain as a Catalyst for Change

3/5/2017

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"As long as you are breathing, there is more right with you than wrong with you, no matter how ill or how despairing you may be feeling in a given moment. But if you hope to mobilize your inner capacities for growth and for healing and to take charge in your life on a new level, a certain kind of effort and energy on your part will be required."
- Jon Kabat Zinn

I see many clients in pain, wondering how things got so bad and feeling regret for what they had "done to their bodies." Life creates suffering in the body. If you are living in a body, you are suffering. Some people who have enjoyed life by being very active are now suffering. Others who have taken full-time office jobs also are suffering. There is no way around it. Don't fight the feeling of suffering, it only makes things worse. Accept it and if you dare, embrace it. Try to forgive yourself. It will help in the process of moving towards healing.

The key is to listen to what your body is telling you. Listen to its messages. I used to see my master bodywork teacher for sessions. Without solicitation he would say "You should quit your job. They don't care about you." He was right and I knew it. He also said "Keep riding your bike, it's keeping you healthy." But it still took me years to listen to him and to acknowledge what I knew in my own body. The consequences of not listening in some ways were catastrophic.

We live in a world that considers your body last. So we end up in hospitals, urgent care, disabled, on pain medications and limping around, sometimes getting angry at doctors that can't away our pain with a magic bullet. That's not our fault, but we do have some choice. Often the choice seems like the extremes of financial security or pain in our bodies. But there is a middle path - listening to our body's messages and taking responsibility and action where we can.

As we bring our awareness back to our bodies that are so often forgotten and put in last place of priority, we can slowly develop a new relationship. And its hard, I know, when the rest of the world demands that you forget your body and focus on your mind, work, family, and other obligations, but without your body much of your ability to live life will start to erode. At that point, you may start to feel at war with your body. Being at war with your body is not a healthy relationship but noticing you are at war with your body is a place from which healing can start.

A new relationship with your body can start with this mindfulness practice:
  • Close your eyes if you wish, take a moment to focus on your breath as you take some deep breaths.
  • How and what am feeling in my body today? Feel the specific places where the discomfort is. Then feel your whole body at once. 
  • Notice if you feel some resistance in your mind to the discomfort or sadness, anger, numbness, distancing, etc. Or notice if you feel happy you that you are feeling better than usual. All of these emotions and feelings are okay.
  • As a method of self-compassion, say to yourself "I am sorry that you are... (suffering, hurt, in pain, etc.). I love and appreciate you (body as a whole, shoulder, knee, etc.) as part of me. Usually you will feel yourself take a breath of relief now.
  • Then send some light, loving energy, or breath to those places that hurt. Imagine surrounding your entire body with healing light full of love.
  • Brainstorm and write down:
    • What messages might these feelings be sending me to improve my health, happiness and quality of life? Then say to yourself, "Thank you for sending me these messages to heal myself."
    • What does my body need today?
    • What's one thing I can do today or this week to address that need?
    • What are some doable, specific commitments to yourself? Put them someplace visible as a reminder (at your desk, the first place you go when you wake up in the morning).
  • Put one hand on your heart and one on your belly. Close your eyes and take a few more deep belly breaths focusing on the exhale.
  • Feel your oneness with your body. Then thank your body for this incredible life journey together.

Follow-up:
  • Ask for support from others to help make your commitments. Put them in your calendar and if you can, block them off and set up reminders.
  • Don't blame yourself if you don't make your all your commitments. Instead give yourself compassion for the many competing needs in your field of attention or habits that developed which may have been helpful at one time but no longer serve you. Changing habits and constructing a healthy lifestyle takes time.
  • Ask yourself:
    • What did choose over my body's health?
    • Was that a conscious choice based on a higher need, was I on autopilot or responding to outside demands?
    • How can I bring more awareness to addressing my body's needs?
    • What are some positive long and short-term goals or rewards that could help motivate me to meet these needs?
    • How can I change my lifestyle to make it easier to meet these needs?
  • If you are still having challenges, see a counselor, doctor, hypnotherapist, etc.
 
Namaste - the divine in me bows to the divine in you.

Note: This is an original practice I developed for myself on my journey with Lyme and office-related injuries. It combines mindfulness, loving kindness practices, nonviolent communication, 
Hoʻoponopono, and positive thinking.
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You've Strengthened Your Core, But Can You Move It?

3/4/2017

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The last few weeks I've seen a number of clients that do a lot of core work, or by the nature of their daily activities, they use their core a lot. Many of them think they have a weak core, though the core muscles seem toned. There's few things that could be happening:
  • They don't have a weak core, they've been told that because it's the fitness fad. In fact, most people have pretty decent core strength unless they have an office job and don't do any core strengthening activities outside of work.
  • They have a toned core, but one of more of the muscles is neurologically inhibited. This can be due to adhesions, that restrict the muscle causing the cerebellum of the brain to get used to not recruiting the muscle. Or simply a poor movement pattern was established in the cerebellum.
  • The last is really the muscle is just too restricted (sometimes due to core exercises!) or too weak to do the job (usually from being too sedentary). In other words, you try to use it and you can't.
  • All of the above can be true. Bodywork can help you access and regain mobility in your core.

If you are doing core exercises (not under the care of a licensed healthcare professional) and are feeling more discomfort rather than less, it might be helpful to stop doing them and focus on flexibility and mobility for a while. Have a physical therapist evaluate whether you need the exercises and if they are being done correctly..

Here's one view of why you need to be able to move as well as stabilize your core. Qi gong, tai chi, and yoga can help you keep it that way.

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    Mira

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