i’ve been there.
Is pain dragging your attention away from (insert fun activity here)?
It was so frustrating how much I missed because my own pain kept getting in the way.
I’d try to move my body in yoga or pilates, a spin class, a run or hike, or even a gentle walk around the block, but I couldn’t enjoy it because my pain was always right there. When I’d try to connect with loved ones, I could barely focus on what they were saying. Even passionate kisses couldn't erase the constant annoying pain, no matter how hard I tried to focus.
My body hurt at my wedding, while raising my two children, and even when petting my three cats.
That stupid pain was always right in my face demanding my attention.
“What kind of pain did you have?” you might be asking.
My personal physical pain journey has included chronic headaches, a systemic yeast infection after antibiotics to treat dermatitis, bulimic behaviors that turned out to be a gluten sensitivity reaction, a missed diagnosis of a rare food allergy causing a crazy array of skin reactions, various sports injuries ranging from a dislocated shoulder to herniated discs to sprained ankles and beyond, and most recently, a tick-borne illness.
Even though they were all different flavors, my brain lumped them all into the same category: PAIN, and the only thing I wanted was to MAKE IT STOP.
so I went looking for the techniques to MAKE IT STOP.
I went into physical therapy because I love figuring out how things all work together, and the human body is the ultimate complicated puzzle of interconnected systems and movement.
I was born in Anchorage, Alaska, graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz with a Bachelors of Biology, then from University of Southern California with a Masters in Physical Therapy.
But my education didn’t stop there.
I realized that there were systems that my physical therapy program didn’t address, and I started taking courses to fill in the gaps at the same time as I was searching for my own pain solutions.
It was a 10 year journey, but here are the highlights:
I saw a craniosacral therapist and my headaches started to get better, so I started taking classes. My craniosacral therapy training is through the Upledger Institute and use the techniques developed by John Upledger, DO, OMM. I am certified as a techniques level practitioner, which means I took a written and practical exam above and beyond just taking classes.
Myofascial release helped me release the scar tissue from that shoulder injury I mentioned. My myofascial release training is through Marcia Hood, PT, Cindy Rowe, PT, and Steve Moran DPT.
Lymphatic drainage techniques shifted my neck pain, sped up my healing from a herniated disc in my back, and helped rid my body of the tic born illness that had invaded it. I am trained in the lymphatic drainage techniques developed by Bruno Chikley, MD, DO, LMT, and took my classes through the International Alliance of Healthcare Educators/ Chikley Health Institute partnership.
Visceral mobilization repositioned my bladder and uterus after delivering very large headed babies. I am trained in the techniques created by Jean Pierre Barral, DO, MROF, and did my training through the International Alliance of Healthcare Educators/ the Barral Institute partnership.
These techniques covered the physical systems, but I knew there was one more system that needed my attention, the energy system. I was struggling to hold a healthy boundary with my clients, and starting to feel the early signs of burn out. I needed a better way to support my clients energetically. My energy training is from Suzanne Scurlock and her Healing from the Core program, I am a certified presenter and have been a Teaching Assistant for many of her classes.
25 years later…
I’ve integrated it all, and have fine tuned the process of untangling pain into a unique framework that is based in anatomy and structure, quickly getting to the root issue.
I live the strategies and frameworks that I’ve created through the years to help my own healing process, I use them with my clients.
I know firsthand that they work.
My only question for you is…