I think I forget to ask myself what I want. Sometimes I'm just doing things because that's what I do. You make the coffee without thinking about making the coffee. You're dressed and ready for work and where are the keys and the dog leash, and the morning has gone and left. I love a good routine and it seems to serve me well...to a point. Then there was this trip I made to Vail, Colorado to speak to the nicest group of surgeons about Myofascial Release and to share some of my Myofascial Stretch Method techniques. It's been a few days back and I've still got the mountain glow:-D 

Sometimes the breakthroughs are in the routine and sometimes the breakthroughs are in the unknown. Another way to say it is ..."Go For It Honey!" 

That routine you've got going on was at some point new to you. So what do you want? Ask yourself and then add the little daily/weekly routine that is gonna get you there! You get to pivot and try new things as well as leave other...

I had one of those weeks that is full of all the things and where my brain is questioning all the things and where everything is perfect and tricky and also not so smooth and really it's all good. It's amazing how just a little bit of change in routine but when it's a little change in routine on multiple levels and areas of your life it feels like everything you look for is not in its normal spot. This is when you have a chat..with your body. 

You lay on the foam roller to let it go. Yes, the fascia AND the day. You let go of your thoughts of how it should or could be. You lay on that ball to bring more movement in those sticky hip joints, AND the whirling thoughts and feelings. You create a witness as you watch yourself, feel your body and get out of your head...you give it a place to go. Anyone spinning out there? 

 Your routines of self-care, the benefits of your beautiful work, and dedication show up when you are "in it". The vagus...

Oh did I sleep last night! I might have woke up once and then zonked right out back to the land of zzz's. This is a beautiful example of healing. So what's with the "tossing and turning wide awake holy moly I gotta get to sleep" mode? Tired but wired is an example of the nervous system stuck in fight or flight...on a primal level your body does not feel safe. We don't heal first and then the nervous system goes off duty. Nope. You gotta sweet talk your body AND nervous system and then your body can heal and you can get that magic sleep. It's all connected!

Myofascial release is talking to your fascia yep and then some! Gentle, sustained compression and elongation without going past your edge. Helllooo nervous system...all is well. You could take more pressure on that hamstring or fit more "doing" in your day but your nervous system can register that as you being chased by a tiger! 

 If you are running all day and then some, pushing through pain, and putting...

My daughter Emma's in town. It's fabulous and she just arrived and my heart is so content just being in the same house. As I sit here writing, I wonder if I could feel this content and full with me, myself, and I. Namely my body and the ebb and flow of all the aches and pains that come with having a body. Even the little pangs that tell you to get off the computer...

Pain is the body asking for attention...AND if you do that Myofascial Stretch Method technique, not only when you are tight or have pain, but as a point of self-care to prevent the big injury, recover faster from the fall, and be able to just sit with yourself and your body and feel that big whoosh of "content", "life is good" sort of feeling, like when your favorite person comes into town.

 Hello Body! It's soooo great to see you! Would you like a drink of water? Something to eat? A little foam roller along the spine? I've got this one new V-Sit foldover with the noodle...and when you...

Where's the pivot?

That little opening leads you to your new favorite self—that moment when you catch yourself in autopilot AND you notice. You can still do the thing, think the thought, but you are watching. You notice and here is where you hover. As John Barnes, founder of myofascial release as we know it, refers to stillpoints. The moment where all movement stops and we process, integrate, and heal.

You don't always have to be moving to get where you're trying to go. You don't have to be searching for the answer to show up.  The magic happens when you hover in the pause—engaged with deep listening and awareness.

 Meandering a stillpoint can be tricky as we are taught to go and go some more. So the pivot...? The shift you are looking for is in the allowing, the letting go, and the trust that it's working. Myofascial Release is a big door that can open to a world of less pain, more movement, and a place where you...

I had a client recently that is on the new side. She had lots of pain and was willing to give myofascial release a shot but was skeptical. It's expensive, she's busy so the timepiece is a thing. Whether at work or working out she pushes past her pain, her edge despite the pain. She came in for her appointments and low and behold...the breakthrough!

You can't help but get better when you stay true to the course. Gentle, sustained compression and elongation...without going past your edge. whether you have been in pain for years or something new is acting up...Myofascial Release is the bomb-diggity!

 She still had pain... but she didn't talk about pain in her last session. She talked about how she went and did a big ol' workout ala boot camp style...but she modified, she listened to her body...she checked in with the trainer. In our session, she talked about how tight she was, how everything just tightened BACK UP! As in... "was not tight!" AND she...

My favorite number is four. My favorite comfort food is pot roast. I love the beach but I would pick woods by a lake every time. I have always loved chocolate and just never had a taste for candy so no contest there. My mom is from Texas so I grew up on baked goods like banana bread, chocolate chip cookies, and pecan pie while my grandma used to make the most amazing lemon coconut cake in a bundt pan for those special occasions. Oh and I was a runner and activity of all sorts was my thing. That was a biggie.

Time can change what your favorites are but don't let time stop you from looking for new ones. There's freedom in a person's ability to change, grow, and heal.

I still eat pot roast almost once a week from a local restaurant, Big Sky. It's amazing and hits all my buttons. I'm not as much hanging around the sugar but I get my baked goods fix with my Sunday morning pancakes. The four thing was from my first basketball jersey and then all jerseys after that....

 Sometimes self-care is something you look forward to and revel in your routine of a daily walk or that ride on your bike. Sometimes you might dread it or on the sneaky side of you writes it off for the day, the week, which turns into a month, and oops it's been a year...

I was explaining to a client about pain and fascia. How when you are in pain the fascia tightens to stabilize and protect. The nervous system is on guard as you try and get back your zip and endurance. That tight fascia can be from underuse or overuse, and we often don't notice the tightness until we fumble with the door or bobble off the curb...

Your self-care routine can give you the insight as to where you're at! Dreading that walk you normally love? Take something off your plate that day or week. All busy with the fam so you put off your self-care for another day? Block off some time for just you and get your self-care on your schedule.

Time on your mat with some Myofascial Stretch...

This is some fake spring behind me. We are still getting some cold along with the rain so it makes ya wonder when it's gonna get warm already and I can finally put my plants outside to soak up some sun. So I grab a sweater as I head out the door along with my raincoat. The warm weather is taking its sweet time getting here but you know and I know, sunny, warm days are coming.

Ya know when you get that little injury and ya have some pain and you're doing all the things and maybe could do some more things (like rest baby) but it's still there? Like when I have a new client at the clinic, and they wanna know when it's gonna start working...and then sure enough around that 3 - 6 session mark they are all about it and are amazed like the rest of us at how the body heals and this myofascial stuff is the bomb-diggity! Warmer weather is coming AND your body is healing!

Keep up the good work! Gentle, sustained compression and elongation without going past your edge is...

Here it comes...the tulips, the lavender, the green with all of the leaves on all the trees, and the rain. Whatcha got going on in your garden? I planted lots of perennials so that the lavender and the rosemary just come on up. I don't have to think about daylilies or that random pink thing I planted last year whose name I cannot remember. I'll add some topsoil, some mulch, and give it all a little love. A little maintenance goes a looong way.

In our healthcare system here in the states the focus is on chronic and acute care. The emphasis is put on waiting until you are not "functioning" and then they get you back to functional. I don't know about you but I'm going for fabulous over settling for functional and fabulous takes some maintenance.

When you put yourself first on the list of things to do and add in that self-care on the regular, you are on your way to fabulous. It just shows up...that pesky low back that's been bugging you for years is not even...