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...

You know that part of life when things are really going and it's all falling into place AND you notice? All is well and even magical how it all works out and the ebb and flow is just so and the pancakes turned out just right. Often before that little jaunt of all is well is that sticky, icky, crunchy part that could be called WTH:-D Not very clinical but as I type it I just laugh and it makes it a little less daunting which is key because that part before the ahhh or ahhh hah, the ick, the crunchy, the "nothing is working", is just as important as the yum, and can be a real bump in the road of life that can side-track the best of us.

What if instead of thinking your body is broken you notice the ick, the observer in your mind that comments on how "nothing's working", and in that moment you reframe? Instead of "my body is broken" you reframe it to..."my body is healing". 

If you have a body then you know about the ebb and flow AND the...

This is the glow of a mom whose kid is home for a week. At twenty-five years old she is hardly a kid and yet the sense of ease, play, banter is all there as if time doesn't matter and just sharing space fills me up. We are keeping it low-key and just hanging out, puzzling, watching old movies, and sometimes just sitting around without even talking and it is so comfortable and so easy. 

When I describe to someone what I do, helping people at my myofascial release clinic get out of pain and get back to doing what they love, coaching women online and helping them to reclaim their body after breast cancer, teaching my Myofascial Stretch Method classes for weekly self-care, what I am really doing is helping people get more comfortable and feel at ease in their body.

Whether you have tight, painful scar tissue, a frozen shoulder, reconstructive surgery that is still painful to the touch a year later, you can work towards that same comfort and ease you feel when...

I love the word AND. I can be grateful that I'm ok AND figure out how to recover fully from long haulers. My client yesterday can be grateful that she can still work and get around AND figure out her shoulder thing so she is not in pain every day, all day long. I can love my job AND look forward to my vacation. What if one doesn't cancel out the other?

When it comes to self-care, you can wait for a time when you are not as busy or have more cash flow, or just ...later. You might have the banter in your head that your hip pain isn't that bad. I'll add the yet...cuz yet is sneaky and doesn't have an expiration date.

Pain is the body asking for attention and if ignored, that chatty hip will just get chattier. aka Pain and tightness become the norm. Taking time for yourself, adding that self-care routine can be tricky on the front end AND your body will be grateful aka quiet as it moves you through your world with ease and grace. You might be busy, sooo busy, and a 90-minute class...

The sun is sooo sunny. The sky is so so blue. I made the best cup of coffee today...Emma's coming in town! The warmer weather beckons me to the back porch to sit amongst the plants and Christmas lights that sparkle and glow and I'm dusting off the board games cuz Emma is coming in town!  

 We missed the holidays with Covid so it's been a while and way out of our normal visiting schedule and I wonder if I'll be out of practice...I don't want to play the mom card too much and be naggy or a stick in the mud. And you know and I know that it will be lovely. 

We'll sit and talk and reconnect. Add some deep listening. Share space and let our thoughts mingle. 

Bodies are kind of like that when you've been on a hiatus. Maybe you are coming back from an injury, a birth, or like me, you are a long hauler and healing. You can get to know your body again. Find that excitement in reconnecting with yourself, with movement, with the pause. The body remembers and will...

How do we show up for ourselves? I have a confession...I sometimes and sometimes meaning more often than not stay up to 11 pm. My intention is to go to bed more like 10 PM but between 10 and 11 pm I forget that part. I used to set my alarm or keep my phone out of the room but mostly throw some shame at myself and vow to do better tomorrow...set rules and all. But I found a better way... 

  What if "that day" was today and later was a "how bout now" and that thing you keep wanting to do wasn't a should've but became a part of you and your self-care?

How do you do the thing you want to do but don't seem to do it? (AKA...Are you on the fence about signing up for Myofascial Stretching?)

1. Add some flexibility...I like flexibility in my day but also seem to do better with routine soooo...I do a combo. Write the newsletter on Wednesday but if that doesn't happen I can do Thursday or even Friday. Less pressure, more fun and no shame. Get ready for...