Finding Balance.

  I was working on balance and stability exercises the other morning during my exercise routine.  As I was standing on a wobbly board trying not to topple over, I wondered, how do other people find balance in their lives? Or how do people work on finding balance in their lives? At times I work very hard at this and at other times, maybe I should work harder. Even if I am feeling completely balanced, I know I always need to work on it to be able to feel balanced as I go through my days.

I know getting regular work on myself or just taking time for myself is very important in finding balance. Whether it’s through exercising, ballroom dancing with my dad, taking a yoga class, getting acupuncture, or something else, I know that if I don’t take that time for myself, I will feel out of sorts soon.

When I work on myself I usually have a much clearer head that allows me to get things done that I didn’t have the clarity to get through before. It’s not that I have to go into a deep meditative place or anything. I think the most important thing is that the activities like dancing or acupuncture take me out of my normal routine and force me to use my mind in ways that I don’t do on a regular basis.  It’s sort of like pressing the refresh button on your computer screen – it gives my mind a way to reboot. :)

How do you find balance in your life? Is it through getting work done on yourself such as a massage, taking a yoga class, etc? Or is it going on a long walk or bike ride? I believe everyone needs to find something that they can do for themselves that allows them to clear their mind and be able to give themselves a break from their normal routine.

Please share your favorite ways to find balance in your life!

Importance of stretching! :)

 

In my practice I often incorporate stretching into my clients sessions. It is one of the most helpful modalities I can add to sessions. During a session the other day I stretched out my client’s entire body before I even started to do deep tissue work.  It was very helpful at being able to get into the areas that were causing my client pain and it helped the relief last longer.  My client felt wonderful at the end of their session and you could see how much easier it was as they walked out. 

Tightness in one area can often times lead to tightness or restricted movement in another area. Neck tightness can lead to headaches, decreased ROM when trying to turn your head, shoulder pain, as well as jaw pain.  Pain in your gluteal muscles can lead to hip pain, low back pain, and pain in other areas of your body. By stretching out each area, you can make a great improvement in daily pain and restrictions.

 

Stretching is something we all should be doing on a regular basis. It helps keep our bodies limber and moving easier.  Stretching helps improve range of motion in joints, which could help prevent injury. Think of how much easier it could be to move through our days if we all could take five to ten minutes each day to stretch. When we relax our muscles our minds can also relax more and reduce our stress. If you're looking for examples of stretching a great book is Bob Anderson's book titled Stretching. This book even has helpful pictures of how the stretch looks when someone is doing them. The book covers every area of your body.

If you have a chronic or acute injury you should definitely check with your doctor or health professional about what stretches are best and safe for you to do on your own.

Is there anything else that you would do if you could move with more ease and less restrictions?

Focus on the Core

Focus on the core

When people come to see me for bodywork, they often have a primary complaint – something is aching or is in pain. So we’ll focus on that issue first, but so often, many more issues come out as the primary complaint is being worked out. I like to see the layers people have built over their lifetimes slowly (and sometimes quickly) peel away.  It is an amazing thing to watch and I am lucky and blessed to be able to assist in this process.

CranioSacral Therapy is good at getting to the core of what is causing the pain – not just focusing on the primary complaint – but rather addressing the issues that have built up to the present condition. CST works by helping to take the core issue away so once that is worked through, the primary complaint gets better and doesn’t usually return in the same form.

I believe we all hold emotional issues in our bodies – not always aware of the fact that we are holding on to so much. Until these emotional issues can release, the pain will persist. SomatoEmotional Release is another part of CranioSacral Therapy where emotions that are trapped in your body tissues can safely release in a safe and supported environment. Sometimes the emotional release happens on my table and other times it happens when you are home. I’ve had clients tell me they had an emotional release later that day when they got home. The best thing I tell them to do is to just let it come out, don’t shut it down. Allow the emotions to release in whatever way they want to come out. This will help your body to release more restrictions and function in the best way possible.

Some people are worried that I can make your body have an emotional release. This is not true. I cannot force your body to go into an emotional release – I can only assist your body if it decides to start releasing emotions. The way that I can assist you during this release is through dialogue. We may use imagery or visualizations as well. We work together until we find a way that works best for you to completely let go of whatever has come up.

How do you like to let go of things? Imagery, Dialogue, or something else?

Please share your ideas/questions below. Thanks for reading my latest blog!

CranioSacral and TMJ :)

CST and TMJ

CranioSacral Therapy releases compressed cranial bones that result from TMJ. It allows the bones to move in their natural way to provide relief from tension and pain. The misalignment causes an imbalance in the jaw and results in excessive stress and wear on the joints. CranioSacral provides a relaxed environment for the bones and teeth to be in correct alignment and move like they are supposed to. CranioSacral Therapy works on the root of the problem meaning it gets to why the person is experiencing pain the first place. Many times it is not just coming from the jaw – it can be related to the neck, other cranial bones, and sometimes even as far down as a misalignment in the sacrum. Most of the time there is an emotional counterpart to it as well. But not always.  

When people experience stress their whole body is thrown off. Many times we clench or grind our teeth which results in restricted cranial bones and restrictions throughout the rest of the body. Restrictions in the mouth can cause a lot of different forms of pain. They can contribute to headaches/migraines, neck tension, speech problems, and various pain throughout the entire body. CranioSacral Therapy reduces the sympathetic nerve tone – allowing people’s bodies to be in a calmer state with less tension and more room to completely open up and breathe.  

When people receive mouth work it can bring up various emotions. I gently tell people that this may happen and sometimes it happens while they are with me but more often it happens when they are home later. I remind them that it is just the treatment working its way out and to allow it to happen. Not to try to shut it down. Some examples of emotional releases I have experienced with this work are that the client will start talking excessively, some people cry – sometimes quietly and other times sobbing, some people get very quiet and don’t talk at all, or some people get angry – but I have not experienced this very much in my work (at least while they are on the table). When we are going through the training we learn that mouth work is opening the avenue of expression – so I try to remind people to “think before they speak.” As people are more likely to say things much easier than before.

CranioSacral Therapy addresses the entire body – not just one area. By addressing the entire body it is able to help people function easier and in more of a relaxed state. Which results in less pain. 

 Do you have restrictions in your jaw area you'd like to release???