Calm and Centered :)

 How do you get ready for Monday’s? How do you prepare yourself to face work after a weekend where you were able to unwind a little?

Do you have to prepare yourself Sunday night by getting everything in order so that you know you’ll be prepared to walk out the door Monday morning? Do you set everything out the night before so when you wake up in the morning everything is ready to go?

Do you make sure you are eating healthy meals at all times so your brain is nourished and able to focus on difficult tasks?

Do you make sure you get enough sleep Sunday night so you wake up feeling refreshed and not groggy or exhausted Monday morning?

Do you do deep breathing or meditation or something else to clear your mind before you go back to your hectic work schedule? Do you do a stretching routine so your body is more flexible and not full of tension?

Do you schedule yourself a bodywork appointment at some time during the week to relax and so you have something to look forward to?

My guess is that you probably could add a few more of these ideas to your list. My guess is that Monday doesn’t always roll around as easily as it could. Why not make it easier for yourself by adding a few more of these to your routine?

Why not take a few minutes to do some of these tonight or even tomorrow morning before you go to work? Think of Monday as being a calmer day instead of one where you are running around trying to get a million things done with a mind that is full of chaos.  How would your day go if you approached it with a clearer mind and a more fluid body with less restrictions?

Please share your ideas of how you approach each Monday or even each day.

Thanks! Have a great week!

CranioSacral and Fibromyalgia

Dealing with Fibromyalgia Using CranioSacral Therapy

Does each day feel like a struggle? Do you feel like you have to drag yourself through each day? Are you simply going through the motions? Are you in so much pain that it is affecting your happiness? How would you feel if there was something that could help ease that pain? What if there was something that could work on the cause of your pain instead of just the symptoms and lift your spirits at the same time?  

As a person who has been a trained CranioSacral Therapist since 2003, I can honestly tell you that I have seen a great deal of people become pain free or reduce their pain to a much more manageable point by receiving CranioSacral Therapy (CST) treatments. Trained through the Upledger Institute, I have gone through years of training and have worked with and helped many clients with various levels of pain. Dr John E Upledger is the founder and developer of CranioSacral Therapy who served as a biomechanics professor at MSU in the late 1970’s and now is the owner and director of the Upledger Clinic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

People who are diagnosed with fibromyalgia are often depressed, in constant pain, and suffer with fatigue. They may also be dealing with many other varied symptoms. It is easy to become depressed or have low energy when we deal with pain all of the time. All of our energy goes towards figuring out how to make it through the daily tasks that are absolutely necessary. When do we have time to take a minute for ourselves or actually do something we enjoy? It seems everything has become work.  

CranioSacral Therapy can help in so many ways. According to Upledger.com, “CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle, hands-on approach that releases tensions deep in the body to relieve pain and dysfunction and improve whole-body health and performance.” By releasing the restrictions/tensions, the cerebrospinal fluid in our bodies can flow easier and reach more areas which helps everything function better. Cerebrospinal fluid feeds, protects, and has a considerably positive effect on your brain and spinal cord (also known as your central nervous system).

CranioSacral Therapy works directly with the fascia throughout your body. Fascia is the connective tissue that surrounds and connects body structures. When fascia becomes restricted, people experience pain, reduced range of motion, etc. Through the gentle holding or slow movements performed during CranioSacral Therapy, these restrictions can release and people sometimes feel energy start to move through the area where they hadn’t before. People also feel a softening of the area and less of a stuck painful feeling. It is wonderful to be able to help people in this way and to see the softening not just in their bodies but to hear it their voices and also see the relief on their faces.

During CranioSacral Therapy, clients lie fully clothed on a massage table. I start each session by holding your feet and sensing where the greatest restrictions are in the body. I then move to different areas on the body and hold those areas waiting for the restrictions to release. I may also do unwinding work which means I will gently lift an arm or a leg and allow the fascia to unwind as the limb slowly lies back on the table while being fully supported.

People who have dealt with chronic pain for any period of time and have become depressed, as is the case with many who suffer from fibromyalgia, can be greatly helped through the part of CranioSacral Therapy called SomatoEmotional Release (SER). We hold emotions in our bodies whether we are aware of it or not. When those emotions don’t have a proper way to release they become stuck. Often times creating pain that isn’t easily dealt with. Through CranioSacral Therapy and SomatoEmotional Release, a therapist like myself, is trained in finding these areas of stuck emotions and using techniques and oftentimes a dialogue between the therapist and the client to help release these stuck emotions that are causing the pain. People that have experienced emotional releases like this often leave feeling lighter and with much clearer thinking. When people have dealt with chronic pain for any length of time feelings of self doubt or feelings of never being able to function the way they think they should be able to fill their bodies and minds. Depression to any degree is not healthy and can put many unneeded burdens in your life. SomatoEmotional Release is a wonderful way to get to the reasons why you’re feeling that way and can help you see that, by releasing those unneeded burdens and feelings, your life can be so much more meaningful and you can truly live the way you want and are meant to.

Chronic pain and the resulting depression is something that no one should have to live with. I hope through this article that you have gotten some ideas of ways that you can receive gentle/noninvasive help and start living life in more of the ways that you want to. I hope I have helped you learn more about CranioSacral Therapy and SomatoEmotional Release. If you have any questions or would like to set up an appointment for a treatment, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Yours in Good Health,

Stephanie Stanton

828.450.5050

Helping Yourself

Have you ever had a feeling like something in your life needed to change directions a bit? How did you handle it? What did you change?

For a little while now I’ve been feeling like something needed to change a bit. I’ve thought about different educational options, different job options, different locations, etc. But I’m not sure any of those ideas are exactly what needs to be changed. I’ve tried to journal about things, talk issues out with several people, and have even looked very intensely into different life options.

How do you get to the bottom of feelings that are feeling a little out of sorts? Do you immediately make a change or do you slowly go over different options and weigh the benefits, risks, and downsides to each choice?

I know when more than a few areas of my life are out of sorts, my entire being starts to get antsy and I have a hard time focusing on individual issues.  Not to mention it is nearly impossible to make a clear decision on much of anything.

What do you do to put yourself back into balance? What works for you? Do you do self care, bodywork, yoga, meditation, or something else?

I like to do self care and receive whatever type of bodywork (craniosacral, acupuncture, massage, taking a yoga class, etc) is calling to me at the time. Bodywork helps me to feel centered and helps my mind feel more at ease so it is easier to figure things out and easier to make tough decisions when needed.

If you’re feeling like trying a new type of bodywork why not give CranioSacral (CST) a try? It is a very relaxing and gentle type of bodywork where you lay fully clothed on a massage table.  I gently hold or place my hands on your body to feel the restrictions and softly release them, allowing your body to function in an optimal state and move more freely – without restrictions. :)

Life Transitions

I've been thinking a lot about transitions lately. We all go through various transitions throughout our entire lives. Do we approach these with fear, with hesitation, or with strength, and an open mind?

Personally, I think it depends on the transition. It seems with things like a new relationship or even marriage, we look at that in more of a positive light. We are excited and the transition seems to go pretty well. With things like job losses, tough relationship hurdles, or losing loved ones, our whole bodies seem to tense up when we think of those. Our shoulders raise, our backs tighten, our fists may even clench. Those transitions seem to be harder and we seem to not go easily through those.

When we approach transitions - no matter if they are easy or hard - with an open and relaxed state of mind - they seem to go more smoothly. We allow our bodies and minds to actually process the whole situation rather than being wrapped up in our emotions and letting those control how we feel during uncertain times. I'm not saying it takes away the happiness or sadness of an event - but it will hopefully help clear your mind so you can stay a little more focused on what needs to be done.

When we approach transitions with a closed mind and are fighting it the whole way, it takes much longer to find peace with the situation. When we resist the inevitable (that change is a constant) we set ourselves up for frustrations, headaches, and sometimes even depression.

I ask you to find a way that you think you could better prepare yourself for whatever next transition is coming. How can you make the situation seem easier or how can you work out a route that will help you get through it?

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!