Movement education allows you to experience how your body functions when it is free from restriction. It involves an assessment of the range of motion of your joints, noting where you experience limitation. You then map areas of your body where you may have less sensation and less capacity for movement, perhaps where you have shut out pain signals for some time.… Read the rest
Continued from Therapeutic BreathWork, Self-Care
Coordination of the outgoing breath with letting go of tension is an easy way to bring peace and stillness to the body and mind. It relieves pain and stress and relaxes muscles. There is a physiological basis for the influence of breathwork.
The ribs attach to the spine at the back, and open and close like little wings with each breath.… Read the rest
The lungs extend up under the collarbone. Tension sometimes restricts breathing at the diaphragm, at the base of the lungs. We can change that by conscious breathing and massage.
Most of our breathing is automatic. So we are usually not aware when and how we restrict our breath. However, we can regain voluntary control of the breath as we release tension in muscles of breathing.… Read the rest
Myths of aging such as belief in inevitable stiffness, inevitable loss of bodily functions, or inevitable cognitive decline activate a feed forward system. Our bodies manifest what we fear the most. We can instead recognize how aging brings wisdom and grace, and awaken postural ease. We can become more resilient.
When we live in a state of chronic stress, we hold chronic contractions.… Read the rest
When we have an incorrect map of where our body parts fit together, and where they live in space, we move according to the body map, not according to our true size, structure and function. We are the only animals that can distort our bodies based on what we believe. Just as imagining a perfect gymnastic routine is a rehearsal that helps Olympic gymnasts win, incorrect beliefs about our body can rehearse our posture into painful distortions.… Read the rest
“Senior Moments”, or a new lease on life?Did you resign yourself to inevitable decline, “I’m having these senior moments?”
Do you find yourself saying, “it’s getting hard to pick up my grandchildren”, “I have this pain that won’t go away,” “I can’t reach up”, or “I feel stuck”?
Are you only in your 40’s or 50’s and already have mobility issues, digestive problems, or your spouse is complaining you aren’t remembering things the way you used to?… Read the rest
What is going on when you experience chronic pain? You have pain nerve signals to various body systems, including the immune system and the brain. You may have muscle guarding, contracting nearby muscles or more distant ones, as you attempt to minimize the impact of pain and continue your life. Other times, you may stop moving to let an area heal, which may even decrease the ability of the body to eliminate toxins because of lack of exercise.… Read the rest
Mindful Awareness to Improve Posture, Relieve PainPosture Power is a class in mindful awareness with movement and awakening to the effects of our self-talk to improve posture. It developed from the works of Barbara 
Conable, Marion Rosen, Stanley Keleman, and Thomas Hanna.
Posture Power teaches awareness of your body’s unique structure and function. When your body is stuck in an old pattern, your shape may reflect your beliefs as a child.… Read the rest
