The more bodies I’ve touched, the more I understand the feeling of anxiety in someone’s tissues. The body is braced in certain areas, specific to the person and their holding patterns, which can make it challenging to take deeper breaths. My focus in these situations is to relax the person’s nervous system, so deeper breathing comes naturally. 

Fascia is one of the coolest parts of the body. It’s like a supportive sleeve for the muscles and bones to rest in. If you’ve ever worn a wetsuit, that’s way thicker, but a similar feel. If you pull down around one thigh, you can see the effect in the opposite hips, belly and chest along with the same side lower leg and foot. If one part of us is affected, other parts will show up to support the balance of strength so that the injured tissues can rest and heal. It’s nice to know that there’s community in our body like we have community in our life.

Our body is designed to take care of itself. Our brain takes the work out of the positions we put our body in regularly, so we don’t have to think about where our fingers go to hold a pen or what happens in our hips to sit in a chair. 

Chinese Medicine looks at migraines as energy rising up that's not getting dispersed. Most of its insight comes from patterns in nature, which is why Chinese Medicine works with a 5 element theory. 

The other week when I met with my pilates instructor, she asked if there was anything I was feeling in my body that day, like she usually does. I mentioned that I’d like to open up my side ribs to have more access to my breath. While we were releasing the side of my right ribs, I noticed my R hip drop down so it was more relaxed. 

The more I learn about the nervous system, the more I see the effects in the body when it’s stressed. Every single person that I work on needs some sort of attention to their nervous system. Most need help hitting the reset button, which is why I created the nervous system reset years ago. Some need the physical manipulation and reminder to be easy with the parts of their body where they tend to hold their stress. 

When people are over-working or putting too much of their energy into meeting work demands, I’ll notice that their spine tends to rotate to the right in their lower back. When they’re feeling like they need to present in a certain way or alter who they are in order to be accepted, their spine tends to rotate to the left in the low back. 

Do you notice the spot in your body where you hold tension? You know, the one where muscles are engaged without you knowing? If you have no idea what I’m talking about, try focusing on something. For me, it can be doing the dishes or reading something where the details are important. Other situations could be when you’re having an uncomfortable conversation or being vulnerable in some way.