There are many ways of working with the body. Many people come to me seeking a solution to a problem: there is something happening that is causing pain, discomfort, a feeling of imbalance – and it manifests in a variety of ways. From the acute sensation of pain, to the anxiety, frustration, and stress that accompany such an experience.

What I seek to do is to look outside of the problem – clearly there is something that could be working differently, some new way of standing, moving, relating to the body and all its accompanying systems and parts.  As well as how we relate to the outer world – all we ask of our bodies and all the world demands.

My work seeks to create something new, and in doing so we must step outside of the “problem” and explore, find, and/or create something new. Many forms of therapy involve a deep exploration of the problem – and that can be essential, but only insofar as it leads to something new. Getting stuck in the mindset of backpain or neckpain or whatever – is a seductive process and my work seeks to free you from the problem. Through direct experience, education, movement observation and exercises, we will work together to establish the “something new”.

When the only point of reference we have for our bodies is from a place of discomfort, we end up organizing our bodies (and many parts of our lives) around such pain. My work differs from typical body therapies in the way that we work to create new points of reference in the body, new ways of finding balance, and new ways of creating and relating to sensation – as a new posture becomes possible we can begin to comfortably, and appropriately explore the specific areas of pain (and/or numbness) finding ways to begin to feel sensation both at and through that area of the body. If our back hurts, we slowly work towards finding a new way of aligning the body so that when the weight of the upper body falls through the lower back and pelvis – it does so without tension and pain, or the fear of pain.

In many ways my work is an exploration of sensation.  As we begin to open the places that don’t move and create the capacity for movement  sensation arrives. As your awareness penetrates into your body’s sensory systems – you literally sharpen your ability to perceive and potentially respond to reality.  You shift from avoiding pain – to moving towards something creative.

Sitting at a desk all day can be very upsetting to your neck,  and your posture in general.

How well your head manages to find balance on top of your body has a profound effect on…well everything.

From pain to a general feeling of heaviness – an imbalanced head and neck is a source of great discomfort – and a great place to work both towards and from.

Find Something New For Your Neck and Head

Halfway to balance, almost halfway through a leg session:

Observe how she is standing nearly balanced over her left ankle and foot, while the right leg is stuck in a more bow-legged position.  You can see the right leg being almost pulled upwards, while there is a definite downward support available on the left side.

An ideal way to start the Spring – with new feet!

Halfway to Balance

Rolfing + Acupuncture work together so well – I know this from personal experience having gone through my SI training while receiving weekly acupuncture treatments.

Here is a picture that shows where and why acupuncture works so well:

an acupuncture point seen up close / aka triple perforation

Acupuncture helps create more openness and fluidity in the body in similar areas that I access; essentially helping to create real, lasting, and readily experienced change to your body by leveraging the 3 dimensional scaffolding that supports your body’s everything! You gotta check this out.

here’s the full article:

But the latest research shows (see above article) that you can access your body’s natural healing capacity, by helping to reinforce healthy metabolism, which reduces inflammation, which allows for health to return to the body (whether slowly, or more quickly) via high-quality bodywork.

Not many people are doing this, let alone thinking about it.  The acupuncturists are well trained in the meridians and the biochemistry, and integrating that information into a more musculo-skeletal, postural, and functional framework – well – amazing things are still happening on my table.

The past few months I have been focusing my studies on the cranium, and ways of working with the head, neck, and shoulders.  Creating interventions that are efficient, effective, powerful, and precise has been the result.  This information is wonderful to have in my toolbox when working with clients with all degrees of neck pain, shoulder pain, tension headaches, and migraines.

Hearing someone say, “wow, I feel like my ear canal is opening”, and knowing exactly what, where, why, and how that is true is both incredibly rewarding, and incredibly validating.  Anatomy, anatomy, anatomy!

Finding ways to demystify our inner workings is one of the most exciting things that happen in my sessions.  For when you begin to understand how it all works, from your own experience, then real change becomes possible, forever.

Also, I am reading this book:

New Read