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Here, you will find expert-crafted posts that explore the science and practice of somatic healing, neuromuscular re-education, and mind-body connection.

Our content is designed to discuss why pain persists, how your nervous system shapes your experience, and what steps you can take to retrain your body and nervous system for lasting relief.

Consider each article an invitation to deepen your understanding, challenge conventional assumptions about pain, and gain actionable tools to support your well-being

#1 WAY TO FIND BALANCE IN THESE UNCERTAIN TIMES

September 16, 2020

Learning how to take control of your mind, is the single best way to maintain your balance during these uncertain times. Let us explain using a great mind map model that we share with our clients in private sessions.There are 4 functions of the mind, the Lower Sensory Mind, Storehouse, Ego and True Self. Your ego mind is designed to keep you safe and out of harm’s ways. It allows you to express yourself as an individual and to reach for your goals in life. It generally works in your favour, but

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PAIN PROTECTS US FROM DANGER: BUT WHAT IF PAIN PERSISTS?

September 7, 2020

When you first get hurt, pain is your brain’s way of telling you that something is wrong and that you need to attend to it. Nociceptors are nerves that detect changes in pressure, chemical balance and temperature that may be dangerous to you. The brain has to evaluate this information and does so in the context of your social norms, beliefs, and your expectations. The brain decides if the body is in danger and then triggers a pain response based on that information. Pain protects us from danger:

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NEW INNOVATIONS IN PAIN RESOLUTION

August 26, 2020

Should we accept pain as a normal part of aging?Chronic tension/pain has become an epidemic across North America and the industrialized world. The US Department of Health and Human Services estimates that pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined. The question is, why?Persistent or recurring pain is defined as pain lasting more than six months after the original tissue damage has healed. The research on chronic (persistent/recurring) pain is compelling. The an

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THE LANGUAGE YOU USE IN RELATION TO YOUR BODY MATTERS

August 25, 2020

How well do you listen to your body? And how do you talk to your body? Did you know that the language you use and how you relate to your body really matters?Dr. Joe Dispenza describes thoughts as electric. Your thoughts create feelings that affect the electromagnetic field around you.SO WHAT DO YOUR THOUGHTS HAVE TO DO WITH PAIN?Persistent pain is a maladaptive response that occurs long after damaged tissues have repaired. This maladaptive response is negatively reinforced by negative thoughts a

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STRESS IMPRINTS IN YOUR BODY AND CAUSES PAIN - HOW TO REDUCE STRESS

August 13, 2020

Stress is a fact of life. We have all experienced it at some point in our lives. Stress can be a great motivator when you have a big project to deliver, and when your stress response is well-managed, stress ebbs and flows naturally with life circumstances. When sustained over an extended period, stress becomes dangerous and can lead to illness and disease. According to the Mayo Clinic, prolonged stress can lead to pain and tension, anxiety, poor sleep, fatigue, anger, depression, chest pain, and

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REGULATING YOUR HEALTH THROUGH THE 5 SENSES

August 9, 2020

Have you ever considered that how you use your five senses can have an impact on your health?Your five senses are taste, touch, sight, smell, and hearing. These five senses support your ability to experience your life and the world around you. These include feeling the wind on your face, smelling the flowers in your garden, and communicating through speech and learning through reading. The senses are constantly providing you with input so you can experience yourself and navigate the world around

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THE #1 BEST WAY TO ADDRESS PLANTAR FASCIITIS

August 5, 2020

We don’t realize how important our feet are until they start to cause us problems. Pain on the soles of the feet can make wearing shoes and walking challenging. It destroys our motivation to get active and go out for that walk to take in the beauty of the outdoors. Staying active is paramount to staying healthy as we age. Don’t let foot pain become the reason you are not out there walking, jogging, hiking, and having fun!An all too common cause of chronic foot pain is Plantar Fasciitis. This is

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HOW TO IDENTIFY THE ROOTS OF YOUR PAIN

July 29, 2020

Pain has big shoulders and deep roots. Our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects all influence pain. Yoga practitioners believe that all pain is rooted in spiritual discord.It is common for patients with persistent pain to make statements like: • “I have always had tight shoulders.” • “My pain worsens when I am stressed.” • “My elbow gets sore after I golf, so I ice it after I play.” • “Do you think there is a connection between the loss of my late wife and the pain I am experiencin

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IT’S TIME TO MAINTAIN YOUR BODY AS WELL AS YOU MAINTAIN YOUR CAR

July 20, 2020

Do you take care of your body as well as you maintain your car? If your vehicle is vibrating or rattling when you drive over 60 miles per hour, what would you do?To fix the problem, are you going to give the car a wash and polish? No.Would you give it higher leaded gasoline? Of course not!The right answer? Of course, you would immediately take the vehicle to a qualified mechanic and get to the root of the problem to resolve it as quickly as possible. After all, you don't want to get stranded on

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WHY DID MY BACK “GO OUT”? AND WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT IT?

July 12, 2020

Isn’t it interesting how we incorrectly and inappropriately phrase things, leading us to believe that they are true? Have you ever said, (or heard someone say), “my back went out”? As if your back just decided one day to go rogue and go into spasm, or stop supporting you. Hmm…really?The truth is that, for this to happen, you may have been mistreating your back muscles for some time. It was likely not consciously or intentionally, but unknowingly.Hanna Somatics is a discipline that explains what

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THE BEST WAY TO FIND BALANCE DURING UNCERTAIN TIMES

July 6, 2020

The best way to maintain balance during these uncertain times is to learn how to control your mind. Your ego-mind keeps you safe and out of harm’s ways. It also allows you to express your individuality and to reach for your goals in life. It generally works in your favor, but there is a downside as well.EGO MINDIn stressful times like these, your ego-mind can lead you into behaviors that initially allow you to disconnect from the overloading of sensory information. Such actions could include too

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CLIENT ALLEVIATES FROZEN SHOULDER SYMPTOMS

March 9, 2020

We take a different approach in how we help clients alleviate conditions and symptoms that are showing up, causing distress and pain. Read this great story about how Nicole’s client alleviates frozen shoulder symptoms with our Method. Here is the story.I had a client come in recently who had experienced a sleepless night of crying from terrible pain that spread across her upper back and shoulders, down her arms and into one thumb. The situation had been building in her body for quite some months

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REBUILDING TRUST WITH OUR SOMAS

March 2, 2020

Rebuilding trust with our somas is the key to healing. Whether we never thought to look inside ourselves or learned that we had to rely on others to “fix” us, we are here to remind you of the power of the human body to rebalance and heal.If soma is a new term for you, think of yourself and your healing process as not only bones, muscles and tissues, but also as a unique person, with likes, dislikes, beliefs and tendencies.Building and maintaining trust, offering loving compassion, kind words and

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THE NUANCES OF ARCH AND FLATTEN

February 17, 2020

The Arch Broken Down…1. Start with rolling your pelvis down the mat, so that your tailbone presses into your mat. This will create an arching of your back, and an engagement of your paraspinal muscles (the ones that run along each side of the spine).2. As you are arching allow your belly and front body muscles to lengthen and release.3. You might try having one hand on your belly to feel the abdominal muscles lengthening, and one hand tucked under the small of your back to feel your back muscles

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CLIENTS: ARE YOU GETTING THE MOST OUT OF ARCH & FLATTEN?

February 10, 2020

Arch and Flatten is a powerful and transformative movement that requires learning in stages to understand the “how of the technique” of pandiculation. This is because in life we learn how to do gross movement patterns and perform most movements in patterns to look a certain way. Without sensing and feeling the muscles that are required to engage to create the movement, we are not moving “somatically.”The Art of PandiculationThe truth is that we can go through life, and we can go through the moti

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RELEASE TENSION, STABILIZE, REPEAT!

February 3, 2020

When bodies are showing up in pain, when there is a postural imbalance, a low back that grips and “goes out” on occasion, restricted breathing, low mood, a sore hip – we work with this simple strategy to help our clients move and feel better. First we release tension. Second, we stabilize. And third we repeat. Yes…release tension, stabilize, repeat.As SomaYoga Therapists we work a lot with the somatic technique of Pandiculation, a powerful re-educating of the nervous system created by Thomas Ha

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PELVIC FLOOR PROBLEMS: SYMPTOM OF A BIGGER PATTERN

January 6, 2020

Just as any other muscle can fall into a pattern of not functioning well as a result of Sensory Motor Amnesia, the pelvic floor is affected by trauma (such as labour and delivery), sports and habituated contraction of the belly muscles. Surprisingly, too much core work, tailbone tucking, reverse and restricted breathing patterns and a lifestyle with too much stress can all contribute to pelvic floor problems.Pelvic Floor problems: a Symptom of a bigger patternAs Somatic Educators and Yoga Therap

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SELF CARE ISN'T SELFISH

December 9, 2019

Stress heightens pain and the habituated patterns that show up in our bodies. And we know that this time of year can be particularly stressful for many. Self care isn’t selfish you know and so we invite you to pay it forward to yourself this December – make self care your #1 priority.This month plan little acts of love and kindness directed towards yourself. Yes you read that right, towards yourself!There are many ways to do this, and here are some of our favourites. When we give to ourselves, w

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HOW THE ACTIVITIES YOU LOVE MAY ACTUALLY BE CAUSING YOU PAIN

November 25, 2019

It may be hard to believe, but some of the activities that you love may actually be causing you pain.The Learning ProcessTo understand pain, it is essential to understand the learning process of the brain. When we learn a new thing, we naturally break the process down step by step. We start slowly and use the cortex of our brain to pay attention to the activity we are learning. Our brain learns by sensing and feeling and repetition. As we continue to refine and adapt, the movement graduates from

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WHAT'S MISSING IN THE YOGA INDUSTRY

November 18, 2019

We have thought long and hard about why yoga practitioners suffer through various movements in discomfort and we have come to the conclusion, it is because they have never learned otherwise! Keep reading and learn the answer to this important question: What’s missing in the yoga industry?Yoga is based on an ancient tradition, where many teachings in the west have crossed over into a realm which focuses on external form and gratification over deep knowingness and self-discovery. The art of listen

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WHAT DOES BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL MEAND AS IT RELATES TO PAIN

November 5, 2019

We are complex and diverse beings with multiple layers (koshas) to our human-ness or soma.When you consider the various approaches to healing your ailments have you considered how your mind, emotions, belief systems or habits may be contributing to your discomfort?Biopsychosocial Model of PainToday, doctors and allied health professionals agree that we must treat the whole being for well-being. But what does this mean?The truth is that pain is a Biopsychosocial experience affected by physical, c

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EASE AND FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT CREATES STABILITY IN THE BODY

October 28, 2019

Did you know that optimal core function arises as the by-product of re-educating tight muscles to release and do the job they were designed to do?Do you brace your belly during movement and life? Did you know that this can cause pain in your body?We also want you to know that bracing leads to poor balance, wear and tear on joints and habituation of muscles that cause further discomfort.TestimonialHere is a testimonial from a graduate teacher that attended a recent training we held in Toronto tal

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STRESS CREATES DIS-EASE

June 2, 2019

Our physiology has equipped us with the ability to fight, flight or freeze in the face of imminent danger. This natural autonomic response served us well in pre-historic times. After the danger was over, we settled back into a rest and digest, nervous system response. But today it’s a different story. Today’s stress creates dis-ease and sickness in mind, body and spirit.Today our stress filled lifestyles, work schedules, poor postural habits and weakened resiliency mean that the threats to our n

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BEST WAY TO STIMULATE A SATISFYING MORNING POOP

May 20, 2019

The science of Ayurveda and the 6 Pillars of Balanced Living outline many easy to adopt practices that have a large impact on our health and well-being, not to mention the best way to stimulate a luscious morning poop. We already wrote about how over-contracted muscles can affect your digestion and elimination system in our blog post “SMA Could be the Reason You Are Constipated.”In addition to a body having functional muscles that move well in support of healthy digestion, we support our clients

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JAW TENSION COULD BE RELATED TO YOUR HIP FLEXORS

April 7, 2019

The strongest muscle in the body based on its weight is the masseter (jaw muscle). With all the muscles of the jaw working together it can close the teeth with a force as great as 55 pounds (25 kilograms) on the incisors or 200 pounds (90.7 kilograms) on the molars. Amazing! And no wonder a tight jaw can so painful when it is locked tight! The truth is that your tight jaw and hip flexors are related through Red Light Reflex.Red Light ReflexTMJ and jaw pain, reflects a deeper reflex pattern calle

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IMPROVE EFFICIENCY IN YOUR MUSCLES

March 25, 2019

Would you like to improve efficiency in your muscles? Do your muscles fatigue easily? Do you experience a prolonged duration of fatigue (more than 2 days) after a workout?Do you feel like there is a lack of efficiency and strength in your muscles? Do you feel tight or are limited in range of motion?Did you know that you may lack strength in your body and muscles because they are unable to return to full resting length, therefore unable to contract fully, when you invite them to engage?There is a

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DOES YOUR WORKOUT ROUTINE CREATE PAIN IN YOUR BODY?

March 18, 2019

All movement should make you feel great during, after and days later. You might feel that you have worked hard, but you really should not be in pain. Keeping your muscles strong is important, muscles are meant to be able to contract and release well to do their jobs effectively and efficiently. Does your workout routine create pain in your body?Certainly it is important to stay healthy and your body needs to move and exercise. You need to pump your muscles to support lymphatic drainage or in oth

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