Pregnancy

Pregnancy is an exciting time in your life. However your body will be changing rapidly as it adapts to the growth of baby. The weight of the expanding uterus causes your center of gravity to shift creating new muscle patterns that can put undue strain on your joints. A bodywork session will help with the physical and the emotional changes you are going through. Post natal care is important to help the support structures of the womb realign and tighten and to assist in healing the pelvic floor muscles. Sitting, walking, running, all require a supported, but unrestricted, pelvis and hip joints. During our session we will address the muscles of the pelvic floor. I can hear you asking, “what are they and why do they need to be flexible?” Our pelvic floor supports our urinary and deification functions and are primary players in childbirth. Why we pay attention is because our adductors, our internal hip rotators and our hip flexors, otherwise known as psoas muscles, are all anchored to the pelvic floor. Your upper body is under strain from the weight shifting to the front and middle of your body. This places strain on upper back and neck muscles. Baby’s growth also shifts your organs upwards making breathing difficult. Releasing the respiratory diaphragm can help with this.

Endurance Running

Marathon runners, to 5k racers all exert a strain on their bodies. The field of endurance running specifically has many apps, diets, and training regimens to follow. However all of these regimens have one thing in common, that is to strain the body, and then allow it to recover. Adding bodywork into your training regimen will increase your body's ability to recover quickly, and correctly. Many runners joke about always running while injured, but that is not needed. Recovery, and repair is the most important aspect of training. Bodywork will help by breaking up old scar tissue and separating both the muscle bundles and individual muscle fibers.

Long, flexible muscle fibers increase performance and recover faster post event. Increasing circulation of blood and fluids aids in post recovery and especially in transporting oxygen and substances the cells and tissues need to repair themselves. Supplements and nutrition are important, but it will not matter if those nutrients do not get to where they are needed.

Internal hip rotators, the most common being piriformis, illiopsoas or hip flexors, and attention to your “walk cycle” are a big part of these sessions.

Golf

Golf is a game where the mind leads the body, and does so probably more so than in any other sport. This mind body connection is more than important, it is mandatory. If a twinge or a tightness happens in your swing, that mental distraction could cost you yardage on a drive, or strokes on the green. If your body is working fluidly, and your fluids are freely moving throughout your system, your swing will end up being as perfect as you can imagine it in your head. To this end attention to your fluid systems is indicated. Also focus will be directed at “walk cycle” and hip and pelvic function.

Peak Performance for Weekend Warriors

Lets face it, most of us are not Olympic athletes, and we do not have sponsorships that pay our bills when we train. Whether we are training for a MUDder run, our first 5k, a backpacking trip, or if we are finally clearing out the flowerbeds and planting those shrubs we always wanted, our bodies are not conditioned to absorb all the stress that our mind thinks we can handle. That is OK, and it is how we grow. However, we need to let our bodies heal. If we are not accustomed to the strain we put our bodies through, our muscles get overused and the tissues can tear. These abused muscles will protest meaning you will feel pain and stiffness. Bodywork can help decrease recovery time while increasing your flexibility. Doing fun stuff on the weekend shouldn’t make you feel old or out of shape.

Trauma

I’ve been exploring trauma for twenty-three years. I recently asked myself why I’m still out there asking questions and looking for training workshops with different approaches to trauma. The answer is that what I do offer my clients has limits. These limits are that my hands-on approach with bodywork doesn’t directly affect the central nervous system. P.T.S.D for example requires a different approach. During years of study and practice I gained the skills to approach trauma by stabilizing the nervous system first, then allowing the trauma to gradually unfold itself and be processed. When we experience trauma our systems are overwhelmed. This overwhelm is absorbed into our tissues and our brain locks the most painful emotions and memories deep into our cells. Alchemical Alignment is trauma resolution bodywork. This isn’t about touch although safe touch can be offered. More accurately this is an energy modality combining my training in trauma resolution with my skills in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy. I recognize that what I offer is different. I know this because at least once a week I am told this by someone who found my website, liked what they read about my approach, and scheduled a session.

Musicians

We hold instruments, or postures for hours a day, practicing the same motions over and over again. We pour our emotions out, and what is that? a tweak in my back?

This is normal for musicians who have to deal with repetitive strain injuries all the time, and the emotional effects of those injuries as well. Cases of focal dystonia, performance anxiety, and joint degradation can be traced back to the body not operating efficiently.

An old musician axiom is "work smarter not harder" and this should ring true for our bodies. Bodywork can treat and identify most repetitive strain injuries before they happen

String players deal with back and shoulder pain. Regular bodywork can identify and relay the overused muscles and spread the load to the entire mechanism

Singers and wind players move lots of air, and those respiration muscles can get overworked. any slight addition of tension to this mechanism can destroy a musician's sound, or strain a singer's voice.

Pianists and guitar players have to deal in siting in the same position for long periods of time, and unknowingly this can lead to back aches, stinted muscles, and all sorts of long term playing issues

Musicians spend lots of money repairing and maintain their instruments, so investing in bodywork will help you maintain yourself.

Releasing the respiratory, thoracic and pelvic diaphragms. Balancing the shoulder girdle with the pelvic girdle can greatly increase ease throughout the body structure.

Everyday Aches and Pain

Sitting at a desk, typing, or chasing a child around can create the same stress patterns in the average human as you can develop training for the Olympics. Many people deal with problems everyday by taking ibuprofen, or attributing their pain to old age. If you think you don't feel as good as you used to, give Bodywork a try. From your first session you will re-discover the body you took for granted until one day it fought back!

Who Needs Bodywork?