MY STORY:
I have lived with chronic back and neck pain since my teenage years and explored over a dozen different healing modalities (both through the A.M.A. and the Alternative Healing Arts) that only resulted in temporary relief. When I starting using Somatics I found comfort in knowing that my recovery was inevitable as well as under my control; I learned that I needed to listen to my body and learn how to move in a manner that did not cause pain. Simply put: PAIN IS A MESSENGER AND PAIN IS OPTIONAL!
As an active person all my life (cycling, back packing, volley ball, ultimate Frisbee, skiing, swimming, dancing, kayaking) and being a musician (violin, saxophone, marimba, harmonium, ukulele) I have continually asked my body to do some extreme things. Consequently, I experienced stress and damage which led to so much pain that I used T.E.N.S. units (Trans-cutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) to stop the pain from reaching my brain. Needing to take several medical leaves from work I learned that resting gave my body the time it needed to resolve the situations that arose from the demands I was imposing on myself. The body knows how to heal when reminded how to move in the manner in which we are designed to move. The key for me was giving my body regular reminders without imposing an unreasonable agenda on my body's current capacity.
Having found hope for a future without pain, I began to seek modalities that TAUGHT me how to move and recover from having chronically tight muscles and debilitating pain. Once I learned how to FEEL the difference between stretching and lengthening, how to stand and walk with more functional posture habits, and what to do when the pain came back, I knew I had found a more effective approach to healing. My recovery surpassed my expectations and I began training as a Hanna Somatics Educator in June 2015. I received my certification January 2017.
Through Hanna Somatics Education (H.S.E.) I have also been able to avert spinal fusion surgery and regain full function of 3 fingers that I could not lift (due to a pinched nerve in my neck and degenerative disc disease). Because of H.S.E., and the fascia work that my mentor Natalie Pace has been teaching me, I have also regained the ability to play the violin and ride my bicycle, two activities that I dearly missed being able to do without pain. This has given me renewed hope for an active life style enjoying the things that feed my spirit. I am 61 years old and feel better than I did when I was in my 30's. Getting out of chronic pain has changed my life in more ways than I could have imagined.
I have lived with chronic back and neck pain since my teenage years and explored over a dozen different healing modalities (both through the A.M.A. and the Alternative Healing Arts) that only resulted in temporary relief. When I starting using Somatics I found comfort in knowing that my recovery was inevitable as well as under my control; I learned that I needed to listen to my body and learn how to move in a manner that did not cause pain. Simply put: PAIN IS A MESSENGER AND PAIN IS OPTIONAL!
As an active person all my life (cycling, back packing, volley ball, ultimate Frisbee, skiing, swimming, dancing, kayaking) and being a musician (violin, saxophone, marimba, harmonium, ukulele) I have continually asked my body to do some extreme things. Consequently, I experienced stress and damage which led to so much pain that I used T.E.N.S. units (Trans-cutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) to stop the pain from reaching my brain. Needing to take several medical leaves from work I learned that resting gave my body the time it needed to resolve the situations that arose from the demands I was imposing on myself. The body knows how to heal when reminded how to move in the manner in which we are designed to move. The key for me was giving my body regular reminders without imposing an unreasonable agenda on my body's current capacity.
Having found hope for a future without pain, I began to seek modalities that TAUGHT me how to move and recover from having chronically tight muscles and debilitating pain. Once I learned how to FEEL the difference between stretching and lengthening, how to stand and walk with more functional posture habits, and what to do when the pain came back, I knew I had found a more effective approach to healing. My recovery surpassed my expectations and I began training as a Hanna Somatics Educator in June 2015. I received my certification January 2017.
Through Hanna Somatics Education (H.S.E.) I have also been able to avert spinal fusion surgery and regain full function of 3 fingers that I could not lift (due to a pinched nerve in my neck and degenerative disc disease). Because of H.S.E., and the fascia work that my mentor Natalie Pace has been teaching me, I have also regained the ability to play the violin and ride my bicycle, two activities that I dearly missed being able to do without pain. This has given me renewed hope for an active life style enjoying the things that feed my spirit. I am 61 years old and feel better than I did when I was in my 30's. Getting out of chronic pain has changed my life in more ways than I could have imagined.
