Picture by Belle Co at Pexels Have you ever walked away from an interaction feeling utterly drained? It’s not just in your head—often it comes down to how we manage and protect our energy. Grounding and containment may sound similar, but they play very different roles. when it comes to managing our boundaries. Without containment, our energy can leak out or soak up what doesn’t belong to us, leaving us depleted, overwhelmed, or carrying emotions that aren’t even ours. Contain

Understanding Medical Trauma: The Hidden Impact of Surgery   Is Surgery Considered Medical Trauma? For many individuals, the smell of bleach, the site of a medical appointment on the calendar, an image of a doctor, or seeing a hospital can trigger severe anxiety and panic. These reactions often stem from what is known as medical trauma.   What is Medical Trauma?   Medical trauma refers to the psychological distress and emotional upheaval experienced by individuals who feel ov

Our nervous system is in a continual state of internal contraction and expansion. In contraction, our body up-regulates into sympathetic response, with blood rushing to muscles to energize and mobilize us. Then, in expansion our body down-regulates into a parasympathetic, restful state. This is an automatic, harmonic balance within us.   This rhythm is also noted in our breathing. When we inhale our heart rate (HR) increases and we go into a sympathetic or more energized stat

As we approach the end of the year, it's important to reflect on the various emotions we've experienced throughout 2023. One emotion people may notice is anger. Anger can feel like a surge, a fire within, causing us to feel ready to fight. Other times, anger can feel so energized we may feel fearful of it. What is Anger? Take a moment to think about a situation that made you angry. Can you see that anger is a part of an evolutionary way of protecting yourself and ensuring y

The other day, a client came in to see me with complaints of shoulder and low back pain. Instead of performing manual therapy to relieve her pain, I took another approach that I am going to call BodyMind Mapping. I asked her to write a list of five ‘negative’ thought statements she most often has. Then, I asked her to: 1) Repeat each thought aloud, 2) Notice what emotion was connected to that thought, 3) Notice where she felt that emotion in her body, and 4) Write each statem

Today, I watched a fly on the window, trying to find freedom as it jumped around looking at the world on the other side. I opened the window so it could be free, but instinctually, it flew away. I left the window open, backed away, and watched. It took several times leaping from window to window until finally the fly found the open window and set itself free. Having long covid or another chronic illness sometimes feels like being trapped like the fly, looking out to the worl

The other day I saw a client who was feeling #anxious and complaining of shoulder and low back #pain. Instead of performing manual therapy to relieve her pain, I took another approach that I am going to call Emotional Body Mapping.  I asked her to write a list of all the ‘negative’ thoughts she most often has. Then, I asked her to repeat each statement aloud one-by-one and notice what emotion was connected to that statement and where she felt it in her body. She felt three of

The Gut and Brain are closely linked. Gut Inflammation plays a key role in illness, pain, and emotions. Some anti-inflammatory tips