So glad you are here!
Let’s schedule our times together, and please note them down in your calendar. Next I suggest noting in your calendar when you will do your Posture Work exercise routine on your own at home. Calendaring projects our best intentions into the future and helps build habits. Please also add me into your Contacts. You and I are a team and you will likely have some questions/concerns/news/feedback to share. I don’t want you to hesitate. Reach out to me. If I don’t get back to you immediately, rest assured I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Buy the book Pain Free by Pete Egoscue and read it. Egoscue has many good books, but Pain Free is concise and can explain the method. In the book you will find guidance and targeted exercise routines that you can try, and that can supplement our work together.
This work is unique in that you and I are partners. With Posture Work, you are not laying on a table receiving care. In Posture Work you are the boss, because you hold all the information on you. You know what your goals are today, and you are in charge of your progress and success. When you select your meaningful goal, I will help you find your path to attaining it. In sessions we will co-create the exercise routine(s) based upon your input. You doing your routine daily at home and giving me feedback will be the key to your progress.
The body is so smart, it will learn from what you are asking it to do. If you respond poorly to an exercise, we will modify it or find a replacement that will work better. As you get stronger we will change the demand so you keep bringing new challenges to your body. As we find a path together, you will be gaining knowledge of what helps you, kinesthetic awareness of your body, levels of technique that change as you grow more capable and more aware, all while carving out a new daily movement habit for life.
Posture Work progress comes in many forms. This a holistic approach to health where movement is at the center. This work may result in lessening and eliminating pain, helping to prevent injury, improving performance, reducing anxiety and tension, increasing energy, improving sleep and more obviously- improving range of motion, increasing strength, reducing tightness, and maximizing function.
A Posture Work Photo Assessment is a service I offer to my clients to get an external view of their static (not moving) posture. There are four photos needed: front, back, left side and right side. In the photos I need to be able to see your kneecaps, ankles, shoulder blades… Men often submit photos wearing fitting shorts and bare chested or with a close fitting shirt, tucked in. Women, depending upon their comfort level, may wear shorts and a sports bra or a snug fitting top, tucked in. But please know, your comfort is of utmost importance to me. We will work with what level of exposure you are comfortable with.
Analysis of the static, most natural stance (not trying for “good posture”) can give us clues as to bony misalignments. Our muscles move our bones, so the exercises can help gently, consistently, using specific applied loads, tell our body that a better, more functional future awaits us.
The ultimate goal is for you to do your Posture Work every day – plus! But to start, an easy to achieve goal is the best way to build a lifelong habit. So perhaps two to three times a week to start would be reasonable. My plan is that you will get excited because you are feeling better, and those small changes in habit will become a daily passion for movement. Feeling better brings a world of possibilities – it’s addictive!
Doing Posture Work each day is the path to success. Many people fit it in as they can. Since life happens, and some movement is better than none, perhaps we can also devise a short routine for busy days. Or perhaps a pre and a post routine that you can do before and after your activity of choice; to warm you up with good alignment before, and then realign you after with a cool down. Maybe you do your routine before bed to experiment if it helps with sleep. But ideally, the first thing in the morning is optimal. It helps realign you after sleeping, which can help with pain upon waking, and sets you up for a day of healthier and freer movement. As you go about your day, you will use your muscles that have been prepped for better alignment and that will accelerate your progress.
Independently, the first thing you can ask yourself is, am I doing my Posture Work daily? and am I doing it correctly? This is the baseline. If those things are solid, then it’s smart to examine your pain/movement habits in your life in general. Are you continuing to run on an ankle that is screaming at you? Are you gaming on your phone, creating neck tension and headaches from the position of your head? What is the set up at your desk, does it play into imbalance? Are you not listening to your body when it is asking for help?
Together, with your feedback we may look to shift focus. Your body is talking to you! And this is the feedback we need to listen to. It is human nature to focus on the pain: we think – my hip hurts and by working my hip – stretching, strengthening- or by resting my hip I will make it better. But counterintuitively, very often the painful part is crying out because it is overworking. It is compensating for another part of the body that is not doing its job effectively. Muscles lose balance and strength when they are not being used properly. When you bring me your feedback we can alter our direction. Revising your routine, using Functional Tests, we can more effectively use your efforts; helping to alleviate pain while continuing to work the painful area indirectly; because the exercises in Posture Work address the body as a whole.
Life is constantly throwing us curve balls. We get sick, we slip on an icy sidewalk, we fall doing our favorite activity… and we can hurt ourselves doing our Posture Work. Initially we will develop a routine that feels right for you at your current level of fitness and function, but that does not stop the possibility that you may inadvertently get a painful reaction. Again the same rules apply. If something hurts, don’t do it. Give yourself a break from any exercise that hurts for two to three days, while doing your best to keep up with the exercises that you can do pain-free. Then retest that exercise. If you can do the exercise pain free, you can reapproach it carefully – less reps, less force, less time, and rebuild. It is possible you have experienced a dramatic shift where the compensation you have been relying upon gave way all at once. I have been pleasantly surprised to see people coming back from injury or illness with this gentle approach. It’s reassuring to know you have tools you can deploy to ease your suffering. And knowing that this is your path – and it is non-linear- and your goals remain despite setbacks, then you have a direction back to health that leads to a better function and future prevention.
Single sessions are non-refundable.
Purchasing packages is a big commitment on both our parts. Some folks who are very enthusiastic, may complete their six visits in 6 weeks. Others, who pace their work with me differently may take 6 months. If you are not satisfied and wish to discontinue our work together, you can still get a full refund for the 6 session package after our first full session. After that, I will prorate the refund based on the number of visits we accomplish, or on the amount of 6 months that has passed. For example, a package consists of six visits. If you are dissatisfied at any point we will subtract $200/session from the package total for any services obtained toward that package. If you have had 3 sessions and decide this work is not for you, I would subtract 3 times $200 and refund the rest. I offer this refund policy for up to 6 months. At 6 months, the services are still yours to obtain, but no further refund will be available.