Manual Lymphatic Drainage

Manual Lymphatic Drainage What Is Manual Lymphatic Drainage? Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) is a specialized massage technique that is particularly beneficial for post-surgical and post-injury swelling, people who have lymph nodes that are damaged or removed, and chronic lymph conditions, such as lymphedema. Is MLD For Me? Some situations where MLD is beneficial: Before and…

Read More

Posting From Home, April 25, 2020

It feels to me like we have reached a new place in this adventure. Six weeks ago we dove into our isolation pods, a weird combination of the comfort of home and the discomfort of the unknown. We have waited and seen and here we are, confused, vulnerable, still waiting to see. The very last…

Read More

Persistence, Patience, Respect, Resilience

I did some dreamwork for the first time awhile ago wherein I set the intention of receiving wisdom from my dreams (with a little ritual to make it more than a casual request) and I got some really clear, giant, banner-like guidance in the form of these words: Persistence, Patience, Respect, Resilience. They have been…

Read More

Help for the Rotator Cuff

Awhile back I had a whole rash of people coming in with the same kind of rotator cuff issues. It inspired me to look for something they could do themselves to help with what is clearly a common problem. These “most famous on the internet” physical therapists have some basic tests for you to see…

Read More

Help for the neck

A client just asked me if there was something he could do to help his chronically stiff and achey neck on his own. Of course! I made a short playlist of YouTube videos to help this goal. First, my Somatic Experiencing training tells me that orienting is hugely important for the neck, as the desire…

Read More

The Allowing Will

Some time ago the magazine of the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration® published an excerpt from Dr. Jeffrey Maitland’s book Spacious Body: Explorations in Somatic Ontology. It was a dense and chewy read by a philosopher and Rolfer, and though it took me a while to read the whole article, his ideas have resonated in…

Read More

More on Vulnerability

A friend pointed me to this excellent Ted Talk by Brene Brown. Apparently, I’m not alone in my struggle with vulnerability, and the data shows it’s good for us. Enjoy!

Read More

Old Wounds, New Progress

I had a great experience today in my own “healing process”. I have been recently moved to tackle (again) a tricky knee I’ve been struggling with since about the age of 13 or 14. For the past year or so it has kept me from riding my bike and doing my yoga, as both activities…

Read More

Healers on Healing

I finally started reading this book a client gave me 10 years ago (I can’t believe it took me this long, but there it is) called Healers on Healing last night. One of the writers, Serge Kahili King, has a really lovely way of describing health. A couple of passages I like: “…Let’s call health…

Read More

The gift of Presence

One of the things I was taught in both massage school and my Structural Integration training was that when emotions come up for people during bodywork, the best thing that you can do for them is just to be with them, without judgment. This sounds so simple, but for the longest time I just had…

Read More