The other week when I met with my pilates instructor, she asked if there was anything I was feeling in my body that day, like she usually does. I mentioned that I’d like to open up my side ribs to have more access to my breath. While we were releasing the side of my right ribs, I noticed my R hip drop down so it was more relaxed. 

The more I learn about the nervous system, the more I see the effects in the body when it’s stressed. Every single person that I work on needs some sort of attention to their nervous system. Most need help hitting the reset button, which is why I created the nervous system reset years ago. Some need the physical manipulation and reminder to be easy with the parts of their body where they tend to hold their stress. 

When people are over-working or putting too much of their energy into meeting work demands, I’ll notice that their spine tends to rotate to the right in their lower back. When they’re feeling like they need to present in a certain way or alter who they are in order to be accepted, their spine tends to rotate to the left in the low back. 

Do you notice the spot in your body where you hold tension? You know, the one where muscles are engaged without you knowing? If you have no idea what I’m talking about, try focusing on something. For me, it can be doing the dishes or reading something where the details are important. Other situations could be when you’re having an uncomfortable conversation or being vulnerable in some way. 

There's a whole system in your body that helps break down what you take in, absorb its nutrients, and discard the waste. As the temperatures get cooler and we inch towards winter, things naturally take a different pace. Digestion is one way we slow down from the changes in season. Here are some things to play with if you notice a slow down in your body. 

Boundaries are great to have because they let us know what’s ok and what’s not ok. They give us a structure so that we can feel safe in situations; they delineate one from another. The types of boundaries we have in the body are:

1. Joints

2. Sphincters 

3. Golgi tendon organs

When clients come to me with headaches or migraines, there are 2 common threads:

1. A misalignment in the cervical spine (neck)
2. More time spent in the logic/thinking and less time in the body

Of course there are the other things that lead to headaches and migraines which are:

The shoulders can be complicated to figure out how to treat because they are THE most mobile part of your body. There are actually 4 joints that are part of the shoulder girdle, but we’ll keep things simple for our purposes. 

Let’s think of the shoulders as the shelf for the head and the neck. If the shelf is angled, or tilted forward, the weight of the head and the neck will put extra strain on all the muscles that support that upper part of the body.