A Primer on Pain
Pain is a subject that’s very personal to me. For about half of my life I’ve suffered from varying degrees of chronic pain that has substantially altered the course of my life. In dealing with this I’ve seen PTs, OTs, DCs, MDs, and LMTs. I’ve tried ART, IASTM, PRI, DNS, IMS, SMR, and LMNOP. That last one might not be real. Each of these things helped in varying degrees and I am grateful to everyone who took the time to try to help me in a time of need. However, one thing that was distinctly lacking throughout this process was education on pain. Understanding pain has greatly empowered me and improved my quality of life, which is why I’m so passionate about pain education for others. I hope that by the end of this article that readers will have a better understanding of how pain works so that they are better equipped to be in control of their own health.
read moreA Look in the Mirror
In the small acting class above the theater, the students got up to leave, but they were halted by the teacher’s voice, “For homework I want you all to look at yourself in the mirror and write down 5 things you notice about how you look. Bring your list with you next class.” The students all nodded and some jotted down the assignment as they left the room.
read moreLessons from Ian Waterman
When Ian Waterman was 19, he contracted an incredibly rare disease of the nervous system, which left him completely unable to feel where his body was from the neck down. This disease had destroyed his proprioceptors, the sense organs that signal where the body is in space. There was no apparent physical damage and everything still functioned as it should, but Ian could not feel any of it. In many ways Ian had lost his body.
read moreDefining Good Form
If you talk to almost any trainer, coach, or therapist, they’ll all tell you that good exercise form matters. Good form is designed to keep you safe and move you closer toward your goals, but what is good form? For the purpose of this article I’ll define form as: the way a person looks and feels when performing a choreographed sequence of movements with their body. Defining what makes form good is far less clear.
read moreCandles & Card Games: Navigating the Unknown
One of my favorite things about the health and wellness industry is that each aspect the field has such great breadth and depth that my learning is never done. Since embarking on my journey into the field I’ve made a point to study at very least 1 hour a day, often devoting 5 plus hours to my education and foolishly foregoing sleep in some marathon knowledge binges. Yet despite what I would consider a wide knowledge base, there are very few things I am certain of.
read moreFriend and Follow Me
