
Your Life and the Radio Dial Analogy
Your life and the radio dial analogy: Tuning into your body’s signals When it comes to exercising, stretching, and generally monitoring the body’s state, many
It may not be as random or unpredictable as you think!
Your body is constantly giving you feedback as it responds to your environment and activities:
All of these things are signs… hints… clues… symptoms!
This communication exists on a sliding scale, from subtle whispers to loud screams, to tell you how close or far you are from feeling your best.
It’s easy to brush off (or not notice) the early whispers, because they’re so subtle. But as things progress further towards pain and limitation, the ‘hints’ become more noticeable. Sometimes, your symptoms are still not inconvenient or uncomfortable enough to fully stop you from doing what you want to do or do some self care, but you’re definitely more aware.
It’s very common to put things off until things are so bad that quality of life is significantly impacted.
So if you’ve left things long enough that your discomforts have become quite intense, you’re not alone!
At times there IS a fairly obvious reason for your aches and pains… Some parts of life just put a lot of demand on your body.
Today, I’m talking about;
Remember, your body doesn’t speak English.
Believe it or not, pain and other symptoms are actually meant to be helpful. Your body isn’t intending to punish you… even though it may feel that way!
If your body doesn’t feel heard when it’s ‘whispering’ to you, it’s going to start ‘speaking up’ – getting louder, and louder, until it finally has your attention.
Seeking registered massage therapy is a great way to get help answering your questions, achieving some relief AND getting some ‘next steps’ for taking action.
Getting even just a bit of pain relief can take a big weight off your chest and allow you to start trying gentle stretches, exercises or simply getting through your day with a little more ease.
Massage therapy provides another great opportunity: To observe what happens as that relief fades.
The hands on aspect of a massage appointment provides temporary results – your symptoms are gradually going to come back. These early changes – where you’re still feeling pretty good, just not as good as before – are some of the subtle signs your body communicates with.
Your RMT will also have some suggestions for things you can try at home to try to prolong your relief, and get back some of that relief as it fades. How well the homecare worked for you can be discussed at your next appointment, and modifications or different suggestions can be made.
Now, if it sounds overwhelming to do that observational work on your own in between appointments, Heather offers Yoga Therapy!
In Yoga Therapy time is spent exploring positions and movements alongside a professional so that the things you feel or have questions about can be discussed in real time.
It cuts down on time spent in trial and error – movements and other self care methods can be tried, discussed and modified in one session. When you go home, you will know exactly what you are doing, how to do it, and what to pay attention to. Heather often provides a short video of herself reviewing your movements as well so that you can replay it at home!
With Yoga Therapy, you can:
A massage therapy appointment must include assessment and home care recommendation, and that’s what Yoga Therapy!
By borrowing concepts, movements, constructive rest and breath work from Yoga Therapy to incorporate into your massage appointment, you can have it all! Get the relief from manual therapy and the real-time guidance around your body’s response to movement in one session. Leave your appointment feeling better and feeling confident about what you can do for yourself at home!
This is very customizable. How time is split between massage and movement will be based on your goals and needs. Plus, since all aspects of a massage therapy appointment are covered, we can still bill to your insurance.
If you’re ready to learn your body’s language, you can book a massage with any of our Registered Massage Therapists, or you can book 1:1 Yoga Therapy and Massage/Yoga Therapy blended appointments with Heather!
This blog entry was written by Heather and is based on what she has seen resonate with, and work for her clientele for over a decade. She is a career student who keeps her massage and yoga therapy training current, and does her best to keep up with the newest research and evidence.
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