Greetings, Reader!
On the heels of a new name and bolder identity, this week marked Lotus' fourth birthday!
To celebrate, I'll be at the Shelburne Farmer's Market tomorrow from 9 am - 2 pm offering FREE mini-CranioSacral Therapy sessions at my booth by the town offices and a free 20-minute qigong practice at 10 am by the Pierson Library.
If you are in VT, I'd love for you to stop by.
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Whether you've been reading my weekly messages for a decade, journeying with me through each evolution, or you are new to this community, thank you for being here.
With a new chapter beginning for Lotus Embodied Healing, I wanted to take a moment to re-introduce myself and answer some of the questions folks have submitted through the Ask Me Anything form linked at the bottom of each email. Want to learn more? Submit your own question. Seriously. Ask me anything!
If we haven't met personally yet: Hi, I'm Rachel!
I'm a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Certified Chronic Pain Specialist, CranioSacral and SomatoEmotional Release therapist, and contemplative practitioner rooted in the wisdom traditions of yoga, Ayurveda, qigong, and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
I help people who are in Pain (for me Pain with a capital 'p' encompasses not just physical pain, but all types of suffering) radically transform the way their nervous systems relate to the world so they can break out of survival mode and live the life they were meant to live.
I built this practice because I saw the medical system continually fail people living with chronic pain, autoimmune disorders, nervous system dysregulation, and trauma. I knew, not just from my years of clinical practice, but from my own experience as a person with a sensitive nervous system navigating chronic pain, that the system wasn't built for us, so I built one that is.
When you come to my clinic feeling exhausted, misunderstood, broken, or told that your symptoms don't matter, I see you. I know what it feels like when pain consumes your entire awareness and steals your personality. I know that your symptoms get louder when you feel like your providers aren't taking you seriously, and that every inconclusive test, specialist who can't help you and punts you to someone else, and failed treatment just convinces your nervous system to work even harder to protect you.
Lotus Embodied Healing is dedicated to:
- The Caretakers & High Achievers: You are used to holding up everyone else, but rarely have a space where you are supported.
- The Cycle Breakers: You are ready to unlearn the survival patterns (overworking, overthinking, perfectionism, people-pleasing) that once kept you safe, but now keep you from resting and healing.
- The Depth Seekers: You don't want to numb out, run away, or live your life on autopilot. You are ready to travel through the depths of your Pain to reclaim your magic and become radically present for what matters most in your life.
HOW I GOT HERE: THE CRISIS I WASN'T WILLING TO TOLERATE
Early in my career as a physical therapist, I got injured by another physical therapist. She practiced a type of PT called Postural Restoration that moves the body into hyper-specific positions in an attempt to fix misalignment and asymmetries.
PRI works really well for some people, but I'm hypermobile, and the combination of too much force and too much stretch caused a double crush and traction injury of the bundle of nerves that run from my neck down to my fingers.
At the height of my injury, I was in severe pain and I lost the function in my right arm. I couldn't grip, which meant that I couldn't do simple, daily tasks, like write with a pen, cut my own food with a fork and knife, or get dressed by myself.
My nervous system was also freaking out. I was freezing cold all the time, and felt like I was shaking on the inside. I was tired, but wired, and I had trouble focusing. I became incredibly sensitive, and little things, like cold temperatures, would activate big, protective pain responses inside my body.
I went through all of the traditional tests and treatments, but conventional medicine didn’t work, and no one could explain why. The longer the pain persisted, the more medical gaslighting and minimization I experienced. Doctors started implying it was either "all in my head," or that I would just have to accept that I would never recover.
Thank goodness I wasn't willing to accept that.
THE TRANSFORMATION
I didn't break my own pain cycle through force or logic. I recovered by teaching my nervous system how to feel safe again, and changing its predictive patterning so it no longer interpreted things like cold temperatures, stretching, or carrying heavy items as threatening.
- CranioSacral Therapy brought me back to my body and taught my nervous system that it was safe enough to unwind the armor it was using for protection.
- Pain neuroscience showed me that my body wasn't broken, and taught me how to actually treat the root causes of pain rather than just mask the symptoms.
- Ayurveda & TCM taught me how to speak my body's language and stop overriding the signals it was sending.
- Embodied practices helped me shift out of survival mode and be present with what I was feeling without reactivating the fear-based pain alarm.
My injury completely changed the way I practice by showing me that healing only happens when the nervous system feels safe.
Now, instead of trying to fix people’s bodies, I guide people through fear and hypervigilance so they can relate to their bodies from a place of presence rather than protection.
THE BIGGEST MYTH ABOUT PAIN
One of the most common questions I get asked is whether this approach can work for people who have injuries.
My Answer: When it comes to pain, the biggest myth is that structural issues (like a herniated disc, arthritis, or an old injury) mean you are destined to live in pain forever.
You can teach your nervous system to stop generating pain signals, even if a structural anomaly remains.
Culturally and individually, we spend immense energy trying to avoid feeling pain, anxiety, grief, or anger. We are culturally conditioned to push, overwork, and sacrifice our own needs. But that avoidance is an automated survival response (fight, flight, freeze, or fawn) that keeps your nervous system vigilant and defensive.
Pain is not a defect, it's a messenger pointing directly to an unmet biological or emotional need.
When it comes to healing, the only way out is through.
When you are willing, with the right support and safety, to turn toward what you feel, your body will tell you exactly what it needs to heal.
If you are struggling, I'm here, and I'm listening. Click here to book a free consultation with me.
In love and solidarity,
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Rachel
Doctor of Physical Therapy & Integrative Pain Specialist
Rewire your nervous system and break the cycles of chronic pain, depletion, burnout, and overwhelm so you can be fully present for what matters most in your life.
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Ask Me Anything
Have a question you'd love answered or a topic you'd like to learn more about? Anonymously submit your questions and musings to me and I'll respond in a future newsletter, workshop, or maybe even a podcast!
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