Greetings, Reader! I have a confession to make... I'm a physical therapist, but I failed PT treatment as a patient (or maybe I should say that PT failed me). I went to PT as a patient every week for years and I still had chronic pain. Most sessions would provide temporary relief, but didn't get to the root of the problem, despite the fact that I saw two different highly skilled clinicians and received excellent, supportive care. I see a lot of patients who are reluctant to try physical...
17 days ago • 5 min read
Greetings, Reader! The heart of my work is helping the nervous system feel safe so it can resonate with, instead of react to, the world. Having the capacity to meet this heartbreaking world with openness is no small task. I find myself alternating between rage, grief, and hope, all of which are rooted in love. It is love that guides my belief that all beings should be treated with dignity, and that it is our responsibility as citizens of this world to care for each other. It is love that...
23 days ago • 3 min read
Greetings, Reader! My mom was a nurse and she is the unofficial medical consultant for everyone she knows. [She reads this newsletter every week. Hi, mom!] When someone calls her with questions about pain or mysterious symptoms, she often loops me in. I love that she trusts my professional opinion, and think it is cute that she thinks I'll have a magical tea for pretty much every problem 🤩. [I usually do!] One of our family friends has been having horrible hip pain. It has gotten so bad that...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Greetings, Reader! There is a scene in the movie Forget Paris where the grandfather character is a passenger in the car and he narrates everything he sees while Billy Crystal barely conceals his irritation. The kiddlings in our family tease my mother-in-law for doing the same thing. When we are in the car, she says out loud everything she sees, no matter how mundane: stop sign, dandelions, car dealer, blue bike. I've been experiencing a new pain recently and it has provoked a lot of fear. My...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Greetings, Reader! I've been hearing a lot of people use phrases like "Pain is in the brain" to talk about chronic pain, and I want to rephrase that statement, because it can easily be misinterpreted as "Pain is all in your head." If you've lived with chronic pain, you are probably tired of having to prove that your pain is real, so I think it is important that we explain pain with words that do not have that undertone. Pain is not all in your head. Saying "Pain is in the Brain" sounds...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Greetings, Reader! I had the honor of being one of the featured speakers at the Vermont Womenpreneur's Summit this week! The theme was gratitude, and I spoke about how my journey through the underworld of chronic pain taught me how to listen to my body's wisdom and develop a nervous system-informed approach to pain. It was so powerful to share my story publicly, and inspiring to hear the other speakers' stories. We each had such different experiences and perspectives, but the common thread...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Greetings, Reader! When something in my body hurts, I usually jump to three questions: What's wrong? Is it serious? How do I make it stop? As a physical therapist and a chronic pain survivor, I know how scary pain can be, especially if you've had difficulty resolving pain in the past. It is a natural instinct to want to get rid of the pain as soon as possible because, let's face it, pain is not pleasant. In fact, the (now outdated) definition of pain that I learned in grad school was: Pain is...
2 months ago • 4 min read
“There is a place in the heart where everything meets.Go there if you want to find me.Mind, senses, soul, eternity, all are there.Are you there? Enter the bowl of vastness that is the heart.Give yourself to it with total abandon,listen to the song that is always resonating there. Quiet ecstasy is there —and a steady, regal sense of resting in a perfect spot. Once you know the waythe nature of attention will call you to return,again and again, and be saturated with knowing,'I belong here, I am...
2 months ago • 2 min read
"A congested heart, one burdened with unexpressed sorrow, cannot stay open to the world and, consequently, cannot be fully available for the healing work so needed at this time." ~ Francis Weller Greetings, Reader! One of my favorite qigong forms from the spring series I've been teaching is called punching with an angry gaze. It is a simple movement that starts in a steady, grounded stance. On each exhale, you slowly and deliberately punch forward with alternating hands. The movement is...
2 months ago • 3 min read