Postpartum Recovery – Resources You Can Use at Home (and how to avoid the mistake that led me to chronic pain)

So that's my first suggestion. Don't try to DIY your post-partum journey. It isn't the same as a regular muscle, joint or even disk injury. Your pelvis may not have stabilized, your abdominals haven't recovered from pregnancy, and your posture hasn't recovered. Instead of a quick 2-4 week recovery, I spent 8 months frequently in too much pain to turn over, wincing when I lift 20 pounds of baby, and with a stabbing pain when I hopped down out of our car.

I very strongly suggest working with your pre-and post natal medical team postpartum. Shoulder, back, neck, hip, glute and arm injuries are common, and most new parents don't have the energy to work on themselves. Even your regular RMT, physio or acupuncturist may want to take extra training to strengthen their knowledge of how your body knits itself back together post-partum - it's just as incredible as the journey of pregnancy itself.

Massage Therapy Homecare – Range of Motion Exercises

My patients are used to having "homework" as an important piece of their treatment plan. Hands-on massage therapy time is important, but to make progress, I ask my patients to be active participants. I assign different exercises and hydrotherapy depending upon the patient's condition, lifestyle, and stage of healing. A common first step is range…

Resetting my Yoga Practice

Instead of joining a yoga studio with full hour or 90 minute classes, I managed my practice at home, using a combination of class sequences that I developed myself (modifications of the 12 asana sequence taught in Sivananda yoga) , and short sequences from youtube. I varied the length of my practices, and focused more on supporting myself than on increasing flexibility. After 3 weeks of yoga I very slowly began to fit my mental image of what a yogi looks like, with adjusted expectations, forgiveness, and plenty of room for growth.

Massage Therapy and Fibro Flares

I treat patients with fibromyalgia between flares to manage pain, stress and inflammation. Some patients have told me that if they feel a flare coming, massage can help them to head it off

Easy Yoga In a Chair

Action Read is running a great wellness program at the moment. Yesterday I joined in with a simple 20 minute yoga session suitable for almost any age and ability. Their group is fun and talkative, we had a lot of laughs doing yoga in such a small space. This routine is perfect for a novice…

Welcome to Yoga in Guelph

I teach beginner and intermediate yoga classes  on a drop in basis, and in private classes for individuals, friends, groups of co-workers, sports parents or anyone else. See my schedule for current drop in class times, locations and rates Investigate options for individual and group private classes Yoga teachers, studios, and gyms looking to book…