Have you ever really stopped to think about just how complex and mind-boggling you are?

Well, I've been thinking about it. And I've been thinking about how many descriptions and metaphors I've used in the last 15 years or so to try and describe our selves to my clients.

​It's time to make a series out of those descriptions.

Everyone is different, yes, but we're all very similar too. And our bodies tend to move (or not) in familiar (at least to me) ways. 

The more you can understand about these functional, "physiology" ideas, the more you'll understand the deep, intertwined connections you have- why your breathing is connected to your digestion and your knee pain and your hearing and vision, for example.

This leads you down the rosy path of "the foot bone is connected to so much more than the ankle bone" as one of my teachers Claire Mockridge says. Why do you care? Living with ease and grace means avoiding strain and overwhelm, and since we tend to be so much more familiar with the latter, the former takes deliberate awareness. 

Hence, this series happening about monthly, where I'll start introducing you to your own self! Deliberately, cheekily, colorfully, and clearly.

Coming up first: 

• Your ribs are supposed to move like fireplace bellows. Do yours?
• Your feet aren't just the rubber bottom of a pogo stick, bouncing you around!
• Do you have space between your bones?
• Your spine is like a stack of tea cups...

Do you have any body movement questions you want answered? I'm serving the cheek here, nothing dirty or NSFW.

Plants can help us in a variety of ways through all of our healing processes. They can:
🌼 help prevent infection of open wounds, decreasing the immune system’s workload
🌼 decrease pain
🌼 cool a site when swelling gets too much
🌼 increase lymph flow when it’s not getting out of a site and things are getting crowded
🌼 normalize the inflammation response when it needs to increase or decrease but isn’t
🌼 support the healing of specific tissues like nerves, blood vessels, connective tissue, or gut lining

Now, I’d like to make it clear here that I’m talking about the kinds of injuries you’d commonly have no problem dealing with yourself. If it’s anything outside of your comfort zone, SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP. 

So how, exactly, can herbs help your feet and pelvic floor (and everything else) heal? There’s a couple of specific herbs to tell you about, and a couple of common combos you’ll find at health food or herb shops.

Let’s take your feet as an example. You’ve been listening to this Paula person online, and you’re using your feet more, getting more texture in your walking surfaces, turning them to parallel several times a day, and things are getting a bit uncomfortable. Maybe your feet are tired and a little tender, maybe your hips and knees are getting used in new ways and are a little sore.

Also worth noting here is Magnesium in all its glorious forms- crystals, sprays, gels, balms, rollers, sticks, and internal supplements like powders, tablets, and liquids. Magnesium does a lot of things so let me explain it like this- your muscles need Mg to relax (like, at all. As in, the opposite of contract), and tension restricts circulation. So I always, always suggest Mg supplements internally or externally for anything that hurts for more than a day. Be warned though, your digestive tract is a muscle too- excess Mg makes it hard for things like the colon to hold onto its contents since it’s, you know, relaxed. Go easy on the Mg supplements till you know your tolerance!

On the topic of inflammation, there's SO MUCH to say! Don't get overwhelmed by how much information is available out there. Here's my Rules of Thumbs:

1. Inflammation isn't always bad- it's the process your body uses to heal, so in some capacity it's very necessary
2. Inflammation often goes overboard and that's usually not your body's fault, but during the overboard process it's also not the time to debate particulars!
3. Inflammation will be caused by an injury, and can also be exacerbated by the healing. Treating it like it's its own isolated problem misses out on root causes.
4. When it goes overboard my go-to's are Turmeric (either as supplements or as food- you can sprinkle Turmeric on or in soooo many things, and Golden Milk is fabulous) and Quercetin (also as supplements or as food; it's a component of all the alliums like Onions and Garlic)
5. When you're deciding between putting heat or ice on an injury, go with your gut instinct. Heat will increase circulation and can speed healing, but swelling restricts that same circulation. Ice will reduce swelling and deaden nerve endings to ease pain and discomfort, but it will also restrict circulation and slow down healing. Use what feels right to you. 

This is the quick and dirty list of First Steps to working with herbal remedies to help heal injuries and inflammation. There's lots more that can (and has been and will be) said! But when find yourself in the first throes of injury, these are my suggestions. ​

​In my garden, in someone else's garden that I happen upon while exploring, in tea, in cakes, in sachets, in sleep masks, in wands, in wreaths, in lotions, in baths, in the air, in my water...

There's almost no end to the ways I love Lavender. There's also almost no end to the ways Lavender loves us back!

It cools- significantly. I'm decidedly NOT on the essential oil bandwagon (that's a different soap box for a different day) but as a burn remedy Lav EO has its own spot in my kitchen.

It's analgesic- significantly. Again with the burns, and also with bumps, bruises, headaches, sore muscles. Good quality lotions, bath goodies, and hydrosols (a la Barefoot Botanicals- not an ad, just a fan) are my fav applications.

It's antimicrobial, like most of the Mediterranean herbs. In addition to further helping burns and wounds, this gives it a sharp edge to taste and flavor, similar to what Sage, Thyme, and Oregano have going for them- as compared to the incomparable softness of Rose. I like exploiting this in savory cooking, like in roasted meats with cranberry and red wine. Just saying.

It's relaxing, antispasmodic, and generally expansive. Think of thinking, circulation, muscle and joint fluidity- all things that benefit from more openness.

It's soapy, which comes in handy when zhuzhed up with water for washing delicate fabrics or skin, and not so much when over done in baking or beer (voice of experience here. Trust me.)

Having trouble growing Lavender? She's a dry wit- try replanting with a good amount of sand around her roots to avoid wet feet.

How do you love your Lavender? Comment below with your favs!

The foundation of the training you'll get from me is from the Your Pelvic Matters program, a pelvic floor rehab system that works with alignment, strengthening, and stretching to improve pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD).

Spoiler alert- MOST of us have SOME kind of PFD, at least sometimes.

In my full body approach, I work with people who deal with: 

• Stress incontinence
• Abdominal separation 
• Early stage prolapse
• Hiatal hernia or reflux
• Hip and low back pain from poor posture or muscle weakness

Oh, this sounds like you? And you want to fix it? OK! Here's a list. In a nutshell, you need to:

• Sit better (if you must sit, or vary the way you sit eg floor sitting)
• Stand better (I teach you how to do this in every class setting on my timetable, so no excuses)
• Walk and move more (but you need to learn how to stand better for you to be able to move and walk better, so you can sort of see how these things are indeed connected)
• Strengthen your glutes (a huge role in relieving pelvic pain, sciatica and sneeze wee is building yourself a strong butt, which incidentally is linked to walking better - you see - I can find a tenuous link to everything!)
• Release your hamstrings (particularly if sneeze wee is something you suffer with - it tells me your pelvic floor is possibly too tight)
• Teach your core to switch on reflexively (which means you don't "draw it in" all the time, or at all - you let it anticipate and adapt to the load you're asking it to bear), and finally
• Learn to breathe better (because you can't get a reflexive core, if you're not breathing into your ribs, and breathing better can also help pelvic floor/core synergy too)

 
And, there you have it! 
 
That's quite an extensive list as you can see, but if you've ever asked me a question along the lines of:
 
"What exercises are good for....?"
 
I rarely if ever answer it by listing my "go to" exercises, because I look at the body as a whole unit, and just sending you away with 4 movements to do in isolation isn't going to relieve your symptoms.
 
You've got to take some responsibility for your pain and actions going forwards too, you see.
 
If you're concerned that any symptom you're suffering with is not going away, it's probably time to get in touch with me, don't you think?

I teach 1:1 clients all the time, and next month the next round of my semi-private program the Foot to Forehead Fix opens again.

It's a frequently asked question: 

But aren’t you an herbalist? Or are you a movement teacher?

My philosophy is simple- if it helps you be well, it’s fair game to include in my whole body approach to wellness. Boom.

Lymph is a super simple example (this is all the body fluid that’s not actively in your blood right now. It’s in and in between cells, and in lymph vessels and nodes, washing away waste products like old cells and dead bacteria. But the lymph system doesn’t have a pump like the heart in the circulatory system, it relies on the body moving for it to move.)

Lymph can be supported materially by:

• Drinking enough water
• Herbs that can support or stimulate movement
• Reducing inflammation and stress

It can also be supported manually by:

• Dry brushing
• Hot and cold shower rinsing
• Massage
• Correcting posture to straighten out the channels
• Aerobic, bouncing, or functional exercise to add movement

My practice integrates the manual and the material- I’ll teach you to move, stand, and sit right AND how to support your body from the inside. It’s a whole body approach that’s really, actually holistic- inside and out, physical and herbal, consistent and persistent. 

Check out my services here and get to work with me to feel better yourself

Not only does this allow your digestive organs to practice contracting down to their smallest size, the emptiness allows time for any needed repair and construction work to happen. 

​Give your digestive organs a break, and a chance to change sizes. Give the lymph fluid and connective tissue around your organs some space, and some fresh blood flow. And give all the tissues a chance to heal: the GI tract really has a lot of constant damage to repair, so a pause gives all this a chance to happen.

Herbal remedy? Aperitif? Morning bowel stimulant? Yes! 

The bitter taste is an amazing actor in our bodies- not only do our tongues taste bitter, but we have those same bitter taste receptors in all kinds of other body tissues too (like our lungs and kidneys). When we TASTE bitter, all sorts of things happen all over the body.

Specifically regarding digestion::

• Smooth muscles relaxes, so there's less tension in the gut
• Digestive juices like saliva and bile are stimulated
• Peristalsis (movement of the intestines) is stimulated
• Sweet cravings are often diminished
• Circulation is stimulated, improving digestion, metabolism, and healing of inflammation
• and more!

You can find alcohol-based bitters 3 main ways.

1. In little bottles at the liquor store, like Angostura, Peychaud's, and many small batch brands
2. In big bottles at the liquor store, like Campari, Aperol, Fernet Branca, and again, many artisan brands
3. In little bottles at the health food store, like Swedish Bitters, Urban Moonshine brand, and many small herbal makers brands

The rule of thumb is if it's in a big bottle you can sip it neat, if it's in a little bottle it's for flavoring or small dosages

Food based bitters include liquids like Coffee and greens like Dandelion, Escarole, and Radicchio, as well as Chocolate and Cacao nibs.

Dandelion root, Artichoke leaf, Bitter Orange peel, Gentian, Blue Vervain, Angelica, and Horehound are all bitter herbs you may see on some ingredient lists as well. 

Practice these 4 exercises for your Digestive System, and let me know how you're feeling! And Learn more about exercising your insides and outsides, for structural and systemic health, in my Foot to Forehead Fix program.

Can you lift your big toe- without using your hands? Why should you care?

This is important because tension in your feet is a good indicator of also having tension in your pelvic floor, neither of which is good for us.

In my experience, almost all of the aches and pains we deal with are somehow connected to the hips and pelvis. A healthy pelvic region requires a balance of strength and mobility, and VERY often the clients I see don’t have either of these. 

Simply put, your pelvic floor is the very foundation of how you move- and how you feel when you move. Not having good strength and mobility makes for a messy chain reaction up and down the body, and this is why I’m always working with clients on the feet from day 1, regardless of what else we’re also working on.

Start trying to move that big toe. It needs a combination of muscle strength and nerves to tell it to, and this takes time. I’ve read that nerves can grow about 1 inch per month, so this won’t happen tomorrow. But if you practice (all of life is a practice, isn't it?) you’ll get there.

P.S.- You’ll probably also see some other improvements up and down the chain too. Everything’s connected, after all.

P.P.S.- Want some extra help? I can do that! Sign up for a private session with me.

​Oh you rascal, Peppermint. Every time someone say "Peppermint does this!" we have to add, "Yes, but..."!

Peppermint chills, then it warms. It tingles, and also it relaxes. It aids digestion, but can exacerbate reflux. It's a morning tea AND a before-bed tea. What ARE you??

(Like all the plants) Peppermint is a personality. We can't put it in a single box, any more than YOU can be put in a single box. Instead of "what does it do?" ask "how does it work?"

🌼 Menthol cools tissues, which stimulates circulation. Both of these help relieve pain and inflammation

🌼 Herbnerd word: AMPHOTERIC. Peppermint brings down high things, like energy at the end of the day, and jazzes up low things, like energy in the mornings. It normalizes levels, from any direction.

🌼 It relaxes smooth muscle. Good for full or sluggish intestines (as is the cooling/warming pairing) but NOT always so good for a full tummy. The relaxing might go up towards the esophagus instead of downward. I prefer Peppermint with nausea but bitters after a big meal.

Peppermint People run to both extremes, and could use a bit of balance in their lives. Always run to one extreme or another? Balance the Peppermint with another herb- hot Peppermint + Licorice for cold people, cool Peppermint + Green Tea for hot people, maybe.

What does rest and restore mean to you?

Everyone has their own particulars- mine involves a hammock and a pillow and a book and a nap- but at the heart of the R&R idea is one particular body structure- the Vagus Nerve. 

Our fight-or-flight stress response, called the Sympathetic Nervous System, has a clear headquarters- it's called the HPA axis, and it's responsible for creating and regulating all our reactions to stress. (Btw, it's our culture-informed thinking that distinguishes between "good" and "bad" stress. To our HPA axis, it's all the same stress. Survival is an extraordinarily basic need, so a phone beep is the same as a tiger.)

On the flip side our Parasympathetic Nervous System, the one responsible for actually opposing the stress response and allowing us to, you know, live, is spread out all over the body. There's no HQ because we were designed to live in this state most of the time, so it's the default position. 

Take that in for a second. The PNS should be our default.

But which system are your more familiar with? Right. Fight or flight. We live in fight or flight, and it takes practice to get back to the rest and restore state. It's kinda backwards, but this is the world we have created. We have to make do. 

Even though there's no specific HQ for the R&R, the Vagus Nerve comes closest to filling that role. And guess what- you can exercise your Vagus! This means you can strengthen your ability to get back into (and stay in) your R&R state whenever stress bumps you out, because we know it will. 

Obvious, right? Well, no. We do a lot of our daily breathing with our belly or our chest, which causes problems.

(Now, breathing practices are different, and have their own purposes. I'm talking about your daily, not-really-thinking-about-it breathing fright now.)

Since your belly is so crammed with stuff, it's all held in place by an intra-abdominal pressure created by your core muscles. (This is why evisceration is so messy, but maybe just take my word for it.) When you just use your belly to breathe, it messes with this pressure and can lead to problems like pelvic floor issues, hernias, or even reflux.

Breathing with your chest is difficult, since the breastbone doesn't actually expand. This means your breaths will be shallow, making you breathe more often, and can create anxiety responses because of the pressures on your upper back spinal nerves. 

But because most of us walk around thrusting our chests out in fake good posture (fix this with Exercise #1 pleasepleaseplease), we HAVE to belly and chest breathe since the ribs have nowhere to go. ​

Once you've gotten your ribs relaxed down, it's time to reintroduce them to the breathing machine again.

Take a belt, an exercise band, or your hands and wrap them around your rib cage so you feel the front, back, and sides of the bones. Slowly take a breath in, and feel for 360 degrees of rib cage expanding, all the way around. Feel tension increase in what you have wrapped around your torso as you inhale and expand the ribs, and feel that tension decrease as you exhale and close the ribs. Relax your shoulders and your belly, it's all ribs.

This might seem simple and not worth the effort of trying, but I challenge you here and now. By popping your ribs forward, you've probably lost a lot of the muscles in and around your ribs, and the points where the ribs meet your spine are probably really stiff and inflexible. This is hard. 

It takes practice to get all this moving again, but once you do your ribs can buffer the breathing pressures they were designed for, easing the load on your abdomen and upper back. This lets the pressure on your Vagus nerve normalize as well.
​

Since the Vagus goes through so many head and neck structures, there are a bunch of ways we can directly impact it to help strengthen it. 

Here is a list of small practices you can work into your day:

• Chill your eyes, with cold fingers, cold water, or cold eye packs
• Sing
• Gargle
• Belly laugh
• Do breathing practices
• Do yoga, tai chi, and chi gong
• Get a massage and acupuncture
• Taste bitter flavors
• Get more sunlight
• Have healthy, supportive relationships

These ideas will improve the tone of your Vagus nerve. What does this look like? Well, after you do experience stress, you'll:

• Process information faster
• Concentrate better
• Have more appropriate and effective responses
• Return to resting state faster

And good Vagal tone is associated with:

• good blood sugar regulation
• lower rates of diabetes, stroke, CV disease
• better mood
• less anxiety
• more stress resilience
• greater closeness to others and altruism

It's all good in my book! Want more particulars? Here's how to work with me directly

Are you ready to Walk This Way? 

Oh... what way, you ask?

Well, a better way, in fact!

Why am I doing this? Well, I've been hearing from a lot of people that they've been out walking since their gyms and such shut down, but it's not working out so well all the time.

Basically what we've done is taken to the sidewalks and park trails the same way we would take off for the printer or the doorbell- hunched, tight, asymmetric, and unaware.

Have you also taken to the sidewalks and parks since Coronavirus, using your couch-to-bathroom gait? Are you finding yourself sore, achy, tight, stiff, and uneven? 

Learn to walk better with me!

Walk This Way is a 5 day video challenge, with daily emails to your practices, an online community sharing the #walkthiswaychallenge all over the socials, and the best part: daily worksheets done in my exclusive Graceful Stick Figures style!

Ok, I'm not an artist. But you'll "get the picture". (See what I did there??)

Each day of the challenge will feature a short, 5-8 minute video with yours truly teaching you a small, easily accessible movement or stretch. We'll wake up your hamstrings, mobilize your feet and hips, realign your neck, and more- all with simple lessons + herbal supports (since you might feel tired and sore- the good kind!)

Are you ready to walk like a pro? Click here to sign up:

bit.ly/walkthiswaychallenge