My Core story
As a formerly bloated and weak postpartum mother of two, I was so discouraged. Two years after weaning my second child, I vacillated between motivated to solve my problem and depressed about my lack of knowledge on how to solve it.
I trained as a competitive figure skater for many years so the wear and tear of pounding my body left me with varying degrees of back, neck, and hip pain that I had to regularly work through and recover from. However, the reality of a severe abdominal tear, called Diastasis Recti, caused me to dig much deeper.
It seemed that all roads were leading me to surgery. Regardless, I wanted to pursue all of the options. I studied, researched, and spent countless hours learning the most reputable methods known to help rehabilitate Diastasis Recti. After six months, and trying two pre-existing programs, I still had not seen major changes. The most frustrating moments came when I tried to do anything athletic: water ski, skate, run, or jump. I would either re-separate my muscles or wet my pants (insert dying of embarrassment face).
During this time, I was working two jobs, taking care of little ones, and my sister was on hospice. I was not moving well while lifting and helping her, and in hindsight this was a major contributing factor leading to my lack of progress physically. The mental frustration and the emotional grief finally caught up with me- the last straw was a sneeze. I fell to my knees, subluxated my L5, sacrum, and tail bone- all while wetting my pants. A few weeks later, on December 14th 2010, I lost my sister to a life-long battle with her heart. Her struggle was over, but in my grief, I began finding the strength to start a serious journey of reclaiming my spirit, mind, and body.
Twenty short days after my sister’s passing, and in constant pain, I was on a plane to a life-changing conference. There I met Dr. Stewart McGill, who is a brilliant expert on the human back…and he has a killer mustache. His book The Ultimate Back and research on the spine is recognized worldwide as ground-breaking in the field. This conference was the beginning of understanding.
I could now see why the programs I tried before did not work; they never integrated the multiple contributing factors to my alignment issue. Because of that I would never be able to fully utilize my core or strengthen to the capacity I desired.
Within days of testing my new approach, I was not only feeling strength and stability but seeing results. Thanks to the trust and support of many clients I have tested and refined these exercises for 9+ years, and the word has spread! I have now collected thousands of pieces of data to prove my theory that a D.R. tear is just a symptom of a larger picture. My protocols combine my personal and professional experiences and they really work!
I have had the pleasure of teaching workshops, small groups, and performing one on one consults in person and online, and I cannot wait to have you join in the process and community to become an upgraded version of yourself.