Clients tend to come to me when their pain is so severe when their pain is the equivalent to a red light. Their issues have expanded from physical pain to all sorts of other issues, but if they knew how to recognize the yellow lights, it wouldn’t need to get to this point.

The concept of DIMs and SIMs comes from the work of David Butler and Lorimer Moseley from the NOI institute and is a remarkable concept for understanding pain and other symptoms, and even our emotional responses to pain.

Kintsugi is the art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. The idea is not to disguise or hide the damage, but rather to embrace and highlight it, creating something beautiful and artful out of it.

Your brain will always ask you to gather all the evidence and do anything it can to solve the problem. And while listening to it and taking action will often give you a solution, it often isn’t the solution that gives sustainable results.

When it comes to experiencing pain, some people feel it and want to get rid of it as quickly as possible. They want to get back to their life and the status quo and do everything they can to fix the problem and push the pain away. For others, they realize that where the pain is is not the problem. They know that the problem lies under their level of awareness and that if they could just find someone to help them uncover what they’re unaware of, they have the opportunity to evolve.

There is so much power to be gained from understanding and analyzing our subconscious mind. And in this episode, I’m taking a deep dive into how we gain this perspective and work from it to open the doors fully to recovery and healing.

There is a long-held belief in our culture that pain means something is broken. The medical model in the west believes at its foundation that if there’s a problem, we have to fix it. But I view it differently; it’s less about fixing the problem and more about acknowledging and addressing the compensation.

I view pain as a barometer to pay attention to. As a teacher, it gives me an indication of how my client’s body is moving and how aligned they are between body, brain, being, and breath. So why is pain so often viewed as a bad thing?

My genius lies in helping other people feel and connect into their states of being and in doing so, I help them reduce and eradicate pain. So when they are in their business world, they can channel their own genius in a way that’s powerful, serving themselves as well as serving the people they are meant to serve.

I was inspired this week by a conversation between some of my certification program trainees, where it was clear they were making the transition from yoga teacher to yoga therapist. But what exactly does this mean?

We are not taught to be deliberate with our noticing, it’s a skill we get to develop. But noticing how you feel is fundamental to building presence and being more connected with your mind and body. It can help you be more deliberate about what you want and desire.

Mona Warner is a warm and joyful educator, practicing both yoga and Ayurveda. She works at the Janati Yoga Studio in Kingston, Ontario, where she strives to guide others down the path of health, happiness, and wellbeing every day. She joins me to talk about how Ayurveda has been such a huge part of her learning and teaching and the fundamentals of the digestive reset.

I used to consider abhyanga as quite self-indulgent and incredibly messy. I thought it was ridiculous to warm oil oneself and sit there with it for 5-20 minutes, and I couldn’t get past how doing this to myself would be of benefit. But then I tried it out and was stunned by its effectiveness.

Listening is such a powerful tool, and in many ways, it’s so simple. Yet, it’s something that many people in the yoga and healthcare world overdo, and we lose the juice of it in an attempt to get it right. To be in the space of someone who is truly listening is an extremely powerful experience. But how do you know that the other person feels heard and validated? What do you need to do to truly listen?

You are your own best detective. Your job is to gather data and to see what is working and not working for you. When you recognize this evidence, you will develop greater awareness and further clarity and be in a position to take the best step forward based on that data.

I have always had a results-oriented perspective that has worked well for me in many of my life endeavors. However, when I started to train other health professionals, I found that I wasn’t getting the results I wanted, and this perspective wasn’t playing out effectively. Part of what I had to realize was that the only thing I can truly control in any relationship with a client or a trainee is me. My results are focused on what I can teach people and not what they end up doing.

In the past, I’ve taken more responsibility for my clients’ results than I should have because I tied a lot of my self-concept to the results they were getting. But knowing what you’re responsible for and what your client is responsible for can help your clients get better results.

I’m so excited to dig into a concept with my husband Stu this week, and that is the topic of healing and Psoriasis. The body is a barometer, and what Stu has experienced around his recovery and working with Psoriasis illustrates this.

Healing can be anatomical, mental, or spiritual, and some people see it as an outright cure. Healing, for me, is beyond symptom recovery and management, it’s about listening to a call and taking a courageous step forward to change or grow.

All physical activity can cause injuries and issues in the body, and when it comes to the practice of yoga, the sacroiliac joints are the ones that commonly feel the strain. This week, we’re digging into the sacroiliac joints – more commonly known as the SI joints – and why there are such issues with them in the practice of yoga.

About 30 years ago, I was in the throes of chronic pain from athletic injuries. I had tried a lot of things and was limited in what else I could try. I was taught this process and it has hugely benefitted me to this day, so I wanted to share it with you this week.

This week as we discuss the link between hypermobility and mental health, and learn how to take a non-judgmental approach to hypermobility as a yoga practitioner. We talk at length about Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS), the mind-body connection, and how we, as yoga teachers, can work more effectively with hypermobile students.

If you have been diagnosed with an injury or illness, you may believe that there is only one way of dealing with it. But sometimes, new realities are possible – things that you haven’t considered – and they could be the answer to living with these conditions more effectively.

Fellow Yoga Teacher and client of mine, Amy, joins me this week to share her journey and unique perspective of having a Hypermobility Disorder. She shares how what began as a life sentence transformed into something much more supportive, powerful, and freeing and how she uses her experience to guide her teaching practice.

I get asked a lot by health professionals and yoga teachers how I get my clients to do their homework or the exercises I give them to help them get better. They struggle to get their clients to do their part – so why do people not do things that they know will benefit them?

Blending the worlds of yoga and medicine has been a fascinating journey. Awareness and presence are such valuable tools for practitioners, and when we incorporate these into medicine, we can really listen to the client and provide them with what they need.

Talking about the hips is a contentious issue in yoga. There have been reports of people having hip replacements, attributing the injuries they had from yoga as the catalyst for these replacements. But by understanding and being more aware of our bodies, things can really shift – yoga doesn’t have to have the reputation of being a hip-wrecker!

Whether you’re a yoga teacher, therapist, or health professional, you’re likely aware that telehealth sessions are increasing in frequency. Our ability to do them really well is becoming more of an opportunity, and it’s important to recognize how great online teaching can be.

The problem with somebody who is mentally capable of solving problems is that they’re often good at pushing aside symptoms of their body. The body will only hold out for so long, and when it gives in, they come to me for help.

In the world of yoga, some people may find striving and ambition somewhat misaligned with the practice and believe that it can pull away from the sense of presence, but I don’t believe that to be the case. For me, goal setting is an opportunity to connect and live out your best talent, gifts, and skills.

As you know, taking time to breathe and connect with your body is so important, and it’s such a wonderful thing to do amidst the hustle and bustle that the festive season can often bring.
It’s time to get comfortable and begin to connect with your body. I’m walking you through a relaxing breathing exercise and body scan that you can enjoy when you have a spare moment over the holidays.

Often when we feel wired, we don’t realize how tired we are. With everything going on right now and this year, the breathing exercises I’m sharing today can be particularly useful.

The common misconceptions about earning money as a yoga teacher and some tips and advice to help you reach 100K in your business.

The common misconceptions about earning money as a yoga teacher and some tips and advice to help you reach 100K in your business.

The effects that the combination of yoga and physiotherapy treatment can have upon clients, why mental and emotional health is part of the physical experience and why psychosocial aspects play a huge role in a person’s progress and healing.

Why reaching a fundamental state of awareness about your breath will help you change so much in your life, and how learning about the breath can impact your ability to digest food, emotion and gain restful sleep.

The essential skills a yoga professional needs to run a business and create a life of vitality and freedom. I’m sharing some general principles to apply to your business and some activities that I do personally in my own business.

How I pivoted my teaching and business through lockdown and how Facebook Lives, private sessions, and Zoom workshops have been such an effective way to support people through such chaotic, uncertain times.

Exploration of the pelvic floor, with a specific focus on a technique called Pelvic Floor Breathing or Orifice Breathing. Today, Susi explores this sacred, powerful exercise, teaching you why it’s beneficial while walking you through the exercise.

“I’ve found that when I can effectively teach my clients about their movements first, before getting into muscle conversation, the faster they get better.” In this episode of From Pain to Possibility. Susi discusses the idea of movement and understanding movement as an approach to helping a client reduce their pain.

Listen, as Susi digs into the diastasis recti and uses her own personal experience to highlight some core teaching concepts that she uses when working with women who are recovering. Susi is dividing this episode into three specific time periods, early, mid, and later, and how she used her principles inside of those particular periods on this episode of From Pain to Possibility.

Why is the triangle pose blamed for issues in the spine, SI joints, and knees? Listen, as Susi explores why it’s blamed and why on the flip side that the triangle is an exceptional position, especially when someone has recovered from SI joint issues, plus more in this episode of From Pain to Possibility.

Susi explores the triangle pose and describes what she has seen when people do a traditional way of moving into the pose versus how she prefers to see it done. Susi has found that her students are very surprised at how limited their hip movement is when teaching her way.Consider this idea of being grounded and light simultaneously, solid and stable, the ability to be agile. All of these characteristics apply to a psoas that is responsive, alive, and turned on. There is a whole new level of quiet power that can be experienced.

In this episode of From Pain to Possibility, Susi and her guest Kirsten Richardson discuss what is possible when you integrate yoga therapy concepts with physio or physical therapy, the results she has found, and her transition to doing physiotherapy by video.
Consider this idea of being grounded and light simultaneously, solid and stable, the ability to be agile. All of these characteristics apply to a psoas that is responsive, alive, and turned on. There is a whole new level of quiet power that can be experienced.

So often the psoas gets blamed for issues, but really, it isn’t the psoas’ fault. The psoas is responding to the forces in the body and how they are being absorbed and dissipated.

Consider this idea of being grounded and light simultaneously, solid and stable, the ability to be agile. All of these characteristics apply to a psoas that is responsive, alive, and turned on. There is a whole new level of quiet power that can be experienced.

Susi shares the five principles that worked for her, clarity, conversations, support, calendar, and commitment. Clarity leads to conversation; the conversation opens the door to understanding; understanding support helps us get clearer on our calendar. Underline, it all is a commitment to do what we want. Susi discusses how each of these led to her and her husband’s ability to handle anything that has been thrown at them, even COVID-19.

Do you think it is possible to heal from a rotator cuff injury without paying attention to the shoulder girdle? In this episode of From Pain to Possibility, listen as Susi digs into the rotator cuff and the shoulder girdle, and how necessary it is for both to work together in order to recover and heal from rotator cuff injuries.

Listen, as Susi discusses when compensation happens and how, when she can clear up those extraneous patterns, she can help them become more optimal in their movements. They have much more efficient biomechanical patterns, which also correlates to a reduction in pain.

Susi speaks about anatomy being the mapping of muscles, other tissues, lymphatic system, nervous system, and blood vessels. Biomechanics is how we see these forces move through those systems and Kinesiology being the studio of how a movement happens. She also shares that posture is how we embody our structure.

Susi shares the wonky relationship we have between expectation and reality. We expect our yoga teacher or health professional to figure out what is happening, but in reality, that’s not what occurs. This is when awareness becomes vital.

Susi and Megan discuss awareness and how important it is because once you lose awareness, you lose connection. They also speak about qualitative versus quantitative and some tools you can use to support someone to notice what they are experiencing, and Megan shares how she determines which part of a patient’s body she works on first.

Compassion is the foundation of health care and overall well-being. Listen as Susi and her guest Shelly Prosko discuss why Shelly believes this, her journey to where she is today, how she learned about compassion fatigue, and much more on this episode of From Pain to Possibility.

Susi speaks about what can happen if you don’t pay attention to the whispers and let the symptoms go into the red light phase, that’s when life has become constricted enough that something needs to change. Once you can recognize the pattern in your experiences, you can intervene at a level that allows you to make changes.

Susi is digging into four obstacles, particularly obstacles to smooth progress in this episode of From Pain to Possibility. Listen, and by the end of this episode, you’ll see that obstacles aren’t actually bad. They are a part of the learning process, and once you see them for what they are, you can see them as opportunities for growth and development.

Are you ever too old to practice yoga? Listen, as Susi and her guest Ruth Ann Penny discuss older adults, yoga and the older adult, and what yoga can do for an older person on this episode of From Pain to Possibility.

Problems will always exist. You don’t want to have the same problems this year as you had last year. Susi shares some issues she has had and the lessons she has learned so that maybe we can learn from her mistakes and the opportunities they have provided for her.

Marlysa Sullivan and I speak about the Polyvagal Theory and what it means for yoga professionals and medical professionals. We chat about what the Polyvagal Theory suggests, and how to apply it in practices professionally and with clients.

Welcome to the very first episode. This podcast was created so that you can get to know me, and how I teach before you ever decide to sign up for my trainings or courses. I hope this podcast gives you the information and experience so that you can make the best possible choices for yourself.