on felt sense | Spring 2022
Hello and happy Spring!
In the last couple of months, I’ve been attempting to embody expansion and welcoming in—a spirit of openness I think I have a natural tendency towards, but can easily become suppressed by pain (physical and/or emotional; the nervous system responds to both the same way!). No better time than Spring, bringing it’s ambling pace and euphoric energy, to recenter into the practice of allowing and surrendering to what’s happening right now. In this state, the present thing—whether it’s pain or peace—is what we can try to lean in and listen to.
Both pain and peace can be difficult to give space to, but our nervous systems need us to listen to the felt sense of our experiences in order to thrive and, sometimes, survive.
Practice your felt sense by lingering in a micro-moment of awe a little longer than you normally would. When you’re on the massage table, bring your awareness softly to your breath, synchronizing it with the gliding of your connective tissues. When you feel pain, get curious. What does it feel like? Is it cold, itchy, numb, achey? Are you breathing with ease or not at all? This poem, The Felt Sense Prayer, gives a beautiful, complex picture of felt pain that may inspire you in your relationship to it.
This is all to say, pain is good and productive as a signal that something is awry. I do not believe long-term or sustained pain is helpful or the goal, in or outside of manual therapy. If during therapy you notice a felt sense of pain, please share it. To differentiate productive vs unproductive pain, here are some examples:
Just before physical pain arises, you may notice referred or radiating sensations to other parts of the body, tenderness, or muscles that have been chronically contracted being agitated from their usual mode and asked to release. This is productive discomfort, the kind that, within 5-30 seconds or so melts into something softer, more neutral. This could be described as your pain threshold, a 5-7 on a Pain Scale of 1-10.
As physical pain is triggered, you may feel a sharp jolt, a deepening discomfort, tears beginning to well in your eyes, headache, subtle chest tension, or maybe you become aware that you are holding your breath or that it’s restricted. Whenever you notice any of these signs, you are past your threshold and it’s the perfect moment to speak up with something like: “That’s past my threshold.”, “Can you use less pressure there?”, “This feels like an 8 or 9!”. Scaling back the pressure also doesn’t mean we won’t get to the root problem, but going too hard too soon is not the way, my friend! As per Otis Redding, let’s “try a little tenderness”, warm things up slowly, working one layer at a time, and we’ll get there with ease… maybe even pleasure!
For more resources on understanding and moving through pain, see my suggestions below or do your own exploring of the felt sense and Peter Levine’s concept of Somatic Experiencing. If you’d like to explore the felt sense more in the context of peace, awe, and gratitude, I highly recommend the Ten Percent Happier meditation app and Rick Hanson’s book, Hardwiring Happiness.
Above is a very cute photo of me (left) and my cousin at our grandma’s in 1997, a week before my baby brother was born. Below is a very cute photo of our new baby dog, Hugo.
T W O %
This past January and February, I donated 2% of my profits to Pro-Choice Ohio.
With all of the heartbreak happening within, outside of, and root-systemed to this country, it’s been hard to know where to even begin with my small offerings of financial aid. Then I remembered Together Rising, and it felt right—or at least, something right! Together Rising is founded by Glennon Doyle, a queer mother, author and philanthropist, and right now they are accepting donations to their Ukrainian Family Relief and LGBTQIA2S+ Youth and Family Relief funds. I will be donating to each one for the months of March and April.
N E W O F F E R I N G
As my practice has become more sustainable in the last year, I have been thinking about how to both broaden my accessibility to folks, as well as express appreciation to my regular clients. And so I present to you: bodywork packages!
The package offerings below are my set prices for 3-5 prepaid sessions. Terms/conditions are also listed, and I ask that you please read them carefully and honor these boundaries.
In addition, no customizations may be made to the number of sessions discounted, and packages must be paid in full. I’ve stated below that packages may only be used by the individual for which it was purchased (ie spouses/adults may not share a package); however, I am willing to make an exception for children of clients.
A note: Bodywork for children is a wonderful way to help them learn about body awareness and consent with new people in a safe, nurturing environment. Please keep in mind that most children under the age of 12 will require less than an hour of bodywork, in part because there is less body mass, but also due to individual-specific factors such as attention span and preferences around touch. If your child has never received bodywork before and they are interested, I suggest introducing them to a 30-min session ($55) to start and see how they feel before committing them to a full hour.
Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to purchase a package for either your upcoming sessions or as extended care for a loved one (makes a great pregnancy or postpartum gift)!
GIFT CARDS are available! Treat your loved ones with the gift of bodywork. Offerings are 60 min ($85), 90 min ($115), or 2 hour ($145) sessions, no expiration. Call or message me to purchase!
As we welcome in the glow and warmness of the season ahead, may you notice a few morsels of love and gratitude throughout each day.
yours in health,
Zoey
photograph by Nikita Gross