Welcome to Psoas Massage + Bodywork

Psoas Massage + Bodywork Newsletter

Welcome to Psoas Bodywork

Greetings!

Tax time has come upon us again, and with it, all the stress that it brings. Try adding some extra exercise this month - it's a great way to relieve stress. At Psoas, we are here to support those efforts. Call us any time for an appointment.

This month we will be highlighting the newest edition to the Psoas team - Catherine Fox - and explain some of her work. We provide you with a behind the scenes look at what it takes to be a Psoas therapist. Long-time client, Thomas Bastis, provides a review on the book Born to Run and the latest craze in the running world. Join the running scene by joining Fleet Feet's new running program for the San Francisco Half Marathon. And finally, DJ Split is back to review Pearl Jam's Latest album.

Enjoy.

Peace from the staff at Psoas

Therapist Spotlight: Catherine Fox

Catherine Hand Balance

Catherine Fox's exploration of the body began early in life. She started competitive swimming at 10 and in four short years was competing at the international level at 14. At 18, she claimed two Olympic Gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Largely relating her success to "precision in technique", athletics came easy to her and was recognized by United States Swimming as having the best technique in the country for her age group at the young age of 11. Her studies took her to Stanford University where she completed the Human Biology core. She continued competitive swimming for another four years, receiving the "Stanford female athlete of the year" three times. She broke two American Records and received 28 All American Honors. During her time at Stanford she began her practice in body therapy, learning cranial sacral therapy and practicing deep tissue sports massage and myofascial release techniques. Catherine has continued her practice the last 11 years. In 2001, she travelled to Thailand to learn about eastern massage techniques. There she studied Thai massage and foot reflexology.

In 2003, she was asked to speak at a conference at the United States Olympic Training Center for coaches and trainers about technique in the sport of swimming. Her knowledge has taken her across the country where she has written a "learn to swim curriculum" for infants and toddlers that is based on the myofascial meridian lines, muscular balance, proprioception and integrated core strength. The program is being used in 15 locations throughout New York and Texas. She has led speaking engagements on teaching structural alignment through muscular balance and core strength in Sweden, Mexico, Hawaii, Texas, New York and California. She has also been invited to speak at conferences such as the World Aquatic Baby Congress and the US Swim Schools of America.

In 2004, she received her certification in the Pilates Mat Method and studied Ashtanga yoga. At the end of that year, she moved to San Francisco and began her practice in Chinese Acrobatics. From 2004 to 2009, she studied hand-balancing and aerial rope contortion and recently took a year off to give birth to her first child. Catherine is thrilled to be upside-down and back in the gym. She has studied ballet and modern dance for years further improving her vocabulary in movement.

The past 5 years, Catherine has led a successful therapeutic practice called Somatic Movement Therapy (see description below). By studying people's conditioned patterns of movement and reestablishing subtle imbalanced neuromuscular patterns in the body, pain sites are relieved and gross motor flexibility is created and integrated into core strength. She has worked with a wide range of clientele from the disabled, toddlers, teens, prenatal, postnatal, and elderly, to elite level athletes just wanting to improve muscle coordination, flexibility and core strength. In addition, other conditions she has worked with are serious disk herniations in the back and neck, surgical fusions, incontinence issues, flexibility and strength issues, paralysis, scoliosis, kyphosis, lordosis, torn ACL and MCL, shoulder and rotator cuff injuries. Using manual massage and her acute ability to assess and educate, she will lead you through a series of movements specifically designed for your goals and body's needs. Deep tissue massage will always be part of her practice, however, Catherine has found a passion and a unique niche in Somatic Movement Therapy to help others recover and excel.

Somatic Movement Therapy

Why Somatic Movement Therapy Will Help You?

In our daily life we move and live in a way that habituates our body through neuromuscular patterning. Often the nerves will fire in a way that does not support our strength, leading to muscle strains, postural imbalances, back pain or lack of range of motion. Simple actions become challenging and inhibit us from the activities we love. Tight and strained areas overwork and loose muscles don't fire. Imbalance is inevitable, leading to pain over time. By learning to integrate core strength and balancing opposing muscle groups, posture and gross motor movements become easier.

What to expect in a Somatic Movement Therapy Session?

Come to the session with comfortable clothes ready to move and be actively involved. Your therapist may be working with you on the floor, using the wall, having you on a massage table, and possibly integrating myofascial work as you are stretching. This session is completely unique to you and your goals. Education on your body and how to change repetitive patterns including changing repetitive use disorders are a big part of the session.

What Happens to the Body in One Session?

Assessment of key stabilizing muscles for weakness and imbalances
Improved range of motion in your limbs
Opening of shoulder girdle and hips to hold naturally in place, correcting posture
Correction of imbalances in your movement patterns
Relief of back pain and joint immobilization
Integration of core strength in your daily life and/or athletic activities
Increased gross motor flexibility and comfort
Feel taller, lighter, more balanced, more centered

What Can Be Expected in the Long Run?

Chronic pain can be eliminated. You can learn how to consciously change your body, relieving pain sites and improving muscular coordination while integrating core strength. You will learn how to translate that into all your activities. In order to teach the nervous system to fire, habituated patterning must be practiced; 4 sessions over a 1 month period are initially recommended to practice your individualized program and improve. Simple exercises will be given for you to practice throughout the week and reassessed in your next session. Eventually, you will have an at home program that you can continue on your own and/or compliment with our studio treatments.

Born to Run Review
(Review by a guest writer and Psoas client Thomas Bastis)

I recently finished the book Born to Run by Christopher Mcdougall. It had been recommended to me by my inner circle of so called "lunatics". Now let's be honest, this is my first book review, and the lunatic comment is aimed at describing the things I obsessively like to do....mostly suffering endlessly along a trail, lake, or other environmental micro-climate, pushing myself to the limits. So be warned, this review is coming from a "lunatic".

Born to Run is a book about running and so much more. It actually has multiple message points centered on running that delivers more than just motivation to start running. I found the book provided an unusual way of defusing the theories that man was not born to run from a historical and almost biblical perspective. I also love the way this book wraps a non-fictional ultra-endurance race, in a desolate 3rd world location to drive home the spirit of why you should be running in the first place.

The author begins his personal running journey by researching a reclusive, Mexican Indian tribe called the Tarahumara. He pits these "pure running" Indians against the modern running culture and science packaged by mass manufacturing giant "Nike". He then reveals how we have it all wrong. Not only are we running incorrectly but we are running for the wrong reasons as well. His point is further driven home by memorable people, new relationships, and his own struggle with running, which makes the book that much more personal.

I'm confident that I'm not alone in thinking that running is difficult. I have injured myself plenty in the endeavor. Not until recently have I really started to ask myself why. Why am I getting hurt and how can I just stay healthy in a sport that many will end up saying "I use to do it, but now I can't"?

Such was the case with one character Barefoot Ted. He had been told by multiple sources that man is not born to run and had himself suffered for years with increasing back problems. Was his genetics holding him back or a pair of shoes? Ted went so far as buying special, spring encased shoes in the hopes of running. This didn't work. It wasn't until he was so disgusted with his running shoes that he finally walked home barefoot and realized his back didn't hurt as a result. He further researched that "Shoes block pain, not impact! Pain teaches us to run comfortably! From the moment you start going barefoot, you will change the way you run." Pretty novel concept.

I'm not a book reader. I'm more of a trade journal or online magazine type. Reading a book takes free time and an ability to sit still...something I don't have. But, this was a super fast read. I was engaged the entire time. Sure I might have fallen asleep but, it was by no means the books fault. Best of all, the real-life characters showed inner faults, not superhuman ability, which was always something I felt the best had and I didn't.

Continuing Education at Psoas

At Psoas, all of our therapists are committed to constantly improving our knowledge base and skills in order to best help our clients. We are serious about continuing education. That's why Psoas sponsors workshops for our therapists.

click for video

At our last workshop, Psoas brought in author and international lecturer James Waslaski to lead a workshop on pelvic stabilization. Taking workshops together allows our therapists to better communicate ideas so that, in the end, we can serve you better.

Waslaski's take on orthopedic massage is innovative in how it uniquely assesses for soft tissue range of motion and joint stability. Here's a brief demo of our therapists working with their new skills.

Run The City with Fleet Feet and
Marathon Matt

With the days getting longer and warmer, it's time to gear up for the San Francisco Half Marathon. Enter 'The City 13.1'.