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Are You Struggling To Reach Athletic Performance Or Recover From Injury?

Are you struggling with athletic training and/or performance anxiety or to recover from a sports injury or another type of accident? Do you want to feel healthy, whole and confident mentally, emotionally and physically? Are you experiencing pain, tightness or tension in certain parts of your body and feel frustrated by your inability to perform athletically or function in life the way you want and, perhaps, feel you need to? Perhaps you are an athlete looking increase athletic potential and the tolerance, resiliency and capacity of your nervous system. Or maybe you have suffered a physical injury or undergone a medical surgery and want to address both the emotional and physical trauma that feels stuck in your body. It may be that you’re already working with a performance coach or physical therapist, and are looking to supplement your training and/or treatment with a somatic therapy approach. Whether you’re in recovery or working toward reaching your athletic potential, do you want to assimilate mind, body and spirit and live with the confidence of an integrated, whole self?

Dealing with the aftereffects of a trauma, such as an accident, injury, invasive medical procedure or assault, can be a frustrating, confusing and stressful experience. If you are recovering from physical injury, preparing for surgery or experiencing post surgical trauma, you may desperately want to get back to your normal routine and feel mentally, emotionally and physically balanced, especially if you’re generally an active person. But, both physical and emotional trauma can take time to heal and cause feelings of anxiety and/or depression until resolved. And, while you may be in physical therapy, you might also realize that you need to heal the emotional trauma that often accompanies physical injury.

Alternatively, you may be an athlete pushing yourself hard, both mentally and physically, working to improve your physical performance. Whether you’re a cyclist, triathlete, skier or marathoner, you may be experiencing heightened anxiety and other challenging emotions as you strive to reach stellar performance. Or, you may have hit a plateau in your training and are seeking a way to reach a new level of performance.

The Mind-Body Connection

It’s extremely common to feel fragmented after experiencing any kind of trauma. Trauma literally disorganizes the nervous system, which may be why—even though you’re engaging in rehab, following doctor’s orders and taking care of yourself physically—you still feel stuck, anxious or depressed. Furthermore, we live in Boulder, CO—a hub for athletes who push their bodies hard. From bike accidents to pulled muscles, injuries are common, and many people injure themselves over and over again, not recognizing the initial and then subsequent injuries as trauma. There are also countless people here training and working to lose weight, build muscle and/or reach the next level of personal or professional athletic performance. This level of training can be hard to manage and cause a lot of stress. While you might understand that there is a connection between properly managing stress, regulating the nervous system and reaching optimal performance potential, you may not know how to connect the dots and tap into the mind-body connection.

The good news is that whether you are preparing for surgery, recovering from injury or post surgical trauma or want to lessen the time management, physical and emotional stress often created when working to reach optimal athletic potential, I can help. With the support, guidance and healing touch of an experienced and highly skilled somatic therapist, you can increase tolerance, resiliency and capacity for healing and growth. You can regulate your nervous system and feel whole and confident within your body.

Somatic Touch Therapy Can Help You Integrate Mind, Body And Spirit

My somatic approach to integrated healing and growth occurs in the intersection of trauma therapy and physical therapy. As an advanced Somatic Experiencing provider and trauma therapist, I can gently access your nervous system through noninvasive touch, getting into the skin, fascia, bone, viscera, tissues and organs where trauma and blocked energy is being stored. Through gentle practices, such as properly placing a hand on your back under the kidneys, I can stimulate and support the energy of the body so it can relax and open to capacity.

Through touch therapy and other somatic-based therapies, you can become more familiar with and regulate your nervous system. We’ll work collaboratively to identify where you’re holding trauma and anxiety in your body, discharge what is stuck and complete the trauma cycle. Through this process, you can learn how to track, feel into and/or release bodily sensations. As you cultivate an awareness of your nervous system and develop a deep connection to your body, you can also further develop a relationship between your body, mind and spirit. You can truly understand and experience the integration of the whole, rather than just talk about it. This integration and advanced body awareness actively supports both healing and reaching athletic potential.

Whether your goal is healing or reaching a new level of performance, a somatic approach can regulate the nervous system, decrease anxiety and help you feel more grounded, stable and confident. In addition to touch therapy, we can also use other trauma therapy and somatic techniques, such as movement, mindfulness, Feeding Your Demons, medical chi gong and traditional talk therapy to help you resolve anxiety and trauma and create a new level of mind-body awareness. And, after years in practice, I know that everyone has unique needs and goals, which is why we’ll draw from a variety of modalities to develop a tailored approach that works specifically for you.

I have been working with all kinds of injuries and trauma survivors for over a decade, and I know the power of this work. With the support, guidance and healing touch of a trauma therapist, you can heal from post surgical trauma, heighten performance and feel more balanced, confident and alive in your body. Through trauma touch therapy, it is possible to heal scar tissue, regulate the nervous system and even alleviate symptoms often associated with trauma, such as chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. You can build resiliency, tolerance and capacity and feel connected to and whole within your body.

You Still May Have Questions Or Concerns About Touch Therapy…

I’m not sure how comfortable I am with being touched.

Many people are not comfortable with touch. And, while physical touch can be a powerful healing modality, we can instead use energetic, healing touch, which can yield many of the same results. We’ll also move at a pace and only draw from approaches that you feel comfortable with. And, as we build a relationship and you increase resiliency, you might find that you become open to exploring touch and/or other energetic and somatic therapies.

Will a somatic approach to healing really improve my performance?

Everyone responds to therapies in different ways; however, there is abundant evidence to support that somatic approaches yield amazing results. In fact, many Navy Seals and Olympic athletes find that using mindfulness, Somatic Experiencing and healing touch improves performance and increases athletic capacity due to a decrease in anxiety and an increase in body awareness.

I’m already doing physical therapy. How is your approach different from PT?

While PT addresses base physical needs, somatic touch helps to release the physical and emotional trauma stored in the body so you can experience another level of relief. And, these approaches to healing compliment each other well and often go hand-in-hand. I love working in teams, and if you are working with a physical therapist, I’m happy to collaborate with him or her to ensure that you’re getting the best support and the most comprehensive level of care.

You Can Feel Confident, Whole And Alive In Your Body

If you’re preparing for surgery, recovering from injury or seeking a new level of athletic performance in Boulder, CO, I invite you to call me at 303-489-8432 for a free 30-minute phone consultation. I’m happy to discuss your specific needs and situation and answer any questions you have about touch therapy, somatic therapy and my practice.