Toronto Movement Therapy

A haunted house but it’s just...
a collection of what feels hellish to me in healthcare!
🤡 🎃
Have a fun day everyone!
Manifest things and communicate with the other side!
✨

Huge words for the masses.
This post pandemic year in many ways has felt more difficult than the years during.
If thriving is what you’re aiming for now, we can help.
Move from surviving to thriving with trauma sensitive, client-centred & collaborative care.
❤️
Team TMT

Touched base with our lovely Physio this morning on her caseload! We bounced ideas around, chatted strategies and discussed trauma sensitive care. It’s one way I do my best to give back as a Clinic Director to clients and practitioners-passing knowledge on. Being a sounding board and supporting everyone’s process is important to keep things moving in the right direction.

I keep joking that we are the Seattle Grace of Rehab Clinics because of all the Mentorshop and Continuing Educstion we do! I’m going to start calling us a Teaching Clinic.
😆
It’s very important to me when I hire practitioners that they are critical thinkers, can layer concepts and approaches and work together as a team.

Kajal has got that in spades. Always keen to learn and able to apply her knowledge in unique ways.
Big news: she’s getting certified in Pelvic Health Physio! Stay tuned!
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It is Neurodiversity Awareness Week!

Many people in our community use neurodiversity as an umbrella term used to describe alternative thinking styles such as Dyslexia, DCD (Dyspraxia), Dyscalculia, Autism and ADHD.

Instead of labelling people with deficits or disorders, when we use the term neurodiversity, we take a balanced view of an individual’s unique strengths and challenges.

Approximately 15-20% of the population has a neurological difference. Depending on how our brains are wired we think, move, process information and communicate in different ways.

This means approximately 1/5th of the population in a clinic likely has a neurodivergent brain including staff, patients and practitioners.

AND that figure is assumed to be too low as they are discovering more people have undiagnosed neurodiverse brains - SPECIFICALLY ADULT WOMEN WITH ADHD.

I, Kearsten Lyon, the founder of TMT was diagnosed with ADHD in 2021! Same me, now searching for less dopamine.
😆
I will talk more in depth about my experience in the future.

Today I want to bring awareness to better meeting the needs of ADHD brains in the medical, health, wellness & rehab spaces.

Many ‘challenges’ neurodivergent people face are more to do with the environment and systems they are placed in, often designed by a majority population.

Neurodiverse brains need approaches and systems that they understand and work for them.

Don’t assume someone is flakey or a pain in the butt person/client. They often just need to have their needs met in a different way than you might be used to.

Here are my top tips to better meet the needs of ADHD brains in your medl, rehab, health or wellness space!
❤️

🦶 FEET 🦶

I did a mentorship session with on Saturday and we went through our TMT Method Protocols for Feet So, we did a case study with her!

Picture 1: Dorothy at rest, standing at the beginning of our session.

She reported her feet felt rigid, get sore and she has difficultly with controlling midfoot overpronation that can be uncomfortable and contribute to other challenges up the chain.

She has difficulty toeing off / accessing SBL (superficial back line and yes anatomists and fascianauts I know it’s not JUST a line it’s a continuum of tissue but let’s just keep it simple for now 😆).

She was a ballerina and lived in external rotation and has Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Goal: Movement is medicine.

We used balls to mobilize her foot while educating her and helping her embody the bones and joints in her foot and how it all works together in Movement.

Plan for her specifically:
◾️Mobilize forefoot towards supination
◾️Mobilize reaefoot towards pronation
◾️Massage the tissue on the bottom of the foot, specifically lateral and use a smaller ball between metatarsals where appropriate.
◾️LIFT the metatarsals at met heads esp 2-3-4
◾️ Walk and embody simple cues for gait cycle for now, to help her toe off.

Picture 2: Dorothy at rest, standing at the end of the session.

The difference in the L foot tib, fib and hip is incredible. She reported being able to just stand and feel like her feet weren’t collapsing but were stacked and active but not in a gripping way. And it was all brand new for her brain and felt great!

In Conclusion:
A lot of what we do is very simple.

We:

1️⃣Teach you how things move.
2️⃣Give you movements you need and in a way that you understand, embody and feel good.
3️⃣Help you integrate that movement into whatever movement you do or want to do.

If you need help, we’ve got the moves!
❤️

TMT ROLL (ROLE 😆) CALL!

Our in-person team has GROWN, quite a lot, and so have our services! I thought I’d post a who’s who in the clinic now!

First off, they’re great humans.
Trauma sensitive, very smart and passionate about what they do.
They see the value of working as a team and offer client-centred care to get results.

When they are hired, we go through extensive onboarding and training to help them meet the needs of our unique clientele, fine tune their role and expertise amongst the group.

🤜🤛We offer weekly mentorship to discuss case studies, build new programs and services and improve our systems.
🧐We have a group chat on Instagram to discuss trends and posts in the industry.
💪We challenge and support each other to be better.

If you are interested in becoming a client, it might be overwhelming to know where to start, especially if you have experienced medical trauma or haven’t gotten results elsewhere.

I can help.
As the Founder and Clinic Director, I offer weekly complimentary consult calls.

I look at these calls as: Asking for directions.
We chat about what’s going on for you, what you’ve tried, and I can make suggestions within and outside of our clinic, which you can follow or not, totally your call.

✔️I want you to have a potential plan.
✔️I want you to not waste your time trying to navigate the healthcare system on your own.
✔️I want you to have corrective experiences to empower you to take care of yourself and feel better.

You deserve that.

Link in bio to book a complimentary consult or to book in with one of our great team members.

Yours in growth,
Kearsten
📶

We made it Mother Fathers:
First day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere!!

After what felt like the longest winter ever, Spring feels like hope.
Like renewal.
A fresh start.
Open up to the light and grow, folks!
We’ve got some living to do.
❤️🌱

WHAT A GIFT!

Happy Christmas to all celebrating!

May we all have moments to reflect on the past, appreciate the present and fantasize about a maskless COVID - free future.

Have fun dissociating this weekend and
don’t forget to reconnect with yourself!
❤️ 👻 🎄

Oh, hi!
How’s everyone doing?!

It’s the most busiest time of the year for clinics (and we thank you for choosing us and keeping us BUMPIN!), this holiday season feels like a make-up for missing it last year, COVID is still very much here and there is END of 2021 BIG ENERGY HAPPENING!

SO WE ARE JUST GOING TO ADD ONTO THAT WITH A HIRING PUSH BECAUSE WE HAVE TO!
😎

We have immediate need for a:
▪️Physiotherapist who LOVES Movement Therapy (Pilates and/or Pelvic Health an asset!)

▪️Clinical/Therapeutic Pilates Instructor

▪️Occupational Therapist (Mental Health, Hand/Fine Motor, MVC, Movement Therapy and/or Pilates preferred!)

▪️Medical Office Administrator

We are BUSY and can offer part-time or full-time in these positions immediately!

Help.
😆
Links in bio to see full details and to apply!

About us:
We are leaders and innovators in Therapeutic Pilates & Movement Therapy in Ontario and virtually, globally.

Our Manual Therapy Team of RMT’s, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chiropractic are seriously SUPERSTARS.

We co-care so well together and make SUCH a great team, no one is a jerk we are all very passionate about what we do.

We also co care with medical and rehab professionals and specialists from all over the city with a wide variety of interesting cases and lovely clients.

We are GROWING and would love for you to grow with us and change peoples lives for the better.

Apply today, we’re pretty awesome and if you are too, let’s connect.
❤️
Link in bio and in highlights under CAREERS.
🤜 🤛

Do you have metal rods, pins, plates or screws in your body?

Do you feel them more when the temperature drops outside?

Metal implants that are used in joint replacements, fracture reinforcement and spine fusions transfer heat and cold better than human tissue. This is because human tissue is made up of so much water and water takes a lot of energy to heat.

So if it’s cold outside and you are feeling those metal pieces more, maybe they’re uncomfortable or even painful because the metal is cold, pulling heat from the tissue and the tissue can’t get warm enough to balance that!

Think of your tongue on a frozen flagpole.
Your tongue is moist and begins to freeze immediately to the pole. Metal trumps tissue.
Enter: warm water to save the day! 😆

So a great solution is to keep the area warm!*

▪️Get moving to increase blood flow and warmth!
▪️Wear Long John’s and extra layers
▪️Use the hot packs you can get for your gloves or boots for winter activities
▪️Hot bath or shower
▪️Hot water bottle
▪️Topicals can also improve circulation in the area like our favourite, Canadian made, Medistik!

Inspired by and given permission by a client we helped recover from a complex lower limb fracture with a variety of metal implants. He works outdoors and this was happening to him!

*If this DOESNT help and the pain is getting worse, it’s a good idea to check in with your doctor or surgeon.

Hope this is helpful!
❤️
Kearsten
Founder, TMT

We are HIRING y'all! We are looking for a fantastic Registered Massage Therapist to join our amazing team!!!

Check out the posting here and please pass it on!

https://ca.indeed.com/job/registered-massage-therapist-650cc436e555cb9c

CW: Indigenous Genocide

We observe this painful first federal day of recognition, the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation.

Facing your past, no matter how difficult, is necessary to move forward. The only way out, is in.

Canada’s settlers and anyone who benefits from the privileges of this Country today, need to acknowledge the horrific abuse of Canada’s original landowners and caretakers. Our privileges have been and continue to be at their expense.

We acknowledge the terrible truth in Canadian history, that major harm and trauma in the form of genocide and systemic racism was and is still inflicted on Indigenous populations across this Country.

Over 6000 children were found in unmarked graves at former residential school sites across the nation this year. This is only one of the horrors Indigenous folks have endured and are being continually exposed to and retraumatized by.

Today TMT is donating all of our profits of our work day to the NWAC: Native Women's Association of Canada.

Everyday we offer sliding scale services to those in need and work hard as a team to cultivate safer spaces and trauma informed care.

Take action by doing your own research and self education for where funding and other support is needed and then do something about it however you can.

Harm reduction is needed.
Acknowledgement and support is needed and is just the beginning to help heal.
❤️
TMT

Growth happens through trauma too.

Look at our little jade plant just growing through the split in one of its leaves!

I have been doing some listening to director Dr. Scott Giacomucci in interviews (what a lovely human!!!) and one thing that’s come up often which I don’t hear enough in the trauma world:

Yes trauma can change you in ways that feel bad, negative or challenging. But it can ALSO change you in positive ways.

You can ALSO grow in ways you may never have by experiencing very difficult things.

BOTH are true.

In people and in nature.
❤️
Have a great week, Friends.
😎
“Because I knew you
I have been changed for good”
- For Good from Wicked, the Musical

Maybe you can’t do 10 and aiming for 10 makes you feel bad.

Maybe you can do 3 or 5 SUPER DUPER AMAZING! They’re still valuable reps!!!

Maybe you can actually do more than you thought and 10 is holding you back from more reps or more weight!

What I like to do for myself and with clients is:

Do as many reps as you can.

When you’re done your done.

If you want to circle back and do a few more to fatigue after doing something else for a bit, do it.

This approach, I find, helps clients to gain better insight and connection with themselves.

They can feel their limits and their gains without being tied to arbitrary numbers which is so important for so many people.

The feeling becomes the guide.
You can feel what you are capable of.
And does that ever feel GOOD!

Of course we need metrics too, to track or measure progress or outcomes, but that can still be done with this approach.

If you want to keep track of the reps you can do or how much you have done, maybe do it after the fact, not before.

See how everything is a spectrum and we don’t have to be rigid in our approach to movement?

Changing things like this can help improve compliance and make movement more fun and less militant.
❤️

CW: Wound healing

I don’t see wounds being chatted about very often in the rehab world so I wanted to share my recent profound experience in this area!

Pic 2: Day1

I got a third nearly fourth degree burn from touching for the briefest of seconds the top coil of the oven when it was set to broil.
😬
It didn’t even blister it just burnt layers of my skin, crispy. I had no feeling when I put it under cold water.

Pic 3: Day 4

Layers of burnt skin had peeled off.

I had to wear a gel bandage on my hand all day and keep it there with KT tape while the wound was trying to close otherwise it was too susceptible to infection or reopening.

I took it off at night to get some air on it.

Repeat

Pic 4: Day 7

I was feeling down because 7 days later and maybe 40% better, I still couldn’t go swimming because of the open wound and swimming is a huge stress reliever for me. I asked Alison Bayes who offers Traditional Chinese Medicine services at TMT if she could help, and she could!

She followed the large intestine (LI) meridian (Pic 5) because that’s the line where my burn was at:

LI 4: he gu / Union Valley
Function: Dispels exterior wind, releases the exterior, stimulates the dispersing function of the Lungs, stops pain, removes obstructions from the channel, tonifies Qi and consolidates the exterior, harmonizes ascending and descending functions

She explained that in TCM the thinking is that a burn there at that point stops the energy from dispersing which can slow healing. It’s like the energy is blocked.

So,

She parked a cup on my forearm at:
LI 10: shou san li / Arm Three Miles
Function: Removes obstructions from the channel, tonifies Qi.

to allow the flow of energy and healing to have no obstructions.

By the following day the wound had closed enough that I could go swimming!

Pic 6: Day Ten (3 days after TCM)

My burn was 75% (approximation) better.

For context, burns like this often take 3-4 weeks to fully heal.

I’m now 2.5 weeks out and I am 95% of the way there (pic 7).

COOL, RIGHT?!

A great example of how different modalities serve us to support our healing in different ways.

Alison works Sundays and offers free consults!
❤️

Hypermobility means for me:

I don’t feel things in my body the way other people do, less collagen, less sensory info, and trouble generating tension.

I have trouble feeling like I can easily stand and balance on my legs.

It sometimes feels like my legs are al dente spaghetti sticks.

I don’t have great joint centration in my ball and socket joints (hips and shoulders).

It feels like my pelvis doesn’t know where a balance point is on my femur heads and like it’s slippery in the hip socket!

This work from with that we supported taking (because teamwork makes the dream work and I strongly believe you need to support and invest in your team members), has been a game changer.

This is being talked about more and more with our movement, neuro and Hypermobility peers, should we work with Hypermobile clients the same way we work with Neuro clients?

I think so. The sensory awareness I lack is a neurological issue.

When we use the tools from , I connect to my body in a whole new way.

This is an exercise called push and plug.

Side lying, feeling comfortable and supported, push your foot into a wall at around a 2/10 of pressure or effort, feel how that gives support, organization of the leg bones and plugs the femur into the hip socket.

I could lay here for a long time. It feels like deep work around my hip socket in my “hip cuff” AKA the deep 6 muscles.

You can use a wall instead of the Pilates Cadillac but the caddy is nice for clients who have trouble getting up and down from the floor.

I’m lying on the Oov to give me an added element of instability to organize my self up the chain as well.

Feels so so so good, it actually makes me feel calm to plug my bones and joints together like this, I so rarely feel this way on land. I feel like I don’t have a container and this closed chain move helps me to feel that.

In conclusion: GOLDEN MOVE RIGHT HERE!

We know how to break things down and give your body and brain the info it needs to connect to yourself.

Movement is medicine.
We’ve got the moves.
❤️

Great article to go with my post today on the importance of using non-binary language in health and wellness!

How to Avoid Binary Thinking and Think More Clearly Binary thinking is when we make assumptions and overgeneralize. Instead, try full-spectrum thinking, which embraces complexity and leads to clarity.

I’m not a fan of absolutes when it comes to talking about health, movement or behaviour.

As an example,

Instead of: This cue always works well for people.

Try: This cue often works well for people.

For the person who perhaps the supposed golden cue doesn’t work for, they might feel deflated if it doesn’t work for them when ‘always’ is used. If ‘often’ is used, it leaves room to explore with less judgement.

There are too many examples to list that might come off as attacking to other practitioners or modalities so I’m just going to leave that example there and let you consider other examples you may experience in your work or life.
😉

But “always” makes me cringe because
it is binary thinking or behaviour and not only is it not helpful, but it’s not true.

Complex concepts and ideas cannot be overly simplified into being one side or another.

While binary thinking may help us feel a sense of certainty about something, it completely disregards that gray areas exist.

Binary thinking often leads to assumptions, conflict and detachment.

So as always, choose your words and thoughts with more discernment to help create safer spaces and compassionate inquiry.
❤️

Let’s dive in a little on our divine thoracic spine (t-spine), specifically, t spine extension (bending back).

Learning about how things work in our body can improve our experience or relationship with our body and how we use it!

The angles of the joints in the thoracic spine (upper back) allow for motion in all planes:

▪️rotation
▪️flexion (bending forward)
▪️extension (bending back)
▪️lateral flexion (side bending), but this is more limited at t-spine because of the ribs

❓How much flexion do we have in thoracic spine?

Neumann (2010) says that the average adult demonstrates 40 ° to 45 ° of natural kyphosis (curving back) while standing.

This is considered “neutral” but as we know neutral is actually about tone and not bone so take this with a grain of salt, it’s a baseline but there can be some deviance.

From neutral, the thoracic spine can flex (bend forward) to approximately 35 ° of additional flexion. So, in full flexion the thoracic spine demonstrates UP TO 75 ° of flexion.

❓How much extension do we have in thoracic spine?

The thoracic spine only moves 20 ° to 25° of extension (bending back). So, if the “neutral” position is 40 °, the fully extended is still 15 -20 ° of flexion!

⁉️So we don’t have extension in thoracic spine? But what about cobra in yoga? Or swan in Pilates?

When the term “extension” (bending back) is used about the thoracic spine, the meaning is a reduction in relative flexion (bending forward).

While there may not be true extension (bending back) of the thoracic spine, this reduction in flexion (bending forward) is important for movement of the scapula (shoulder blade) and arm (more on this later-very important for shoulder function)!

So once we get to that “extension” of thoracic spine, which is just a reduction of flexion, we increase our back bend by extending through lumbar but we can also think about using or ARMS to retract the scapula to increase our extension in our upper body!

I’ve got a gem of an exercise I will post tomorrow to demonstrate this!
Stay tuned!
🤓
Endnotes:

Just writing this as a reminder to myself so I stop calling the Traditional Chinese Medicine massage technique, Tuna Massage.
🎣 💆‍♀️ 😆
Tuina (Twee-nah) Massage stimulates the flow of qi to promote balance and harmony within the body using many of the same principles of acupuncture! It can also feel similar to shiatsu.
☯️
It’s similar to acupuncture in the way it targets specific acupoints, but practitioners use fingers instead of needles to apply pressure to stimulate these points.

Tuina massage is often used in combination with other TCM Modalities like cupping (specifically pulling circulation to the surface), gua sha (more for lymphatic system), acupuncture and acupressure seeds!

Interested? Come try a sliding scale session with on Sunday mornings.

It’s a lovely way to start a Sunday and prep for the week!
😎

Seemingly small shifts in language, how we talk to or about ourself, can change how we feel about ourself.

Your shoulder isn’t sh*t.

Your hip isn’t sucky.

If you’ve got pain you’ve got something going on that needs some attention. That’s it! It’s being affected by something.

Small shifts can have big impacts.

Foster as much kindness with yourself as you do with other people even in small ways.
❤️

We have a client who whenever we give them an exercise that is challenging they say emphatically,

“THIS IS SO GOOD FOR ME!”

And I try to take that energy into every movement session I have with myself to be honest!

I was a high level athlete in my teens for about a decade. When I can’t do something or something is hard for me I can go to a dark thought place.

Now if those thoughts pop up I acknowledge them and replace them with: this is good for me.

Such an important shift mentally for a lot of people.

It’s okay to be a beginner, to be “bad” at things or not meet your expectations (realistic or otherwise). Just know that this is a moment in time and the more you work at it the easier it gets.

Challenging things are GOOD for us!
❤️