In the recent health literature there have been many descriptions of this modality and many different versions based on different theories and teachers. I have engaged with the teachings and trainings of many teachers such as Ida Rolf, Tom Myers, Mark Finch, John Barnes and a few others, and have tried to pull the most effective aspects of each based upon my experience with my patients, colleagues, and teachers. I have taught various workshops on myofascial release and manual therapy including with students at the UBC school of Physiotherapy.

I intend to interact with the tissue at a depth that will engage a person’s attention and provide them with a tether during the healing process without their body going into a state of fight or flight. Although this process has the potential to be challenging or uncomfortable it needs to feel safe, and feel freeing. This allows a person to work through recent injuries as well as old long-term issues that have been locked in the body for some time.

This modality is largely based on the Canadian Association of Manipulative Physical Therapy (CAMPT) curriculum and my mentoriship under the Cedar Hill Sports Therapy crew in the early 2000’s led by Wynn Gmitroski. The CAMPT curriculum pulls knowledge from many regions such as Canada, Australia, Europe, and the United States. It draws from physiotherapy, osteopathy, and other medical fields to provide the most up to date anatomicaly and physiologicaly informed tools for assessment and treatment.

The advanced knowledge and training from CAMPT and Cedar Hill for 5 years have given me the highest standard of training in manual and manipulative therapy in the industry. I am a Fellow of the Canadian Association of Manipulative Therapy and a mentor for students in the CAMPT curriculum. My education and enrichment in this area is on-going.

Often when an individual is experiencing pain and /or dysfuntion there will be a faulty biomechanical movement pattern. This pattern can be directly related to a single incident, a repetitive pattern, or some sustained stimulus that the body is exposed to. When the biomechanics change in the body, the tissue is often not adapted to this change in movement and in some way pain arises as the tissue is damaged or over-worked. It is my role to:

• Find out which muscles are not working enough and why this might be happening, and then work to activate the muscles to get them participating as part of the system again

• Find out which muscles are working too hard and get them to decrease their tone or activity to give space for the appropriate muscles to take the load and to find ways to maintain the lower tone in these muscles

• See which joints are not moving in the correct way, see what is changing the movement of the joint, and re-establish correct joint movement (also known as arthrokinimatics)

• See which tissues are physically restricting the body from moving in the optimal manner

The frameworks that I use for muscle retraining come from Neurodevelopmental Approach – also know as Bobath, neuromuscular retraining, from the Selective Functional Movement Assessment model (Gray Cook), from different schools of Yoga and dance movement therapy as well as many other contributions from many other teachers over 28 years.

My high performance training with the Canadian Rowing Team as an athlete and world Champion, formal Physiotherapy education, and collaboration with elite national team level therapists in Victoria has helped me develop a substantial knowledge base to draw from for prescription and modification of home exercises. Many of my clients have very active lives and it is possible to modify and enhance their training regimens. In some instances, we need to completely rework a program, as mentioned in the movement retraining section below. Some people may be new to exercise or may be starting new types of activities - in those cases, I will work with them to create the necessary plan for healthy, functional activity.

I love to move and learn how to move more efficiently and effectively. I am always looking for new areas to learn about helping people continue to find the best exercises and regimens for their physical wellbeing.

I was initially exposed to breath work through yoga. This I found profoundly helpful for both myself and my patients for managing certain biomechanical and physical health issues. I then had the opportunity 12 years ago to partake in Tibetan Breathwork which introduced the possibility of using altered states to access patterns held deep in the subconscious. For the past few years, I have taken a deep dive back into the realm of Conscious Connected Breathwork with colleagues and my new-found teacher Trevor Yelich. His amazing synthesis of Nüma Somatics brings together many of the strengths from the prevailing breathwork systems and other somatic practices into a comprehensive and effective package.

Breathwork on its own can be a powerful modality. I combine breathwork with TRE, manual therapy modalities, and movement retraining to create a revolutionary approach that tackles history in the body (big ‘T’ and little ‘t’ Trauma) as it relates to complex and chronic pain. I offer individual breath sessions, small group sessions, larger group sessions and special workshops. I am also on the teaching faculty for Numa Somatics.

With a background in psychotherapy, biodynamic body work and conflict resolution, Dr Bercelli pioneered this approach over twenty years ago in his international work in nine countries.

Tension & Trauma Release Exercises (or TRE®) is a simple yet innovative series of exercises that assist the body in releasing deep muscular patterns of stress, tension and trauma. Created by Dr. David Berceli, PhD, TRE safely activates a natural reflex mechanism of shaking or vibrating that releases muscular tension, calming down the nervous system. When this muscular shaking/vibrating mechanism is activated in a safe and controlled environment, the body is encouraged to return back to a state of balance

-Taken from the official TRE website

I will use TRE in private sessions or group sessions or combine it with other approaches to help individuals release deep patterns of tension and holding in the body. Although this work started out in the realm of high level trauma after various intense events around the world, it has become an effective tool in helping people deal with tension and stress in their body from everyday situations.

I have been interested in incorporating acupuncture into my patient’s treatment plans for over 19 years. Most of this time I have had the pleasure of working with very talented practitioners to whom I could refer. About 6 years ago I decided to take on the needling of clients myself. I trained with Dr Ivo Waerlop, from the Gait Guys, Summit County Colorado, a chiropractor trained in both traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture as well as trigger point dry needling (TPDN) and intramuscular stimulation (IMS). I use trigger point dry needling in conjunction with manual therapy. I have been taught and shown the research on the efficacy of TPDN/IMS, and how it is best integrated into therapy, and it is now one of my many tools.

There are many ways in which IMS can get a deeper and faster release of muscles than myofascial work. Balancing this with the comfort of the patient and keeping an individual within a neurological window of tolerance is key in making IMS/TPDN a helpful modality.