Thank you to Karen Taylor Soiles, PT, PRC, of Collaborative Physical Therapy, who, together with The Teal Center for Therapeutic Bodywork, welcomed 34 clinicians curious about the science and application of Postural Respiration. Karen’s attention to detail, including the wide array of healthy snacks, kept our bodies nourished and brains alert and focused throughout the weekend.
The need to position the left hemi diaphragm was introduced right off the bat to ensure that the right diaphragm autocracy stops ruling our autonomics! Other key concepts included the need to facilitate hamstrings and IOs/TAs to establish a left ZOA followed by reach activities to hold the ZOA and direct air into previously-restricted areas of the rib cage. A series of gait videos enabled us to view firsthand various pelvic and thorax movement strategies. Lack of arm swing on one or both sides were reflected in our PRI tests. They served as a reminder that arm swing is 50% of the gait cycle!
Thank you to Kathryn Bragg, PT, and Laurie Johnson, PT, seasoned clinicians tuned into nuances of performance of PRI non-manual techniques. The take-home from that discussion: So long as the reference centers are sensed by the patient, stated in the instructions as “You should feel…”, the exercise can be quite effective. Ultimately fine-tuning areas that are holding tension and tweaking alignment can help the process.
With Jill Tender, DPT, as our superior T4 model, we succeeded in unearthing a compensatory respiration strategy that responds to additional non-manual and manual techniques beyond what is needed to manage those who have not yet resorted to this compensation. Others who enriched our learning-through-demonstration were: Amelia Franklin, DPT, OCS; Benjamin Fuentes, PT; Tara Pickett, DPT, GCS; Jacqueline Richards, DPT; and Karthik Yadagiri, PT. I really enjoyed my weekend with this wonderful group of clinicians. They gained an appreciation for just how influential alternating, reciprocal rib cage movement is to efficient movement and to the overall health of human physiological systems….and collectively rejoiced in the resolution of wallet-gate.
