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Science is all about expanding the realm of human perception and human sense. Life is both. This tertiary course allows me to discuss how a change in perception and sense of the visuo-spatial cortex, hemi-chest compression, upper extremity reciprocation and lower extremity alternation of mass management can influence dominance or patterned design outcomes.  A change in perception related to any one of these components, changes perception associated with the other three. This predominant component patterning, precedes our cortical and associated physical, physiologic and psychologic dominance in moving ourselves forward.   I asked two individuals who attended this course to provide some honest, visceral feedback about the material that relates to the assessment and treatment of functional cortical dominance. Thank you Andrew Hauser ATC, CSCS, RSCC, PRT and Robert George DC, PRC for the following insights.

"I feel like I could write quite a bit about this subject as everything I felt like I learned in Vision& conversations from both you (Ron) & Heidi all came flooding back, and then some. It integrated all of it, and I appreciated how good of a job you did regarding bringing up what was backed by research. Simple, complex and everything in between. It’s tertiary for a reason, there is no doubt, but it felt like I could finally share what I had learned from you that others hadn’t yet experienced. It put it into words. I’m sure each course will be different, yet the golden thread will remain.

Where to begin?! The FLM course brought concepts from the previous vision courses, advanced integration and the primary courses and truly integrated them into what is driving the show on a daily basis. Being able to take all the phases of gait and break them down through our visual processes, hemi-chest airflow, upward limb alternation and how the lower half is responding & supporting these components of forward locomotor movement was a revelation. Understanding the biased-cortical / hemispheric "need for speed" and our abilities, as practitioners, to slow everything down may have turned this into a course on psychology, that wasn’t a course on psychology. I think they just took the lid off of Pandora’s box." – Andrew Hauser

"Last weekend Ron presented FLM and for this faculty member it was an experience that opened the door wider to PRI tertiary principles.  Integrating Hruska hemispheric components of vision, hemi-chest wall airflow and upper limb alternation first, then considering lower limb alternation, really cemented the basics of forward locomotor movement.  The course also opened the door to more questions for me especially when Ron was talking about the “trombone” effect of near and far vision for FLM.

I called Ron after this course today with not only questions but a realization that this last weekend so many light bulbs went on in my head that opened a gateway to somatosensory topics.  I must confess when I took the vision course several years ago, I didn’t understand much after words!  I was just learning to teach the basic mechanics of primary course work and was overwhelmed by what seemed to be a really complex subject.  After this past weekend, not only did the vision course make more sense, but tertiary course concepts from Cranial Resolution and Occlusal Cervical Restoration became more clear as the sensory and motor components of coordinated and balanced movement were revealed.

One of my questions for Ron was regarding Functional Cortical Dominance.  In our talk today, Ron was discriminating between cortical dominance as well as individual pre-dominance developed over time.  In Postural Respiration, we present the very basics of the left half of brain contributing to right sided dominance.  But the discussion is much more complex including what we see, hear, feel, sense from the ground, temperature, where sound is coming from and the visual kinesthetic sense of movement and flow of things going past us.  This is a short list of sensory input in addition to a psychological component of how we respond to the mystery of being alive for a sense of well being!

In a recent walk I had in nature with Ron and Robin, the topic of discussion was the very human hunger and need of having a sensual experience in nature for our mental and emotional wellbeing.  Filling our senses the sight of waterfalls, rivers flowing into pristine lakes, seeing  the varieties of color, wildlife and trees  all fill a need for a sensual experience.  Ancient natural sound that we have heard as humans for thousands of years like the sound of wind in tall trees, flowing water falls, a thunderstorm and the sound of wildlife including birds and a coyote call are all in our DNA.  The mille-second processing of natural sounds orient us in time and space and even feeling the wind on one side of our face gives us a sense of direction and orientation as well.  Becoming conscious of and feeding all of our senses we all hunger for but have become unconscious or disconnected from in a converged modern world.  These somatosensory experiences expand our awareness, feed our mind and emotions beauty and inspiration and allow for the joy and freedom of movement that is rare in a paved over, domesticated and confined modern experience we just assume is “life”.

 Sensory processing though our five senses is a complex, multilayered experience affecting all parts of our brain all at once with horizontal and vertical movement, flow and forward motion and a mental and emotional response that is processed unconsciously and consciously instantaneously.

Ron asked be for a brief recap of my brief discussion today and as I see it as movement specialists in PRI, expanding and becoming more conscious of our own sensual acuity with the purpose of understanding not just human movement, but providing a path to more sensory awareness, internal mental and emotional fulfillment and well being for our patients and ourselves is a worthy endeavor." – Skip George

I recently had another great oppurtonity to teach Pelvis Restoration at the home of the Postural Restoration Institute. This was the third Live Stream course that I have instructed and it was truly one of the best! I had a smaller live group of 6 on site attendees and over 20 Live Zoom participatents. I did my best to stay focused on the introductory concepts, tests and treatments for pateints suffering from Pelvis related dysfunctions. I enjoyed the discussions regarding patterns, positions and PRI as it relates to frontal plane control of the Pelvis. I really enjoy discussing Pelvis Respiration as it can benefit so many patients and give PRI therapists a greater understanding of how the thorax, inlet and outlets all integrate to stabilize our pateints. Thanks to RJ for being my Mystro this weekend. He always takes good care of me and our students.

The clinicians of Lancaster General Hospital are pros at hosting PRI courses. Last weekend’s Postural Respiration course was their seventh. This instructor had moments of déjà vu, since LGH was the location of the first PRI course I attended, back in 2007. Two participants, Deborah Schrodi, PT, and Cathy Ingram, PT, were also in attendance at that very course 15 years ago! The surrounding Amish community, who eschew automation, provided an interesting contrast to our modern way of life and its epidemics of myopia, asthma, and loss of movement variability. These modern ills can be traced, by-and-large, to technological “advancements”.   

Underscoring the Institute’s interdisciplinary mindset, the class was comprised of a mix of clinicians, including physical therapists, physical therapy assistants, athletic trainers, massage therapists, and personal trainers. Many were new to the science, while others had multiple PRI courses under their belt.

The Institute continually works to update course material, adding research articles and patient photos and videos to illustrate and support course concepts. Our left and right hemi-diaphragms are different in size and have differences in abdominal support.  This “static asymmetry” creates a teeter-totter effect within our body, keeping us reflexively alive and providing a starting point from which to move. When this teeter-totter situation reaches a tipping point, we have only a “totter”. The right side remains pinned-down, grounded, and compressed. The left side is held aloft, remaining ungrounded and decompressed. We cannot thrive in this state.

Our patterned, maladaptive hemi-diaphragm position and activity has consequences on movement, physiology, and behavior. Humans require oscillating compression and decompression of our lungs and rib cage to provide movement and ensure the health of our tissues, most notably the nervous system. An outward sign of this lack of oscillation is breathing pattern dysfunction, such as belly breathing, chest wall elevation, and superior T4 syndrome, the underpinnings of many of the syndromes that we treat.

Postural Respiration is a lab-heavy, hands-on course, better taken live, if possible. Participants came away proficient in performing and interpreting PRI’s objective tests to identify overactive left IAC, right BC, and B PEC chains of muscles and the pesky superior T4 syndrome. These patterns need to be inhibited so that we can efficiently and effectively inhabit the environment around us, without deleterious effects on our neuromusculoskeletal system.

A huge shout out to Frank Mallon, DPT, PRC, owner of Renaissance Physical Therapy in near-by Philly. Your expertise and instruction on the nuances of the Institute’s non-manual and manual techniques was invaluable!

Thank you to all who asked questions and provided clinical comments, keeping the energy level high. Thank you to our models, who enhanced the learning experience: Kirsten Ditzler, DPT; Kelly Faller, PTA; Eileen Herman, PT; Isha Mody, PT; Joesph Newton-Pretko, DPT; Kyle Price, PT; Lori Shearer, PTA and Michael Polejav, PT who all helped facilitate our learning.

Thank you to the LGH clinicians for your efforts in set-up and clean-up. I appreciated the opportunity to present this material at the place where my PRI journey started.

Last week, at our Annual Interdisciplinary Integration Symposium, we presented the PRI Director’s Dedication Award to two very deserving individuals who have had such a positive impact on our Institute; Joan Hanson and Robert "Skip" George. Although they were unable to join us in-person for the symposium this year, we knew we didn’t want to wait to present them with this award, and so we did so virtually, with 40 in-person attendees and approximately 90 others watching on the live stream feed. The PRI Director’s Dedication Award was established by the Board of Directors (Ron Hruska, Janie Ebmeier, Jennifer Platt and Bobbie Rappl) in 2012 to recognize individuals’ ongoing dedication to their advancement in PRI. To date, we have presented this award to 18 individuals and an award recognition plaque, which is pictured above, is displayed at the Postural Restoration Institute® in Lincoln, Nebraska, recognizing each of the PRI Directors Dedication Award recipients.

Joan Hanson is a Physical Therapist in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Joan began her PRI journey 22 years ago, with a Protonics course, and since then has taken 32 PRI courses. She completed PRC credentialing in 2005, as part of the 2nd class to complete PRC credentialing. Joan owned an outpatient clinic, Physical Therapy Solutions in Sioux Falls, prior to merging with Sanford Health; now operating as Sanford Physical Therapy Solutions. Joan continues to make her presence felt in the PRI community, by attending courses in Lincoln on a regular basis, contributing questions and responses to peers in the PRI Google group, mentoring the colleagues at her clinic, and being an avid PRIVY fan, who regularly asks questions that prompt further PRIVY discussions. I have no doubt that Joan has watched every PRIVY, and many of them more than once. Joan is a life-long learner, and that includes merging other approaches with PRI for the best patient outcomes. She recently completed a week long Schroth training, and looks forward to integrating this approach within her practice. We feel like this award is long overdue, and we were so honored to present the PRI Directors Award to Joan Hanson.

Robert "Skip" George is a Chiropractor, who now resides in Logan, Utah. However, Skip spent much of his life and career in La Jolla, California, before moving to Utah this past year. He traded in surfing for weekly skiing or hiking, depending on the season in Utah. Skip took his first PRI course in 2012 and he completed PRC credentialing in 2014, becoming the first chiropractor to complete PRC credentialing. Skip was invited to begin training to teach on the PRI faculty, shortly after he completed PRC credentialing. He began teaching Postural Respiration in 2016, and Cervical Revolution in 2020. Skip is passionate about growing the science of Postural Restoration in his profession, and he has presented at numerous national, state and even international chiropractic conferences, including the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians annual conference, the American Chiropractic Association Rehab Council, the American Chiropractic Association, and the German Sports Chiropractic Association, among other state conferences. Skip is presenting next month at the California Chiropractic Sports Symposium on the “Two Roles of the Diaphragm for Chiropractic Care, Rehab and Sports Performance”. Skip is a vibrant member of our faculty, who is constantly wanting to learn more, and has become a wonderful mentor as he assists others in their training to teach PRI courses. We were incredibly honored to present the PRI Directors Dedication Award to Skip George.

Congratulations to both Joan and Skip! We are so honored, humbled, and proud to have you as friends, colleagues and PRC providers representing this Institute!

The pacific northwest has been a PRI hot bed for several years. The enthusiasm for the science and clinical application of PRI is palpable. It was my honor to have the opportunity to teach a fantastic group of movement professionals in Seattle. We had five PRC’s in attendance for this newly updated I&I course.  

This course is the perfect gateway to several PRI courses, including Cranial Resolution, Forward Locomotor Movement, and the Primary Non-manual Techniques Workshop. Our conversation starts with introducing the neurological learning process that the body needs in order to inhibit patterned behavior: alternating compression and decompression. This important concept is the foundation we build from as we progressed from the calcaneus to the femur and pelvis and into the scapula.

Founded in the concept of alternating compression, we were able to delve into medial and lateral hamstring relationships, as well as when and how to apply the right serratus anterior and subscapularis into a program. Along the way, the necessity of compression of talar bone and calcaneus, and management of pelvic inlets and outlets provide the necessary sense the body needs to allow the body the freedom it desires above T8.

I cannot thank the staff from Alpine Physical Therapy enough. Jeremiah Ferguson, DPT, PRC, Christopher Murphy, DPT, PRC, and Eva Bilo, DPT, were the perfect hosts. A huge shout out to their friend who was kind enough to loan us his projector for the weekend. It would have been a very different course without his generosity. My sincere thanks to the Alpine crew for all of their help.

We were fortunate to have a great mixture of seasoned PRI veterans as well as several who are relatively new to PRI. My thanks to Trevor Corrado, Jeff Fjelstul, David Shamash, and Katie Schaner for their willingness to ask questions.  In addition to the Alpine staff, it was wonderful to have Erin Coomer, Zach Hawthorne, Wren McLaughlin, and Betsy Baker-Bold contribute their experience and perspective to the audience. It was helpful to have others in the audience provide their clinical validation to the topics of I&I.

Many thanks for a wonderful experience in a truly gorgeous region of the country!

Pro-Active Physical Therapy in beautiful Fort Collins, CO hosted Cervical Revolution this past weekend. This was a unique gathering of not only first timers to Cervical Revolution but seasoned veterans of PRI including a total of four faculty members and four PRC/PRT’s. Included in the group was a local dentist, Dr. Behar Esmaili, who brought an enthusiastic perspective on how occlusion affects the entire physiologic and postural system. The subject of a stomatognathic consideration to the cervical, cranial and occlusal system with the cervical spine as the primary driver of the system was reinforced this weekend.

Postural Restoration is an interdisciplinary institute and that was reflected in the backgrounds of the attendees. Cervical Revolution bridges a gap, as does PRI, with many professions with respiration sacred to physical therapists, the atlas/spine with chiropractors, the cranium with osteopaths and occlusion with dentists. Mix in ATC’s and fitness professionals for performance and this course, as well as every other PRI course, has a wide appeal and utilization for many health care disciplines.

Having four faculty members in attendance is rare unless a course is given in Lincoln and the energy with vast clinical expertise of Louise Kelley, DPT, Jason Miller, DPT and Craig Deperschmidt, DPT was appreciated by all. Louise Kelley, DPT will soon be ready to teach Cervical Revolution and her ability to describe testing and non-manual techniques, especially the Standing Stomatognathic Squat, was a "bonus" contribution to the weekend and was also greatly appreciated. The discussion of the A/O articulation being highly neurologic/autonomic went from a theoretical consideration in opening remarks to real lab experience when several "extension driven" students, with PRI Cervical repositioning non-manual techniques, got to experience first hand what neutral feels like. Thanks to all of the Pro-Active Staff for hosting this past weekend and this entire group of professionals that took time out of their schedules to "revolve" with us!

Where Would We Be Without Interference? Our Recovery Depends On It.

After talking about the molars influence on “grounded” movement and the canines influence on “guided” exploration, I become more mindful about the direction, both the Institute and these teeth have always had on the influence of “posture”. Our recovery of food going down the wrong “pipe”, our recovery of losing our balance when slipping on a rug, our recovery of mis-pronouncing when using familiar vernacular, our recovery of our visual focus when we misjudge objects in the distance, our recovery of our anti-gravitational unilateral abdominals, hamstrings, and triceps, our recovery of our breath……etc. all require a sense of ourselves, our interoception, our ‘centric’ presence, that is given to us through occlusal and podal interference.   

I have evolved my life around these human grounded and un-grounded concepts of reference and restraint guidance. And I am only hopeful, as illusory as the concepts, research and corollaries that were provided in this very highly integrated course on teeth and feet are and can be, that health care providers will appreciate how to “recover” better through the integration of the ‘floors’ the maxillae, and the ‘floors’ the feet depend on for postural balance. I am enlivened for those dentists and movement specialists who decide to immerse themselves into the world of recovery, by addressing how to put the neck to rest, through pterygoid, palatine, and plane alternation. The resonance of recovery is the most grounded state one can accomplish. Simply because the action, the guidance, and sense of limitation, which is what the sense of interference provides, protects and relaxes our necks and essentially, us.

If after reading this, you become more curious about our need for balance built off of interferences, please consider taking this course, offered on October 14th and the 15th, or consider attending this year’s Spring Symposium on “The Stomatognathic System: An Interdisciplinary Approach In The Management of Spatial Navigation and Structural Strength” on April 22nd and the 23rd.

Melissa Truska, thank you for balancing me out those two days. With you on my left and Jen Platt on my right, I felt so grounded and supported, as a presenter in front of a screen of so many I truly wanted to personally interact with, individually. There were countless questions, that were answered by Jen Platt. I appreciate her so much. Her talent and historical presence in this Institute allows me to do what I appreciate doing. And that is presenting material that has foundation, regardless of how familiar one is with that foundation of science. PRI applications and techniques, are built off of and around my beliefs, practice and principles. And Jen and her staff keep me, the faculty and all of us grounded, secured and consistent, in a world full of confusion and mis-interference.

I had a wonderful time teaching Pelvis Restoration in Bradenton Florida!  Thank you IMG Academy for hosting , Megan for being my lab assistant, and the course attendees for learning with me for the weekend.  

As always, we went into detail of the pelvis position anteriorly and posteriorly and left and right in the pelvis inlet and outlet.  How this position influences compression and decompression of the pelvic inlet and outlet and how the respiratory and pelvic diaphragms assist in treating the L AIC and PEC patterns to allow for lateralization to the left and right.  The course attendees stated that understanding PRI objective tests to assist with inhibition/facilitation of the L AIC and PEC polyarticular chain of muscles to assist with treatment to restore reciprocal and alternating movement was helpful.

It was a great class with great energy!  Thank you for spending your weekend with me.

Without a doubt, the opportunity to present the science of PRI to a live group of movement professionals was a great sign to me that we are getting closer and closer to the resumption of our previous "normal" lives. I had never had the pleasure of speaking in Massachusetts previously, and it was a wonderful experience. The newly updated Impingement and Instability course provides a neuromechanical explanation of the "why" behind many PRI concepts and how to apply the science to a variety of conditions and patient populations.

We were able to link the scapula to the calcaneus, femur, and pelvis, so by the time we got to scapular instability, we have the freedom to discuss other avenues of treatment and concepts that we previously were unable to discuss. This is the course we have the opportunity to dive into the concept of talar wobble, balancing hamstring activity, and the pressure sensitivity of the scapula.

Our exploration into the value of pressure management and how pressure is the "Morse Code" of postural and body awareness, as well as how the body learns to make changes to movement strategies was lengthy. This course provides the opportunity to go down some rabbit holes that we ordinarily are unable to proceed into in other courses.   

My thanks to the entire Train Boston crew for a great venue and very welcoming experience. It was an honor to have three certified individuals attend the course: Mike Mullins, Donna Behr, and Phil DeNigris. It was wonderful for me to have your questions and feedback, and those who were newer to PRI appreciated it as well. Thank you for a wonderful weekend and getting back to "normal."

Job description – Physical Therapist

Dynamic Life Therapy & Wellness is a private wellness clinic in Columbus, Nebraska offering PT, OT, massage therapy and fitness and yoga classes. We are seeking a Physical Therapist to join our team. We are an award-winning clinic for our excellent patient outcomes practicing innovative, progressive care. We have a strong clinical team specializing in Postural Restoration to keep our patients healthy at home and in the workforce. We believe in one-on-one patient centered care individualized to each patient’s needs and abilities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Providing interpretation of prescriptions, performing an initial evaluation, and establishing a treatment plan with functional goals and treatment progression with discharge planning documented in a timely, compliant manner using web based EMR

• Periodic communication to physicians

• Supervision of PTA when applicable

• Responsible for establishing and developing professional relationships with referral sources and the community including, but not limited to, physicians, PAs, occupational therapists, chiropractors, case managers, community service groups, etc.

• Complete all licensing and compliance standards as required

Expectations:

• Great patient care and service

• A positive, self-motivated attitude

• Lifelong learner and educator

• A passion for your profession and your patients

We offer:

• Competitive salary

• Paid CEUs and training

• No weekends or holidays

• Retirement and disability insurance benefits

If you are looking for a friendly, flexible workplace that is invested in helping you be the PT you want to be, we look forward to visiting with you. Preference for a therapist trained in Postural Restoration but willing to train. Please apply through whatever means you found this ad. More information about our clinic at dynamiclifetherapy.com.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: From $35.00 per hour

Contact: sjedlicka@dynamiclifetherapy.com

I had a great time this weekend in Lincoln NE, at the Postural Restoration Insitute. I had the pleasure of teaching Myokinematics of the HIp and Pelvis to 12 in person and 55 live stream attendees. The Institute continues to grow and it was my pleasure mentoring both Jason Miller and Craig Depperschmidt. They were not only my lab assistants for the weekend, but they both jumped right in to help me teach the Sunday afternoon clinical application of both facilitation and inhibition non manual techniques.

I really enjoy teaching and helping both new and seasoned PRI clinicians along their PRI journeys. We had some great discussions on the differences between orientation (uncompensated) and compensations that are commonly seen at the FA joint when a pelvis gets positioned in a L AIC pattern. No two courses in PRI are taught the same and this course was no different. I had the privilege of sharing my 20 years of PRI clinical experience and 11 years of teaching with this weekend’s course attendees. We had fun using some of my favorite musicians references Lady Gaga (born this way), Beyonce (to the left) and new to 2022 Dua Lipa (Levitate)! Go get those 5/5 HADLT and see those patients levitate off the table! Cheers until we meet again PRInation! Thanks to Kevin Fay for giving me yet another musical reference from Idina Menzel (let it go) to help us all remember how important inhibition is early in a program!

One Thing in Life You Do Not Want To Lose

There are so many things in life that need to be dropped off, like primitive reflexes, baby teeth, and excessive weight. But the one thing you don’t want to lose is your natural, neutral position of your upright neck.  Our upright cervical lordosis of 30 degrees, plus or minus a few degrees, reduces our masticatory stress, subglottal stenosis, head and cervical lateral displacement, as well as our development of open bites, mouth breathing, elevated hyoid malposition, and lowered glossal function. Therefore, you, me and humans in general, do not want to lose the capability of positioning and placing ourselves around a centrally located, cervical spine that has the ability to laterally flex each direction, from an appropriate, normal cervical aligned state, associated with 30 degrees of lordotic curvature. Our livelihood depends on this ability to keep, use and alternate our behavior from this homeostatic state.

Therefore, this is one thing in life I do not want to lose.

This course gives you, the speaker and your patients the opportunity to develop skills and sense on how to keep it.  And with the help of Skip George DC,PRC and Louise Kelley DPT, PRC we reinforced the way to assess, intervene and keep normal, neutral, natural cervical lordosis. Its like the clean air we breathe, the clear water we drink, the natural, non-preservative based food we eat, the honest, good people we interact with and the naturopathic sleep we desire. It is health. It is the best 30 degrees of preventative medicine there is. Skip and Louise, live their life around these concepts and are living examples of what it takes to keep it. Their presentation on how to revolve around a neck and function with a neck that has been re-positioned, will enlighten you. I am sure, one thing they will not lose in their life, is their neutral, natural cervical lordosis. They have been incorporating neuro-mechanics that evolved around 30 degrees of cervical lordosis, their entire life.