Miscellaneous
Today we are so happy to welcome posture specialist and Rolfer Sukie Baxter onto the show. Sukie discovered Rolfing while she was in college and talks about how it changed her life forever by helping her flexibility, posture, injuries, and the comfort level in her body. It even lifted her mood and anxiety levels. Sukie’s main message today is that when it comes to dealing with pain, posture, and proper body alignment, it's not about having a rigidly straight body every minute of the day. Rather, we should become more aware of bio-individuality, the fact that we’re dealing with different things, exist in different environments and move differently. Therefore, having an awareness of good alignment, or the integrity of the relationships between body parts through different movements, becomes key. Good posture is relative to the action one is participating in. We get into so much more in this episode though, touching on poor medical practices, the role of work environments in perpetuating body pain, the relationship between body movement and culture, and the tendency to see mind and body as separate. We also hear a lot more about how Sukie approaches treatment, looking at the specific movement techniques she uses, the evolution of thinking in the Rolfing community, and the potential physical causes of psychological problems. CLICK HERE FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT This fantastic episode was brought to you by Chomps, the first and only meat snack that is 100% grass-fed and finished, Whole30-approved, certified gluten-free, certified paleo, non-GMO verified, and certified humane. Go to chomps.com and use the code ‘PaleoMag' to get 15% off your first order of these glorious snacks. Key Points From This Episode: Sukie’s connection with horse riding in her youth and why she stopped it at college. Why Sukie started rowing in college and what injuries she experienced as a result. How Sukie’s discovery of Rolfing had a wondrous physical and mental effect on her. Sukie hated corporate America after college thus decided to escape by studying Rolfing. The definition of Rolfing: a holistic approach to posture and movement therapy. How Rolfing diagnostics look at posture, movement, and even emotional state. Some of the therapeutic exercises Sukie uses which intend to create novel sensory inputs. Why Rolfing has become less painful. How the brain forms its map of body and space. People’s movements are modeled on those of their community. How minute changes in body language are immediately perceivable. The body’s desire for efficiency helps in the labor of correcting movement. Why the evolving thinking in Rolfing communities will lead to it becoming more mainstream. Problems with mainstream medicine and its un-holistic approach. The reasons behind the inability for Rolfing to be covered by insurance. How qualms to invest in physical health are linked to seeing mind and body as separate. Postulations about whether body-othering is unique to North America. Why one should recognize and appreciate the fact that valuable things require investment. The physiological processes that occur while foam rolling. How ‘Dermoneuromodulation’ relieves tension leading up to myofascial work. The real reason why people increase rolling intensity. What Rolfing can do to help scar tissue mobility issues. Sukie’s understanding of posture as dynamic, and her advice on maintaining good posture. The value of seeing posture as relative to the action being done. How technology distorts our sense of space. The importance of being in new and expansive environments. The role that modern environments play in perpetuating bad posture. Posture advice for people who are forced to work eight hours a day at a desk. The worst posture mistake that people make. What makes posture different from alignment. Maintaining alignment is about preserving the relationships between body parts. Rolfing treats muscle but also bone and tendons. How Sukie approaches the psychological aspect of injury and habit as a body specialist. An argument for the physiological cause of psychological problems. Tweetables: “Rolfing is a holistic approach to posture and movement therapy.” — @SukieBaxter [0:10:12.1] “Our bodies are designed for efficiency. If you can show them a more efficient way to move, they will tend to move like that.” — @SukieBaxter [0:14:43.1] “We really need to get out of our little computer box environments and we need to opt-out of these toxic work cultures that are requiring us to be in front of our computers for 12, 14, 16 hours a day.” — @SukieBaxter [0:51:23.1] “I had suffered from a lot of anxiety and I watched it completely disappear with more somatic practices.” — @SukieBaxter [01:05:44.1] “A lot of times, I think that what we think is thought-based is actually biologically-driven. I think the somatic is incredibly powerful.” — @SukieBaxter [01:07:11.1] Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: Sukie Baxter on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/sukie-baxter-bba955183/ Sukie’s online practice — https://wholebodyrevolution.com/ Sukie’s Seattle practice — https://www.seattlerolfingtherapy.com/ The Human Potential Party — http://ashleighvanhouten.com/human-potential-party/ Tony Robbins — https://www.tonyrobbins.com/ Diane Jacobs — http://www.dermoneuromodulation.com/ Todd Hargrove — https://www.bettermovement.org/ Peter Levene — https://traumahealing.org/about-us/ Stephen Porges — https://www.stephenporges.com/ This fantastic episode was brought to you by Chomps, the first and only meat snack that is 100% grass-fed and finished, Whole30-approved, certified gluten-free, certified paleo, non-GMO verified, and certified humane. Go to chomps.com and use the code ‘PaleoMag' to get 15% off your first order of these glorious snacks. 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