BPL8: Moving Stretch with Suzanne Wylde
EXCERPTS FROM THE SHOW
Suzanne Wylde developed the Moving Stretch system to be:
“A little more accessible for people with chronic pain and mobility issues, or who maybe aren’t the most flexible.”
Describing herself as “naturally inflexible” Suzanne’s approach could be even more interesting if you’re not so bendy yourself. It’s quite common, for example, to have an inflexible lower back.
In today’s epsiode, Suzanne explains the difference between passive stretching and resistance training.
We also broach the sensitive subject of back pain and emotions; in terms of both cause and effect.
From learning Tai Chi at sixteen, to 5 years studying traditional Chinese medicine in the UK and Bejing, working as the only paid acupuncurist in the NHS and experiencing first hand the benefits of resistance stretching. Suzanne talks about her remarkable journey to creating Moving Stretch and her mission to give chronic pain sufferers the power to help themselves.
- It’s been very rewarding working with people with chronic pain…getting them their freedom of movement back, and their confidence back.
- A lot of staying young and healthy is maintaining the quality of our tissue…this happens naturally if we keep moving in a variety of ways….unfortunately, because of social pressures, we move in very restricted ways.
On Working in a Pain Clinic
- The most empowered people who were always researching and helping themselves…they did the best.
- Loads and loads of people in chronic pain….you’re in a diminishing circle of what you can do.
- The people who did the best were the people who took intiative and could listen to their own bodies.
Moving Stretch: Work Your Fascia to Free Your Body
- I’m massively motivated to help my chronic pain clients especially….as you know, it’s hard to sleep…even just be yourself…it eclipses everything.
- This kind of stretching is more like a body work that you do to yourself.
- Resistance stretching is when you start at the beginning of your range of motion, then create tension in your muscles. So that’s the resistance part. Then you move through the resistance towards the end of the range of motion.
- Imagine you are waking up in the morning. …you yawn and stretch. You don’t just reach your arms out. Before you move your arms, you tense your muscles…your muscles contract a bit, then you lengthen them against that.
- We get really good results…one of the guys, a model in the book, was hit by a motorbike and had chronic pain which was very debilitating…he was a music teacher, he couldn’t actually lift a guitar. After 2 weeks of stretching for about 20 minutes every day he was able to pick up a guitar and start playing again. Within a month he was pain free.
Back Pain Self Care
- You have to find what’s right for you.
- I think there is a lack of self-care methods out there
- You want to invest in at least one method enough to give it a good go.
- You’ll never suffer from going to a doctor and getting a diagnosis….but you do have to be pro-active about having a self-care regime where you take responsibility for your body.
- Movements that are beneficial can still trigger a pain response.
- I feel that some people have no awareness of anything below their eyeballs…I’m a bit of thinker so I do it too!
- When you’re focused on something….you don’t know that you’re hunching your shoulders.
Inflexible Back – Can I Do This?
- I wanted to create a system that could be used by people who are not flexible.
- A lot of people look at stretching classes and Yoga classes and think “I can’t do that”.
- I’m naturally inflexible………I have an understanding of where people are coming from when they say “I can’t do that”.
Back Pain and Emotions
- You become protective of yourself when you are in chronic pain – fearful of movement. That’s the saddest part; people don’t trust their own bodies any more.
- Back pain can be very upsetting. Part of the thing that’s upsetting is losing freedom….and that fear of not being able to trust a movement.
- It’s knowing when to push through the pain and when not to. That’s tricky…..It’s about learning to listen to your body…the emotional side is huge as well obviously.
- It’s quite common that people will be…offended, or think that you don’t get it if you think it’s emotional because they think you mean it’s made up.
- There’s only one way to separate the body and the mind reliably and that’s by killing someone…I try not to do that with my clients!
- Sometimes…when the first time you’ve stiffened is in response to an emotion…the emotion is still locked in the fascia.
Today’s Guest
Designer of the Moving Stretch system and author of Moving Stretch: Work Your Fascia to Free Your Body Suzanne Wylde
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Thanks to Suzanne for joining me this time.
Best,
Iain
Find more episodes of the Back Pain Liberation Podcast here
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