Stop Thinking and Start Feeling
In this week’s episode of the Unreal Results podcast, I discuss the importance of feeling instead of thinking. I recently took a course from the Barral Institute with one of my favorite instructors, Ron Mariotti, all about visceral vascular manipulation. Ron has been an integral part of how and what I teach with the LTAP™ because he’s one of the main instructors who taught me how to be better at listening to the body with my hands. In the episode, you’ll hear how a technique that was used on me has relieved digestive issues I’ve been having since September, the importance of going gentle on the pancreas, and why you shouldn’t blame your client’s body type if you’re having a hard time feeling with your hands.
Resources Mentioned In This Episode
Episode 15: Hard No To Hard Tools In The Gut
Episode 36: Listening To The Body
Episode 72: Don't Be So Hard On Yourself: The Power Of Soft Tools
Connect with Susannah on IG HERE
Ron's Book, Physiological & Clinical Applications of Visceral Manipulation, Vol 1: The Abdomen
Ron's Book, Physiological & Clinical Applications of Visceral Manipulation, Vol 2: The Abdomen
Barral Institute courses (be sure to mention I referred you to your first course!)
Learn the LTAP™ In-Person in one of my upcoming courses
Considering the viscera as a source of musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction is a great way to ensure a more true whole body approach to care, however it can be a bit overwhelming on where to start, which is exactly why I created the Visceral Referral Cheat Sheet. This FREE download will help you to learn the most common visceral referral patterns affecting the musculoskeletal system. Download it at www.unrealresultspod.com
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Anna Hartman: Hey there, and welcome. I'm Anna Hartman, and this is Unreal Results, a podcast where I help you get better outcomes and gain the confidence that you can help anyone, even the most complex cases. Join me as I teach about the influence of the visceral organs and the nervous system on movement, pain, and injuries, all while shifting the paradigm of what whole body assessment and treatment really looks like.
I'm glad you're here. Let's dive in.
Hello there, welcome to another episode of the Unreal Results podcast. I'm in a hotel room, clearly, maybe not clearly, maybe you think this is my bedroom look like, I don't know, but I'm in a hotel room in Vancouver, British Columbia, technically in the, in Richmond, British Columbia. Which is south of Vancouver, and um, I'm here for a course, I took a course this weekend.
Um, I took a Barral Institute course, I took Visceral Vascular Manipulation of the Lower Body. And the lower body is not just the lower extremity, but like, the lower body. So, we covered all the vascular structures from the abdominal aorta, at the level of the celiac tru trunk down all the way to the popliteal artery.
So learned a ton of amazing techniques. Specific to the vascular structures and it was so, I loved this class. Um, and I already know I'm going to use these techniques a lot in my practice. They are really gentle and they are very, even though they're very gentle, they're very profound in their effects and support of all the structures that they provide blood flow to.
And so I really felt it in my own body. I'd like to shout out, I had a great partner, which in these courses can make all the difference between a good experience and a bad experience, both learning the material and also physically what happens in your body as the patient on the table. Um, my friend Susanna Reid, she's a physiotherapist in um, British Columbia in South Surrey area.
So the Vancouver area as well. And, um, I've known her for a couple years. Shout out Susanna. She does listen to the podcast, so she's gonna hear this more than likely. But she was actually, um, the tipping point to me deciding to come to the course this weekend. I literally signed up on Tuesday and the course was on Friday.
And, um, I was, I was kind of thinking about it because I had to get my CV ready for a deposition I was doing last week and I keep my CV current with like what Con Ed courses I've taken and I notice like, Oh my gosh, I haven't taken a Con Ed course this year, which is rare. I had a couple scheduled at the beginning of the year, but I canceled it because I was just so focused on my athlete's rehab and, um, So I was like, Oh, I should see if there's any courses coming up, um, between now and the end of the year that I'm interested in taking.
And this one has been on my list for a while and they don't offer, they don't offer it a ton. So, um, I was like, Oh, it's this weekend. And technically I have, technically I was open. I had like a business mastermind online Thursday, Friday. Technically that I was going to attend, but it, it was being recorded.
So I was like, Oh, I can watch it at another time. Um, and then I was like, well, let's look at flights. And so flights to Vancouver were like surprisingly not expensive. As long as I had a layover in Seattle, direct were expensive. Um, and the other big thing was, it's my favorite teacher teaching, Ron, uh, Mariota.
And, I say Mariota because of the Oregon quarterback, Marcus Mariota, but I think it's Ron Mariotti. Tomato, tomato. No, important to get people's names right. Um, but I interchanged the two because they're very similarly spelled. Anyways, um, Ron was teaching. He is my favorite. And then of course I wanted, it was close and I was like, Oh, do I?
And then Susanna happened to message me on Instagram and I was like, Hey, I'm thinking about going to visceral vascular. Vancouver this weekend. She's like, Oh my gosh, I'm going, you should come. And I was like, okay, that's it. I'm coming. Because then I was like, Oh, I'll potentially have a partner that I know and trust and like, um, and somebody to learn with, which was really exciting.
So anyways, Susanna was the final tipping point to get me here. And I'm so, so glad she did because it was a great course. And like I said, it was super gentle, but profound work. I mean, the whole Visceral and neural manipulation is sort of like that. Um, it's not so, it's like, yes it's gentle and it is lighter touch than traditional maybe manual therapy, but it's actually still fairly like, you're on the structure.
So, um, I had been having some, Digestive symptoms that have been bothering me for a while now, but they were very heightened after I got the bladder infection the beginning of September and I have just been not feeling great in my gut and like I always have GERD gastro esophageal reflux and reflux and With the GERD, I don't have, well, the GERD symptoms I usually get are just a lot of ear pain upon waking, and Um, I think some of that ear Eustachian tube irritation too adds to sort of some post nasal drip I get in the mornings quite a bit too, so those are sort of the main symptoms, but Burping is a big one too, and it was burping actually in the last month that is, had gotten like, very, very much a problem.
Like, I'm talking about burping all day long. All the time for no reason like usually it's just like after food, but this was like literally all day long and It was just really bloated feeling and to the fact that like for the first time ever I didn't even really want like any like tight pants touching like any degree of tightness on my abdomen and Yeah, I was just really uncomfortable and I tried Some different movement.
I tried, you know, being better about not eating my foods that I know or I'm sensitive to And I added supplements back in and and some of that helped but not dramatically like of all the supplements I added back in molybdenum was the biggest one that helped me and molybdenum in molybdenum is a mineral and Specifically important mineral that converts It's sulfur foods to sulfates, sulfites, yeah, to sulfites.
And um, so when your body is, doesn't have enough molybdenum, molybdenum, it's a really hard word to say. Um. You have a hard time making that change and so you begin to have like a sulfur sensitivity because sulfurs are very gas producing and I've struggled with that in the past. Um, interesting enough, the glycophosphate that is in genetically modified foods, um, glycophosphate is the chemical that's in Roundup.
Um, which is the fertilizer that they use on foods to prevent insects from killing crops. Um, glycophosphate blocks the receptor in your body, uh, that molybdenum would be attaching to, to help that conversion from sulfur to sulfite. And so that's why doing a molybdenum supplement can be helpful. So, um, adding that back in I hadn't needed it for years really, um, adding that back in did help a little bit, but this whole story is to say that, um, the first day of class we did this technique on the gastric arteries, so the, um, left gastric artery and the greater omental artery, which is like an epigastric artery.
So basically the arteries that are surrounding the stomach and influence the function of the stomach quite a bit. Um, and, and, you know, taking a step back to we like, worked on the aorta first, and then, um, the gastric artery comes off the celiac trunk, so you're working that part of the artery, then you're working the artery around the lesser curve of the stomach, and then you're working around the greater curve of the stomach, which is, um, actually a branch of the splenic nerve, and, um, that, um, Sorry, it's not splenic nerve, splenic artery, and then that artery actually nests the most with um, the common, no, with the hepatic artery, and so we had worked on that too.
So basically, affecting the arterial flow, and when you're working on the arteries, you're also really working on the veins too, so both the, the, the vasculature and the arteries, um, so you, Basically, though, that technique made a huge difference. Like, instantly I felt a difference in the burping and the just general discomfort of my gastroesophageal sphincter area and like stomach epigastric area in general.
And then the next, and then that night felt, felt, felt good. And then I woke up Saturday morning. With zero ear pain and when I was walking to class from my hotel I was also not only did I have zero ear pain But the auditory, the amount of sounds I was hearing in my ear that morning was like wow My ear has never, not never, my ear hasn't felt this clear and not irritated and Literal years.
And so that was a huge, like, that's been a huge thing. And then, the more we treated all the different arteries, And the gut there, um, the better all of my symptoms were and like today still woke up with no ear pain. Um, just in general, my digestion feels a lot better. I don't feel bloated. Um, it's like huge.
Um, So anyways, you all already know like how big I am on improving blood flow and lymphatic flow to really like systemically the whole body But it's so important for our organs to be able to function well to have this and also too I had been having some pretty significant SI joint pain, low back pain, and that is completely better.
And, um, all the walking, my feet haven't hurt at all. So definitely like a big fluid shift as well as a big improvement of general function of my organs more than likely from improved blood flow. So, like I said, I'm really excited to take this work back to my clients. Um, and then also like think of ways that I can share this work and, you know, Um, give some simple like self care or like some simple ways to have a similar effect on the arteries, um, to the guts and appreciate where the arteries to the, to the digestive system are and appreciate, um, just the anatomy of the arteries and like how you can target treatment at those areas, uh, to have a big effect.
And we do talk about like, we, we do talk about this actually in the LTAP. Level one course, and then within my both the in person course and the online course and then just within my other, like, educational containers. Because a lot of times when I, um, recommend going back to the level of the spine that's going to affect the organ, some of the levels of the spine not only are neural, Reflex areas, but also relate to where the celiac trunk, superior mesenteric artery or inferior mesenteric artery, um, branch off the abdominal aorta and oftentimes when you're working on that segment, um, in relation to that, in relationship to that, you can have an effect on the artery.
and the vascular flow in general. So, you know, there's always a way that we can like take a step back and be like, how can we use our current tools to focus on and affect these similar structures, even though you might not have the specific tool in your hands to treat the bachelor structures itself.
There's always going to be a benefit in being able to get more specific specific and more precise with your treatment but when you don't have those tools yet you can still start to consider these pieces of anatomy and their role in whatever things that you're treating and so um you know that's sort of like I always think of like oh what's my goal in not even my goal in like sharing the work because That's not ultimately my goal.
My goal is to see sort of like the bigger pictures and principles and, and remind you all that you have many useful tools that can be more effective when you're applying them in the right spot. And the right spot, first of all, is where the body is directing And then the right spot, second of all, is with some more intelligent intentional choices of picking certain areas of the body to work on because there will be high payoff for these reasons of connecting to the arteries or connecting to certain nerves or connecting to certain venous, uh, Plexus areas, things like that.
So that's really my goal is, is to allow people a way to evaluate, um, you know, assess the body one that takes into consideration the body's wisdom and guidance on where to start and what the sequence of treatment treatment can be. But then also to see the bigger picture beyond the musculoskeletal system, beyond the biomechanics.
That considers the organs and the vascular structures and the nervous system. Because when we can consider that, we can use the tools that we learned and biomechanical standpoint, or a biomechanical model and use them in this new model and actually make those tools even more effective. So, anyways, that's a big thing.
The other really profound thing that came out of this weekend, um, maybe not pro well, pro it hopefully will be profound to you. To me, um, I had already known this and I teach it and but it just highlights the importance of it was about the pancreas. The pancreas is a endocrine and exocrine organ. It's a gland in and it is in the upper abdominal area.
sort of a little more on the left side of the body than the right, though it does cross the midline a little bit. Um, and it's deep to the stomach and it's deep to the, um, small intestines, deep to the transverse, transverse colon. Um, but,
the thing about the pancreas is it's a very soft organ. Um, it almost, it's, it's described to us in the classes as having almost like an oatmeal like texture. And it doesn't like to be pressed. It doesn't like to be pressed and compressed. And so, um, We actually don't even learn a ton of mobility, mobility techniques for the pancreas because that is how sensitive it is to being touched.
And so, one of these, this is one of the reasons why when I'm instructing people how to use self management Massage tools, you know, like the Coregeous butt, and the Coregeous butt, Coregeous ball in the viscera from a self massage tool. One, why it's so important to use a soft tool, but then also why I discourage prone work directly over the area of the pancreas is because the pancreas hates it.
and actually you can injure the pancreas doing that. You can create a flare up. You can, you know, you can affect the flow of the bile into the pancreas. You can affect the flow of the blood flow into the pancreas. You can affect the function of those cells because it is such a soft organ. And so you want to avoid pressing on it as much as you can.
And, um, What was interesting in this class, and this is part of the reason I love learning from Ron, Ron is a naturopathic physician and not only is in a naturopathic, naturopathic physician, he's um, really well read on the research and he constantly is learning and constantly is sort of like understanding how this function, the function of the organs is affected by manual therapy and um, So he just brings so much to the table when he's teaching from a practical point of view
application standpoint and also a reminder of how powerful the work we do is. And one of the things he shared is recently they discovered, they meaning the scientists, uh, discovered that the, you know, I've talked about how mechanoreceptors of pressure, the pressure mechanoreceptors are like kind of the love language to all the organs in the body because that's how they know where they are in space is because all the spaces they are in are pre are pressurized.
And so they know where they're at in this space and what's going on in the space based on how much pressure they're feeling. And when we think of the abdominal cavity, or any cavity for that matter, whether it's the cranial or like the neck or the thorax, the abdomen or the pelvis, all of those containers, though we call them containers, which they are, we have to really remember that there's no extra space in those containers.
The, the space is filled up with everything, like, with things. And so it's not like there's just, like, extra space to move around. There is just space, and some things take up more space than others, and when there's a lack of mobility, they don't all get along very well. But it is so important for the body to avoid compressing.
and putting extra pressure on the spleen, or sorry, not the spleen, the pancreas, that the pancreas actually has like a way higher amount of mechanoreceptors in it, specifically the pressure mechanoreceptors that are pacini corpuscles. There is like a ridiculous Amount, high concentration of these pacini corpuscles in the pancreas Because it basically is like if the stomach's pushing on it too much It sends a message to the brain of like get the stomach out of here Like it's constantly the pancreas is constantly like give me my space like Like give me as much space as possible.
So you the rest of you fuckers. Don't touch me. So I thought that was just so interesting because it it just again like shows you the physiology and the structure of The organ like it reflects It reflects a lot about that organ and then also informs our practice as manual therapists and as body workers and uh, body movers of like, what not to do and like, what not to fuck up.
And so, I cannot stress enough. to familiarize yourself with where the pancreas is and like not smash the shit out of it. Basically, it's again, it's behind the stomach and the, I mean, not that I don't know if this is helpful in my sweatshirt, but it goes from your spleen, which is in the sort of upper corner of your abdomen underneath the diaphragm here on the left side.
That's the tail of it sort of connects over there. And then it comes across. It's in oblique fashion, so a little bit of a diagonal, comes this way, and it, the head of it sits in our, the beginning of our small intestine, which is the duodenum, so like it's this big tube C curve here, and it goes, um, you know, it's a little bit more superficial at the head, and then it goes deeper at the back there, but it's always there, and so this whole area of our body.
this left side here, we should really avoid doing a lot of smashing up as much as we can because it is not protected by the um, Thorax it is in the abdomen. So it doesn't have a hard frame around it And so we have to honor that and know that it's not gonna probably feel good to press on it Right because instantly those pressure receptors are like no don't do this and then also It can disrupt function And, and pancreatic function is extremely important for our life.
Um, we, we don't fare well without a, a, a good optimally functioning pancreas. So, really important to honor that. And then, the other, um, the other thing I wanted to just share, that, you know, I was kind of thinking about this podcast, like, What do I want to talk about? I don't necessarily have like a topic and I know I always like want to share What's on my mind and and I definitely wanted to share my insights from this class and just a little bit about it but I was also thinking about you know, other things that I could share and and other things that are on my mind and It's a little bit about well, so part of why this is on my mind is I actually asked Ron to be a guest on the podcast because I'm like I talk about I told him I was like I actually talk about you a lot on the podcast Um, I was like so I was kind of like if you're interested in it like he's a busy guy and the guy probably has many better things to do than Chat with me and be on the podcast, but I was like if you're interested I would love to have you on as a guest.
I was like because Like instead of me talking about him all the time. Why don't you guys just So I'm letting him know what I'm doing and uh, and I'll just hear from him and hear what he, you know, what he has to say. But with, with that said, like he's such a wealth of knowledge so I'm like I gotta like pick a topic for us to sort of talk about for an hour.
And um, you know, just to keep it, to give him expectations. Like he likes to be well prepared and stuff. So it's like to give him expectations of what to, you know, what we'll be talking about. And so I haven't decided yet, but one of the things I was thinking about is like he It was a very integral, I think that's the right word, integral, um, part of me learning this work and applying this work and seeing the power of this work.
And part of the reason why is because When I was first learning, I took their listening techniques course, which is their course that helps you to, um, get really good at trusting what you feel in your hand. And that is their assessment. Their assessment is always based on what you're feeling in your hand.
And, and they would emphasize to us how important the assessment was, because that is what told us That is what, how we listened to the body and how we were able to figure out where the body wanted to start, right? And you might have heard me talk about this before because this is Why I actually created the LTAP is because this is hard.
This, this feeling through your hand, this feeling through your hand, these lines of tension, these, these directions from the body is, it has a huge learning curve, and it also is like nothing that you've ever learned before in the world of manual therapy and like athletic training school, or physical therapy school, or massage therapy school even.
And so, um, Because it has such a big learning curve and because it feels a little out there because it's not what we're used to learning, um, a lot of professionals, when they go through the program, they just don't do it. They, they just rely on the techniques and then, you know, they kind of wonder They might wonder, or maybe they don't, they might wonder why they don't get as good of results.
And it's because they're skipping the assessment piece. And the assessment piece is the most important thing. But like a lot of people in the, in their work at the beginning classes, I was struggling to trust what I feel in my hand, and to really even know if I was feeling anything, to be honest. And, um, he taught, he was teaching that Listening Techniques 1 class, and, and he came over during a lab session with me, and was like, okay, tell me what you're feeling.
And I was like
I'm not feeling anything. And he is like, he goes, okay, take your hand off of the patient. And I was like, okay, so I took my hand off. He's like, whenever your hand is on someone, permission only to feel and not to think because when you're thinking, you miss actually what you're feeling. And this is a concept that I teach over and over again.
When I'm teaching in the LTAP level one, um, when I'm teaching in the mentorship program, just when I'm. Mentoring anyone is like, even with my athletes, if they're thinking about how they're moving, they can't feel what's going on with their movement. And feeling is always going to be more powerful. It's a neurologically faster information to your brain than thinking.
And so anyways, he was really who was like, feel, don't think. And. whenever you're by yourself thinking take your hand off the patient and like restart and and That was a huge that was like a point in learning that I really was like, okay That's where the work was and then I that's when I realized actually too It was impossible feel in my hand if I wasn't very good at feeling my feelings or feeling Other things happening in my body and so I went down this whole path of really getting in touch with my feelings and, and, and practicing paying attention to how I felt with movements and like honoring that and just really emphasizing that in any sort of exercise or movement intervention or manual therapy I did, I, I really worked on paying attention to how things felt to me.
At the beginning, during, and after, and then also practicing whenever my hand was on a client to not be thinking. And so, um, you know, then it took years of, of that practice to like really be able to trust what I'm feeling. And now I trust my hands and what they feel over anything. Um, even the LTAP, um, I'd say like 99 percent of the time it lines up, but if I'm ever in a pickle where I'm like, Oh, the LTAP is telling me this, but my hands are going to this.
I go with what my hand is feeling more than anything. So, um, so this is why I was thinking about feeling. But then, the other thing that happened in class is, both of the TAs, um, Would come up and tell me like how good my hands were and like how good my you know My hand placement my awareness and the anatomy like the level of touch like being able to like feel What like they're like man, like you're really good and we she you know She was like, I just want to let you know that I noticed that like and it was very it was such a wonderful compliment because I mean, because this is a manual therapy class and to be told that you have good hands is like the best compliment ever.
And it's something my patients tell me, like, I've heard that before. It's not like she's the first person to ever tell me I have good hands. Um, but I appreciated it because she is one of the TAs that has really good hands. And so I'm like, man, if she's noticing it, like, that is a huge honor. And, um,
And then I, I started thinking about it in terms of like, what has made me like that besides, and it's practice repetition. It is. Practice of feeling all the things, of letting go of my ego, of like getting out of my thinking mind, all of it. And then it's also constant study of the anatomy. And actually through teaching other professionals in the LTAP, I've gotten better.
Because teaching forces you to know the material more. Teaching forces me to really understand, not just the anatomy on paper, and not to be, just be able to like, speak about the anatomy, but it requires me to demonstrate my knowledge of the anatomy through touch, and through touch. Like, topology, right?
Like, palpation topology and palpation in general, and, um, That's something that when I am teaching practitioners in the LTAP like I'm huge on is like, it takes repetition, and it takes palpating a lot of bodies, and it takes studying the anatomy a lot to really get clear. On what you're feeling and also you can't expect to have a good assessment Experience or a good a treatment experience if you don't take the time and go slowly to set yourself up in the right position to let the anatomy speak to you and so You know, so I'm like, yeah, that makes sense that she's seen the knowledge in my hands and like that dedication to learning and practicing and repeating and like, you know, being patient and like making sure I'm on the spot and like not just diving in the technique.
Um, because I, I've been actively practicing that. And then this, this thought process of like just having good hands and, and being good at working with the body in front of you, having a knowledge of. The general anatomy, but then being able to find the anatomy on the body in front of you got me talking to Susanna, and I was like, you know, um, one of the things, so this is going to go two ways.
So, one of the partners that I've had in the past, um, that, that Susanna knows as well, uh, she had said to me in one of the courses that my belly got in the way. And that the techniques were uncomfortable when I was doing it on her because my belly was touching her which I was like I mean, we're supposed to contact like use our whole body in a lot of these techniques like, you know Be like, you know, like it's a side lying technique So I'm sort of leaning on the patient's body You know and like rounding their pelvis and their trunk with my arms and then my hands are in a like very precise specific position position either in the organs or in the joints and she had a real problem with my Belly being on her which is weird because I'm like, well, that's like part of my body.
I'm like, I'm sorry Like I don't know how to not use my body in the technique and then have my belly approximated against you and
It stuck with me, obviously, like whenever anybody like says something's wrong with you because of your body shape or your body size or how your body is, it doesn't feel very good. No matter like how good of a body image and like self confidence you have about yourself, whenever anybody does that, it doesn't feel very good.
As you can see, I'm getting a little teary eyed, right? So that was interesting. And then, you know, come to find out that they're like, Oh, we don't, we don't You know, some people are like, Oh, we don't like working on bodies like Anna's because it's harder to feel stuff. And this has actually come up in one of my, this actually is a question that comes as a teacher, this is a question that comes up a lot is someone will ask and, and they mean well, and, and I'm not like talking down on anybody.
If this was you in a class is like, well, how are we supposed to use this technique in someone who's overweight? Or obese or well, you know, it can this can also be with like able, you know people with Bodies that are like missing limbs or you know Has scoliosis or like just any sort of variation from society norm, right people are like, well, how am I supposed to use this technique with this type of population and And It drew, it's like a question that drives me nuts.
And, and what's wonderful about this question is actually the first ever continuing education course I took when I was a young new grad back in like 2004, I took a manual therapy class with a man named, I've talked about him before on this too, Pete Emerson in Denver. He's a high velocity manual therapist and he was teaching a muscle energy course there.
He called that a manual. Manual activation procedures, muscle activation procedure. And we were assessing the SI joint, we were assessing the spine. The SI joint is very hard to palpate on every body. Not just overweight and obese bodies. But it can be challenging on everyone and somebody raised their hand and like, well, how am I supposed to do this on an overweight person?
Like, it's a pretty impossible. And he got fucking pissed at that question. He got so pissed. And this guy was like a very fit, like you could tell he was like strength training and exercise was like a big part of his life. And he got, Very upset at that person and he was like that is not a their problem that there is nothing wrong with their body He's like there is nothing wrong with their body He's like if you can't palpate them it is nothing to do with them and everything to do with your level of skill and your ability to understand the anatomy and your ability to feel what you're feeling through your hand.
He's like, that is not a them problem. That's a you problem. He's like, so you better figure it out because that's your responsibility as the healthcare provider, not their problem as the patient. And, you know, obviously the person that asked the question because he was so firm with that answer was like, Oh, like embarrassed.
Felt ashamed, I'm sure, and like, could he have like, said it nicer? Probably, but also, um, he's not wrong, right? Like, if you're having a hard time feeling the anatomy through layers of fat, it means that you're not very good at feeling in your hands. Period. If you're having a hard time feeling the bones underneath the layers of fat, then you're having a hard time feeling in your hands.
And it's up to you to get better at feeling and palpating different types of bodies. And, it also means that you might have to pick a different position than you were taught the thing in school. Right? Like, this is like a concept too, I'm always trying to like hammer home in some of the assessment tests we use in the LTAP, is you are not bound to feel
assessing patients in a supine position or prone position on the table. You can do seated, you can do standing, you can do sideline. The anatomy should not change in all of those positions. And sometimes with different body shapes or sizes or ability levels or like just whatever, right? Changing the position allows you to have better access to the anatomy you're trying to feel because it changes the tensions, right?
Oftentimes in the abdominal, even my athletes, oftentimes they have so much tension in their abdomen from their tight abs. In their stiff fascia, that in the supine position, it's very difficult for me to palpate their organs. So I put them in seated, or I put them in, um, a side lying position, and then it decreases some of the tension I'm feeling.
And then I can get in there and feel what I'm feeling. So, uh, I, I love this sort of like idea. Um, you know, like, like I said, that I first learned from early in my career, and I'm so grateful that I had that learning experience because never have I ever in my career been like, but I can't do this technique on this person's body.
Cause there's something wrong with their body. I've always honored that. Like, if I can't figure it out, it's fucking my problem. Like. I need to do better. And that was just really, you know, it's just been reiterated by my experiences in these manual therapy classes too. And, um, Also by like knowing which partners I have, which, you know, I started this whole call, this call, this, this podcast talking about like one of the reasons I chose to come to this class this weekend is because I had somebody in the class that I knew I could trust as a partner to one, give me good feedback, also had good hands and was going to work good on me.
And like, Is used to working with all different types of bodies and doesn't find a problem with it In fact like likes it because she knows it challenges her um Skill level challenges her ability to get better. And so, um if you the whole like land the plane on it, right like the whole reason i'm bringing this up is because Feeling practicing feeling takes time.
We our ability to feel through our hands and our fingers Is scientifically proven to be like the tiniest, the tiniest thing. You can feel more than you think. You're just thinking too much and you're not practicing it enough and you're making excuses. And then also if you are one of those providers that has maybe blamed the patient and their body size or their body shape or their body ability for to not be able to do a certain assessment technique or a treatment technique or a exercise or whatever it may be.
That's a you problem, not a them problem. And so there's nothing wrong with it being a you problem because when we identify our limitations, we have an ability to then make a choice to change it and to improve and to change where our limits exist. So, hopefully you found this podcast episode helpful, insightful, and um, have some thinking points to consider.
Uh, I'm going to go now and enjoy the last few hours I have to explore Vancouver before I have to go back to the airport. Sadly I was supposed to go whale watching today on the Salish Sea and I was very excited about it. Even though it's kind of like the tail end of whale watching season here, um, I was just excited to be on the water in the Salish Sea because I haven't been on it before and I love being on the water and I love the Pacific Northwest.
So, um, I'm, I'm bummed it was canceled this morning because of the wind and I'm looking outside and I'm like, it does not see windy at all. But on the map it was saying that like, Wind gusts up to 22 miles per hour and I think it's the direction of the wind and I've been on boat rides in when it's windy and it's not fun.
So I understand their need to cancel the trip, but I am super bummed nonetheless because Whether or not I was gonna see orcas and whether or not I was gonna see humpbacks I was looking forward to just uh, boating on the Salish Sea, but I'll have to save it for another time. Good news is there's a lot of humpbacks in San Diego right now and they're actively feeding on their migration, so hopefully I'm gonna text my friend and see if I can get on the boat this week in San Diego instead.
So have a great week. We'll see you next time.