Do you know that the fascia in and around the abdominal area can get really sticky and gooey from sedentary lifestyle, bad diet and stress triggers?

And bloating in this area can also lead to back pain, neck and shoulder tension, a sense of being "uprooted", and more anxiety?

This is a simple 10 mins gentle self massage for the belly area to release tension and bloating, tone our vagal nerve (reset our nervous system), and reconnect with our navel centre which is the core of our being.
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#somawithdaphne #yogawithdaphne #abdominalselfmassage #yogatherapy #somatictherapy #selfcare #fasciastuff #abdominalfascia #vagaltone #nervousystemreset

​This is the longest period I've stayed put in one place.

For the last few weeks I manage my cabin fever by coming here, with a friend, or on my own.
Yes it's a fake beach with imported sand, and it's not Koh Phangan or the Sydney beaches.

But the sea water is salty and there are fishes swimming beneath the surface, and mostly there are no traffic sounds so it's still respite from urbanism.

I try to do nothing for the two hours I'm here. I don't even listen to music.

I spend most of the time floating in the water #oceansavasana... twirl my feet in the sand, watch people and sea birds and the distant ships.

Do you take time to do nothing?
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#donothing #rest #oceanlife #findingpeace

​Throwback to a sunny autumn morning in Pennsylvania. I was attending a friend's wedding.
I had a younger body then (35yo).

A new client I worked with yesterday asked if I can help him defy the aging process.

I said instead of defying it, why don't we work with it so we can keep doing the things we love, and be around for people we care about.
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#agegracefully #timeisnotlinear #yogawithdaphne #somawithdaphne #movementmedicine

A lot of tension in the body is often created through accumulative tension in the muscles, either through compensatory movement habits or through our stress response. We tend to forget that our skeletal elements such as the bones and ligaments give us form and alignment. These elements also provide proprioceptive feedback so we get a sense of where we are in relationship to space and gravity. They offer us stability and support without bracing.

On the other hand, muscles do the work of mobility, muscle fibres fire and contract to help us move through / across space Muscles and our bones work symbiotically for optimal functioning in stability and mobility.

However, what happens is that we often get stuck to trying to achieve a form or a goal, or we are rushing to get somewhere, or to perform a task based on what we think it should look like and if it fits certain mould. When our nervous system is constantly wired to react to stress and the constant need to "try harder", the muscles take over the direction of the bones. We tend to get set in movement habits that are driven from the perspective that we are a machine made of parts rather than an relational organism.

This is a little somatic practice of exploring the support we can create if we bring awareness to our bones / ligament and movement continuity. The dynamic fluidity to respond rather than react. So we can create more healthy bone and joint health, as well as regulate our nervous system to come into a sense of being rather than having to do more all the time.
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#bodymindcentering #somatics #somaticmovementeducation #somatictherapy #somawithdaphne #yogawithdaphne #movementinquiryembodiment #bonehealth #osteopathy #yogatherapy #somaticyoga