Being a Yoga Instructor you’d probably assume I have a perfectly healthy and mobile body—and while that’s partly true, I’m also at great risk of injury due to popping in and out of poses to demo for students and going to my max for photo shoots (damn you Instagram)! The thing that I found frustrating about seeing Chiropractors in the past is that everyone has a different approach and each one said my problem was different. It’s your back, it’s your knees, it’s your hips…I’ve heard it all! I always questioned this because their explanations didn’t intuitively make sense in my body. I also found that aggressive popping and pulling treatments left me extremely sore after.

Now after one session with Dr. T I’m quite certain he’s a magician or wizard of sorts. His approach is totally unique and honestly I’m still trying to grasp what I learned…but here are a few things he taught me:

The body takes the path of least resistance

• Just like in our conscious lives, we often gravitate towards the easiest option. If we didn’t, Uber probably wouldn’t exist. Our bodies do the same thing, if it’s easier to jut my hip out to the side when I stand then that’s what I’ll do. If I do it one time it’s no biggie, but repeatedly doing it will lead to some major misalignment in the body. And not just at the hip…but this could show up in my knees, ankles, back, etc. One of the most curious things I learned was my right foot turns slightly in, causing a rotation of my leg in the hip socket…because it was easiest for my body to compensate for the foot in that way!

Performing movements in one area of the body affects other areas

• So this next part is where the magic started. I saw that my foot was turned slightly in and could feel I was restricted in almost all movements on my right side. Dr. T started pressing on different areas of my body (not even close to my foot) and then within minutes my foot was facing normally again and my right side was rotating evenly with my left. Did it feel good while this was happening? Heck no! I was using some deep yoga breath work here folks.

You can show the brain a different path

• Which leads me to the final point… the discomfort was happening because my neurons were being stimulated to let the brain know there was an alternate option, a better option for movement. Essentially the manual pressure and movement was showing my brain it didn’t have to send its signals the way it normally does.

After the session my body felt strong and mobile and I can say a week after I’m still feeling great! I’ll be going back because old habits come back fast and I think my brain will need another tune up on how to move!

Heather is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist trained by the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition. She also has a Masters of Science in Public Health and a Bachelor’s of Science in Kinesiology both from the University of Waterloo.
Heather specializes in personalized nutrition using live, natural, and whole foods and looks at many factors surrounding food choices such as stress, sleep, mood, and lifestyle. She has a strong background in mental health and is passionate about promoting its connection to nutrition. Heather sees clients who are overworked, overstressed, and overtired and empowers them to bring their body back into balance. She also specializes in plant-based diets, being vegan herself since 2013. In her spare time, you can find her scouring dog parks for animals to pet, or searching for the city’s best smoothie!

Heather Lillico, MSc, RHN, RYT