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Frequently Asked Questions
General1
A physical/physio-therapist most often deals with rehabilitation from injury (chronic OR acute.)
Physios use their knowledge and skills to improve a range of conditions associated with different systems of the body, such as:
-Neurological (stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's)
-Neuromusculoskeletal (back pain, whiplash associated disorder, sports injuries, arthritis)
-Cardiovascular (chronic heart disease, rehabilitation after heart attack)
-Respiratory (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis).
Physical therapists can also, in addition, give consulation on strength or mobility training and "prehab". PTs have a much higher education and intensive study in human physiology & movement. In short though, PTs are trained to deal with pain.
Very commonly, physical therapy will attempt to bring you back to where you were pre-injury. But.. they're bringing you back to where you injured yourself in the first place.. which is a necessary step. Many times though, this is where people are cleared to go back to the activity they did when they injured themselves in the first place.
What I do is training from where physical therapy left off to try to give you MORE capacity so that you are much less likely to injure yourself again. I'm in the training spectrum of injury mitigation.
In many cases, for folks that have injured themselves in one area... THAT area is more likely to be their next injury. This is mostly the case in athletics (dance, sports, specialized movement..) however, it can also happen in daily activities of living.
Prevention isn't realistic.. shit happens. However, I can help you get STRONGER to build up the quality of your tissues in specific areas & blind spots to prevent, or more accurately, mitigate injury in the future.
While I want to help everyone, private sessions -- especially in Functional Range Conditioning -- tend to draw in people who have a movement practice and have hit a point in that practice where they may feel stuck, frustrated, and looking for answers that no other practice has given them.
Private sessions are for folks that want to learn about their body. They're also great for folks who want hands-on teaching and kinesthetic learning (if in person.)
Here's who I typically work with:
-Dancers who are looking to build more strength for their art.
-Yoga practicioners who want to understand more about their joints
-Strength training & cross fit folks that have hit a wall and realize the need for mobility work
-Folks who sit at a desk all day and are dealing with various chronic issues & crankiness in their bodies and want to make the most of group fitness.
All of the above could be interchangeable.
All of the above want a way to mitigate injury. All of the above want personalized exercises that will make the most of their time and set them up for success and sustainability in movement.
Yoga practitioners want the strength component. Strength training people want the mobility/flexibility component. They both get both because, despite the dominant narrative, you can be both flexibile AND strong. You don't have to be one or the other.
With that said, you are not too inflexible, unfit, new to exercise, to benefit from private session work.
Conditioning your joints is also for all ages. When I talk about "joint health" it tends to divert younger folk, but that's exactly when people in our society need to start.
You want to feel better in your body?
Have movement goals?
I can help you.
And if I can't, and our movement worlds are too far apart, I can recommend a colleague who might be better suited to work with you.
Here's who I definitely can't help...
I can't help folks who want:
-a quick fix,
-to lose weight
-to build a certain body type (or booty type)
Nothing wrong with these -- I'm just not the person to go to for these things.
The basic foundation of specific joint rotations, aka "CARs", is encouraged every day.
Regarding our programming of additional mobility/conditioning (beyond the basic CARs), that will depend on what other movement training you are doing, how often you're training other movements, & the intensity of those movements.
Again, this will depend.
I'm going to encourage you to take your health into your hands and REALLY practice what I give you. If the teachings sink in well, and you can record parts of your practice for feedback in between sessions, we might see each other every two weeks.
If you need some more guidance and a kick in the butt, or just really like the human connection and direction, once a week works great (but still expect some take-away practice to do on your own.)
First of all, I hear you.
I went into my FRC seminar with a skepticism, and curiosity. I liked what I heard from mobility specialists and of the lectures Dr. Spina himself has put out there. At the same time, I thought "Heh. Please, tell me how I need to be more mobile." I felt 'done' with yoga asana and was practicing functional strength training on the regular and trying to [appropriately] sneak more strength work into my group yoga classes.
What I came to realize was that flexibility and mobility are two very different things.
I also came to realize that mobility training is strength training on a most basic level. I learned about what parts of my body were indeed mobile, but other parts of myself weren't so.. I also learned how to prioritize and make the most of my time in terms of building strength in those ranges of motion.
All that to say... the benefit to you, is a better understanding of what your joints can do, increased proprioception, development of strength in your ranges of motion, better control over your body, and better ability to use that flexibility.
You might also have some blind spots like I did.
Blind spots meaning... areas of your body (certain joint motions) that could step up their effort in the group project.
If we haven't worked together before, please fill out my questionnaire (javascript:void(0))and introduce yourself. The questions are set up to encourage rambling. Tell me as much as you feel comfortable sharing.
For a single session/follow-up or 5-pack option, you can visit https://www.wellnesswithrhia.com/book-online(javascript:void(0))
Our first session we'll spend some time at the beginning to chit chat and go over what your goals are.
My calendar is linked with Google Cal and upon scheduling, you'll have the option of adding the session to your google calendar with the click of a button.
Also, upon scheduling, you'll immediately receive a confirmation e-mail with the Zoom link for our session.
You'll be given exercises to do regularly on your own time. You'll also gain access to my student resources section where I have videos of all the joint rotations that you can return to when you need a reminder while learning these basics in the beginning.
For feedback in between sessions, I may encourage that you record excerpts of your practice with some commentary and send to me to make sure you're on the right track. We'll discuss this further in your session.
Yes. We can train the non-injured parts of you! So many possibilities there.
However, if you're injured and dealing with pain, I'm going to encourage you to get guidance from a licensed physical therapist (PT). I know some great PTs in the area. I'm also happy to work together with the PT to bring you the best care.
Ok, this one actually isn't a "frequently asked question", but I figured you might think it eventually.
What makes me different from other yoga teachers and personal trainers out there is that I've been practicing for a long time & I've been active my entire life. I'm one of those people that has to "move in order to think." I was the kid that couldn't sit for a long time to learn piano. I wanted to dance. Nowadays, I'm much better at focusing and sitting still..
but ..
Because of all of the years of really intense specialized movement, I've gone through many issues, injuries, inquiries, and have sought out quality education way beyond my pay grade because I love to learn.
Despite not having the fanciest credentials, I continue to spend every year learning more and constantly re-evaluating "Is what I'm saying actually true and beneficial?... and for whom?"
I frequently try different forms of movement just for fun AND so I can also get a taste of what people go through and what's required of their body to do those activities.
I won't give you arbitrary exercises that has "good form" and "bad form." I will give you exercises that make sense for your body and make the most of your time considering what your goals are.
I won't tell you, "You shouldn't do [insert movement here]".
I will, instead, show you how to build up the strength and capacity to do [insert movement].
I believe that there's already enough fear in our lives and we don't need more :)
I aim to facilitate a space where you can release some of that -- to feel less discomfort, & more confident, connected, successful, and strong in movement. And more resilient in life. That's my intention.
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