Someone walks into my clinic with back pain, tight hips, pelvic floor concerns, or hopes of returning to running. They expect demanding exercises or hands-on work that might hurt. Instead, I ask them to close their eyes and breathe.
I can often see the confusion on their face. Why is my physiotherapist slowing me down when I came here to move forward?
Before I ask your body to do more, I want to understand what it is already doing. Are you holding your breath? Pulling in your belly? Clenching your jaw? Preparing for pain before you have even moved? I am not questioning your ability to get stronger. I am helping you notice habits that may restrict your strength, movement, and willingness to challenge yourself.
The tension you hold can start to feel normal
Many of us have become remarkably good at carrying tension. We grip our abdominals, brace our core, hold our breath, draw our shoulders back, tuck the pelvis, clench the jaw, and approach each movement as if we always need protection. Repeat these patterns often enough and they stop feeling like tension. They simply feel normal.
Repeat these patterns often enough and they stop feeling like tension.
I had to unlearn many of these habits in my own body, which is why I do not always begin by adding exercises. You cannot change a pattern until you notice it. Awareness before action, and softening before strengthening, are part of the work. They help us identify what the body needs.
Bracing is not inherently bad. There are times when we need to brace and protect ourselves. The better question is whether you can release that tension when you no longer need it. If you cannot, we can practise doing so. Strength matters, but so does the ability to stop holding what the moment does not require.
Before we revisit a painful movement, I help the body feel safe
Imagine that you once hurt your back during a backbend. The next time you merely think about that movement, your heart may quicken, your breathing may become shallow, and your muscles may brace before you move. Your pain is still real, and your body is not doing anything wrong. Your nervous system is trying to keep you safe.
Your pain is still real, and your body is not doing anything wrong.
My first step may be regulating the nervous system rather than correcting the backbend. We might begin with slower pacing and attention to the breath. Then we might revisit the movement gradually, noticing when the breath and muscles shift into protective mode. This gives the body a chance to learn a different movement pattern.
Feeling safe does not mean ignoring a physical problem, dismissing discomfort, or staying calm all the time. I want you to be able to access both restoration and physical challenge. The ability to move between the two builds capacity.
A full breath can reveal what more exercise cannot
At Reclaiming Desire: Where Science Meets Sensuality at NutraChem, I spoke alongside Dr. Emma, Dr. Sophie, and clinical sexologist Tamalyn Edwards. We approached intimacy, desire, pelvic floor awareness, breath, and nervous system regulation from different areas of expertise. We shared one observation: physical experiences are connected to emotional and nervous system states.
This matters for women entering midlife or beyond, when their bodies are changing and may not feel as they did in their twenties or thirties. Relaxation alone will not resolve sexual pain or concerns about desire. But a full breath and awareness of the deep inner core can reveal what someone has been holding. That information can guide the next step, whether the goal is connection, rest, movement, or support.
A full breath and awareness of the deep inner core can reveal what someone has been holding.
For an overloaded system that braces constantly, another exercise may not be the most useful addition. Making room for restoration can improve access to effort. The aim is not to become less strong. It is to release tension, then push, lift, run, and get stronger without carrying that tension into every task.
If you are in a safe place, try closing your eyes. Notice your jaw. Is it clenched or relaxed? Notice your belly. Are you gripping it, or is your stomach behaving like a stomach? Pay attention to where your breath moves and whether it pauses, catches, or remains shallow.
Take two to three comfortable, unforced breaths. This is not a performance, and you do not need to change anything. Ask yourself: What am I holding right now that I do not need to hold?
What am I holding right now that I do not need to hold?
Your answer offers a glimpse of your body's baseline. That is why I ask you to slow down. I do not doubt that you are capable of more. I want you to have access to more, and to move with greater ease when you reach for it.
