Nicole Baker RMT

17/12/2021

16/02/2021

Yoga is a practice of intention on and off the mat. When teaching, I usually start by asking my class what their intention for their practice is.
I am essentially asking them to check-in as to why they are here. I do this because asana gets complicated in a similar way that life does. If you don’t know why you are doing what you’re doing and s**t gets hard, or doesn’t appear to be ‘working,’ you will be more likely to quit.
Asana is 1 of 8 limbs of yoga, and it is the practice of posture. I find lots of people confuse the purpose of asana; it is not meant to make you stronger or more flexible; those are byproducts.
It is so that you can sit longer in meditation, to learn your edge, connect to your body, and work with it in a variety of ways.
When we continually choose to live with intention driven by a powerful ‘why’ we are capable of miraculous things, even through life’s difficulties.

In other words, find comfort in discomfort so that you can move through it.

There is always light to be found in the dark.

10/02/2021

Hi! If you have been following along to understand better the 4 principles of Manual Osteopathy, that’s great!! If you’ve missed the first 3, take a scroll back and have a look, it’s exciting stuff!😉

The body is a functional unit is the last to discuss. This statement essentially means that all systems and parts are connected and working as one via the fascial tissue.

What the heck is fascia? 🤔

It is a fantastic thin casing of connective tissue (that reminds me of spider webs) surroundings and holding every organ, blood vessel, bone, nerve fibre, and muscle in place. It is this principle that helps form the concept of interrelationships and allows us to stop chasing pain.😃
The fascia should slide and glide, but it can get stuck; when this happens, the associated structures have limited freedom. This lack of fascial flexibility doesn’t always create pain, but it usually creates compensation.
In theory, if one part is not moving well, odds are something else has to move more and work harder to make up for it. What’s moving too much can cause us pain or strain and puts us at higher risk of injury in that area. 🤯

Well, if the fascia can be too tight, can it lose tone? 🧐

It sure can!! Lack of tone in fascia often shows up in regards to pelvic health and gut stuff.😳🤫

This is a small glance at fascia and what it can be contributing to. The human body is impressive, even if it’s given us some problems. The good news is there are so many excellent manual therapists interested and ready to help you live in yours with more ease. 😊

To book an appointment see link in bio and check out the rest of my team!!
We are located in the plaza of the best westerly hotel

06/02/2021

Now that I have your attention let’s talk about intention!!
The objective of this post is to reel in our multitasking autopilot mode!! We all do this, life is busy. 😉

Building intention and presence with what you are doing in an exact moment is the name of the game. Think the thought and apply the follow through.

For example: think- I am going to pick up the spoon, action- pick up the spoon. I will bend my elbow, and elbow bends, I open my mouth, the mouth opens, and so forth. The intention comes before the movement; every step is conscious.

I’ll be the first to admit this is somewhat time consuming and slightly odd to put into practice, but it works!! Haha
It makes your actions intentional, brings you to the present moment, and focuses you on your tasks.

For me I have started with dishes and laundry, I’m stoked to see how long I can keep it up, what I might learn, and how far the activity might cascade in my life. To kick it up a notch you can add in the observation of your senses.
Woohoo!! Haha

Try it with me and have fun with it!! 😁❤️

Post inspired by Kelsey .force.rising yoga series ❤️🙏

04/02/2021

The artery is absolute, is the third of four manual osteopathic principles.

The name of this principle may initially be misleading as the “artery” is referring to all conducting vessels, including arteries, veins, lymphatics, cerebrospinal fluid and nerves. These vessels bring food, remove wastes, provide an immune response, cushion, and sensory feedback loops to every tissue in the body. If they sound important, it’s because they are!

A healthy body requires good conduction from these vessels. Impingement, obstruction, and compression are three possible ways these vessels can be compromised.

When we think of sore muscles, we often believe they must be the problem, but what if I told you that muscles are dumb. 😬😅 Hear me out.

What if we use this principle to understand that muscles don’t do anything on their own. They are a tissue that requires food, waste removal and command to work for us. Therefore, if they have signs and symptoms of being tight, atrophied, inflamed, sore, etc., it is likely a problem somewhere in the supply of chain from one of more of these vessels.

For treatment and to learn more about your own body please book an appointment through the link in my bio.

For treatment and to learn more about your own body please book an appointment.

Strathconapilates.janeapp.com

located in the plaza of the best westerly hotel downtowncourtenay located in the plaza of the best westerly hotel

29/01/2021

The power of yoga💞

I’ve just had my second of eight in my yoga series with .force.rising (Kelsey).

I chose my spot in the back right corner and cried for essentially the whole class. I had received an update on a loved ones current state of health, and instead of staying home, I decided to show up and work through some of my emotions on my mat and be vulnerable as quietly as I could be in the back corner of the room.

One of my teachers at the CSO-MP recently reminded me that we don’t just think about our feelings; we FEEL them. They live in all the cells our our body, not just our brains.

I showed up to unwind and wring out all of my tissues, including my heart.

I left the class with a shirt speckled in tears, a soggy towel I used as a snot rag (kept in my own personal area), and a sense of lightness.

Thank you, Kelsey, and the rest of my class, for holding space for me. Community is one of the things I love most about yoga, and I will continue to show up for myself, so I can best support those I love.

Yoga is not everyone’s go-to for a reprieve, but it’s a great one! Where do you go when you need support? Leave a comment; it might give someone else an idea of where to look when needed. 💕

25/01/2021

The body is a system of auto-regulation.

This principle continues to expand my curiosity and open my mind like no other.

When we recognize that the body essentially grows and heals itself, we can more fully understand this principal. We are in constant evolution. We tear down and rebuild our cells throughout our entire body, in every minute, of everyday, for our entire life. That is amazing! Especially because it happens without our having to think about it. I generally think it is good practice to check in mentally, emotionally and physically to remind ourselves that there are a lot of processes going on in there.

One of my big take aways from my RMT and OMP education is that we do not heal other people. We facilitate healing. To me that speaks to this principle. For me, taking a moment to acknowledge a person as a whole being before treating them is important. This helps me show up with respect for an individual and keeps me from imposing on them.

What do you have to show me and how may I be of service to you, are two questions I use to check in before beginning my work.

This principle is one that propels me to stay curious, pursue education and cultivate my palpation skills, so that I may always facilitate health to my highest ability. ❤️

RMT bookings available
Strathconapilates.janeapp.com

Located in the best westerly plaza

23/01/2021

One of the principles of manual osteopathy as a therapy is that structure governs function.

This is part of why global, regional and specific assessment is undoubtedly a valuable part of treatment for every person.
Assessment in standing, seated, laying face down and face up are all going to show me something different with your structure.
How you hold yourself in space, how much freedom there is in your joint spaces, how your bones are positioned in relation to each other as well as how much rigidity is in the bone itself. This is important from a preventative and recovery standpoint because not only does your structure allow for freedom in range of motion but it is also how your body absorbs forces from the world around you.

For example: if our structure is not able to optimally absorb forces then when we injure ourselves we are more likely to damage what was rigid because it wasn’t able to absorb and distribute force.

This is not a hard and fast rule, it’s is one principle interwoven among three others that I will go over briefly in the next few weeks 😊

Happy Saturday!!

Book your appointment to learn more about your own body specifically through assessment and treatment.

Strathconapilates.janeapp.com

Located in the best westerly plaza down town Courtenay

12/01/2021

Hello there! 🙋🏻‍♀️
Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) is a gentle, rhythmical and sequential technique used to enhance the rate at which your lymphatic fluid flows back to your heart.
The lymph system is responsible for balancing body fluid levels, transporting dietary fats and carrying out immune responses. Increasing the rate at which it flows has a ripple effect into the efficiency of these functions.
The benefits to MLD treatments have been most recognized in the form of lymphedema treatments and can greatly improve the quality of life for someone suffering from oedema.
MLD is also being more frequently used as pre and post surgery treatments, to promote quicker recovery times. As well as being a safe form of massage to use in acute injury phases, wether swelling and/or bruising is visible or not. Whiplash would be a common example of this.
As I move through my manual osteopathic training I am seeing the value in checking and addressing the structure of each body in conjunction with my MLD treatments, as no system is completely separate from the others.

To book treatment please see the link in my bio or if you have any questions regarding this style of treatment please feel free to contact me first. 🙂

05/01/2021

T-3 days till the next exam!! Advanced dorsal spine, TMJ and the Venus sinuses 🔥🔥.

It’s not a glamorous life, but it’s mine💫🤓🤪😁

04/01/2021

Do you agree with Margaret? True or false

02/01/2021

Yesterday I was doing Pilates with Lora, RMT, Pilates teacher and owner . While having a few laughs and struggling to not get thrown off a chair, she told me that Pilates uses muscles to move bones 🤯
I have no idea why I did not think of movement this way before, but I didn’t. My thought process was more in line with muscle stretch and contraction has more of an effect on the pliability of the muscle it’s self.
My take away is that perception is huge and what we visualize while we move through space helps us to move in different ways than we have before.

Imagination and application of it, is one of my favourite tools. 😊💕

📸 taken from Carmine D. Clemente
Anatomy a Regional Atlas of the Human Body

Strathcona Pilates & Wellness Collective

22/12/2020

Happy solstice from my heart space to yours 🙏❤️🙏
Some solo mat time, to be followed by a walk under some amazing planetary alignments! 🎇🙌

Strathcona Pilates & Wellness Collective

19/12/2020

A new group of young professionals in town! 😁🙌

Book @ Strathconapilates.janeapp.com

17/12/2020

What was my dream?
I am a dreamer, always have been, in every sense of the word and probably always will be. Above movement, anatomy, and physiology I love philosophy. I fell in love with the philosophy of yoga and took my yoga teacher training after having read several books and only having attended 3 classes.😅
It was amazing!! I shared a 3 bedroom house, with 7 fine young women, in Paia Maui. Shortly thereafter, I moved with a friend I had made to the Big Island. We got jobs in a coffee shop in Waimea and talked endlessly about what the next step would look like. The Big Island holds a special place in my heart because it was here where I decided what I wanted in my life and I am still very much so riding that wave.
My 200hr teacher training was the perfect intro, it stoked the fire I had no idea was inside of me. My goal was to marry my eastern philosophies and western life and to help people have safe and effective yoga practices. I wanted the most amount of information in the least amount of time and to have a useful skill when I was done. It was a tall order but BC RMT training fit the bill!
The yogic fire that had lit my thirst for knowledge is, 8 years later, still burning brightly. My love of philosophy, eastern and western are now being fed in osteopathy school.
I am forever grateful for big dreams, big questions and philosophy based on a strong knowledge of anatomy and physiology. 😊❤️ I am also forever grateful to my yoga teachers (and all teachers along the way) 😊❤️
namaste 🙏

09/12/2020

Success is not perfection. I repeat, success is not perfection! 📸 Carrie Baker Strathconapilates.janeapp.com

05/12/2020

is also paired with studying the dorsal spine. 😁Willow you make a prefect little study buddy! 🙌 I thought he was a girl for about four months until the vet corrected me... apparently cats are harder to tell. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Strathconapilates.janeapp.com