Mara - Nmtforhealth

01/13/2026

“I finally learned the difference between gripping for stability and actually having it.”

That’s what this client told me in a recent session.

He came in with chronic sciatica that had been flaring for years. His assessment showed a tight left hip, restricted right rotation, forward head posture, a jaw that would not release, and constant tongue and suboccipital tension.

His neck tension was not a neck problem.
His sciatica was not a sciatic nerve problem.

His body had organized a full-body compensation pattern to create stability it could not find at the foundation.

When the foundation is not supported, the body builds stability higher up.

His pelvis and spine did not feel supported, so deeper stabilizers went offline. Surface muscles stayed “on” all the time. That gripping showed up as sciatica, neck tension, jaw clenching, and tongue and suboccipital overwork.

None of these symptoms were isolated.
They were all part of the same pattern.

This is why people feel exhausted even on easy days.

When deep support comes back online, movement requires less effort. The body can rest. Energy improves.

Over the course of our work together, we taught his nervous system that it did not need to grip to feel stable.

Through NeuroKinetic Therapy, Manual Lymphatic Drainage, and breath work, his system found another way to organize.

Deep support returned. His psoas released. His neck stopped overworking. His jaw softened.

Sciatica resolved. Neck tension eased. He is lifting overhead without compensation.

He wakes up without that locked-up feeling. His jaw no longer clenches when he concentrates.

When he feels tension building, he uses his breath to release it.

His energy is better. Sleep is deeper. Movement feels easier.

He is not managing his body anymore.
He is living with ease.

Your body is not broken. It adapted.

If this sounds familiar, this is the kind of pattern we assess and work through in a Discovery Session.

Link in bio.

01/09/2026

Your body stacks compensation on compensation.

Most practitioners chase the pain. We find where the pattern started.

Discovery Sessions → link in bio
📍 Chicago · Wicker Park

01/07/2026

If you clench your jaw, check your hips.

Most people are told jaw tension is stress.
But when I assess chronic jaw clenching, I almost always see the same pattern lower in the body.

Here’s what’s happening.

A tight or under-supported psoas limits the diaphragm.
When the diaphragm can’t move well, breathing shifts upward.
The scalenes and neck take over.
The jaw clenches to stabilize what the rest of the system isn’t supporting.

Your jaw isn’t overreacting.
It’s compensating.

That’s why jaw stretching doesn’t last.
Why night guards protect teeth but don’t stop clenching.
Why stress relief helps briefly, then the tension returns.

The jaw is often the last place the body asks for help, not the first.

When support is restored from the ground up through the hips, breath, and neck, the jaw no longer has to grip for stability. Not because it was forced to relax, but because it finally feels supported.

If this pattern sounds familiar, your body isn’t broken. It adapted.

📍 Virtual + Wicker Park
🔗 Link in bio

01/06/2026

Your body adapted. Now it’s stuck there.

When compensation patterns stay in place long enough, tension stops feeling like a problem. It becomes your baseline.

You stretch what feels tight. You strengthen what feels weak. But nothing holds because you’re working with the adaptation, not what caused it.

Here’s what’s actually happening.

Your body relies on three systems working together:
Structure how you stack and balance
Fluid how lymph moves and inflammation clears
Rhythm how breathing supports both

When one system is off, the others compensate to keep you functional. That works short term. Over time, it’s how jaw clenching shows up to stabilize breathing. How the neck tightens to support an unstable pelvis. How a hip locks down when the diaphragm isn’t doing its job.

This is what I assess in a Discovery Session. Not just where you’re tight, but why your body chose that pattern and what it needs to reorganize so the change actually holds.

Awareness is how the cycle starts to change.

📍 Virtual + Wicker Park
🔗 Link in bio

01/05/2026

Your neck isn't just tight.
It's compensating.

Stretching it feels good for 20 minutes.
Then the tension comes right back.

Here's why.

When your core, breathing, or feet aren't providing enough support, your neck steps in to keep you upright and balanced.

Not because it's weak.
Because it's protecting you.

This often looks like:
• Neck or jaw tension that won't release
• Breathing stuck in your chest
• Tingling in the hands or arms
• Feeling wired even at rest

The neck and jaw end up doing double duty for both breathing and stability.

That's why it keeps coming back.

Your body isn't broken.
It adapted.

The work is restoring support underneath so your neck doesn't have to compensate.

Discovery Sessions available in Wicker Park and virtually.
Link in bio.

01/03/2026

A January Reset for Returning Clients

If you've been thinking about addressing your patterns but keep putting it off, this package gives you a structured path to actually follow through.

New Year Reset Package – 4 Sessions for $750
(Regular rate: 4 × $195 = $780)

What happens:

Session 1: Pattern Reassessment & Goal Setting
We'll look at where your body is now and what you actually want to feel different

Session 2: Deep Pattern Work
Address what's driving the compensation, not just where it's showing up

Session 3: Integration & Refinement
See what's changed, work on what's stubborn, and adjust your home practice

Session 4: Lock It In & Create Maintenance Plan
Make sure the changes stick and give you a realistic plan going forward

This isn't about perfection. It's about giving yourself consistent support so your body doesn't have to keep working so hard.

This package is available for January 2026 only. It’s a one-time offering for existing clients.

Book here:
[book.squareup.com/appointments/43rhawyew0ulas/location/69MBM506DQ05E/services/A3UP5OATF2F7RUGWQ5QOCLYG](https://book.squareup.com/appointments/43rhawyew0ulas/location/69MBM506DQ05E/services/A3UP5OATF2F7RUGWQ5QOCLYG)

After you book Session 1, we'll schedule your remaining 3 sessions together. All 4 sessions must be completed by March 31, 2026.

Let me know if you have questions!

Mara

Let's work together

ALIGN your body and your HEALTH

Click here for an update from MaraNicandroNMT!

12/28/2025

Compensation patterns can outlive their usefulness. You don’t have to wait for pain.

Hi everyone,

If you’ve been noticing more tension lately, especially in your neck, jaw, hips, or low back, you’re not alone.

This time of year tends to make compensation patterns more noticeable. More sitting, travel, disrupted routines, and less movement give the body fewer options. When that happens, certain areas start working harder to keep you upright and functional.

That’s not failure.
It’s adaptation.

Earlier this week, I shared a post about neck tension that reached over 20,000 people. What stood out most was how many responses said, “I had no idea this is what was happening in my body.”

Over time, some compensation patterns stop being helpful. They may have protected you at one point, but now they simply make the body work harder to get through everyday life. Many people don’t feel these patterns clearly until pain shows up, which is why symptoms can seem sudden even though the pattern has been there for a while.

You don’t have to wait until things hurt again to pay attention.
This is where pattern awareness matters.
Instead of asking, “Why does this spot hurt?”

A more useful question is, “What is this area helping with?”
Whether you’re coming in for ongoing care, focused work, or a more complete reassessment, the goal is the same: understanding how your body is stabilizing now, what’s compensating, and where support can be restored so things don’t have to work so hard.

As we head into January, I’ve opened availability for those ready to continue supporting their body with intention and clarity.
You can schedule here:
[Booking link (https://www.maranicandronmtappointments.com/) ]

Wishing you a grounded close to the year and an easier start to the next.
Warmly,

Mara
P.S. If something has felt “off” but not painful yet, that’s often the best time to check in. You don’t have to wait for a flare-up to take care of your body.

Let's work together

ALIGN your body and your HEALTH

Click here for an update from MaraNicandroNMT!

12/26/2025

Your neck isn’t tight. It’s compensating.

That rope-like feeling along the side of your neck.
The strain when you’re trying to focus.
The tension that never fully releases.

When the system doesn’t feel supported or coordinated, the body looks for other ways to stabilize the head.

That can show up as
• the eyes working harder to orient and focus
• the tongue increasing tone to help organize the jaw, airway, and upper neck
• the neck and suboccipitals taking on more load than they were designed to carry

These are not separate issues.
They are coordinated responses to the same shift.

This isn’t dysfunction.
It’s protection.

Lasting change doesn’t come from forcing one area to relax.
It comes from restoring support and coordination to the whole system.

12/19/2025

“Why do I always hold tension around my navel?”

I’ve heard this question four times this week.

Holiday stress has everyone bracing.

But here’s the truth:

That tension isn’t stress.
It’s not bloating.
It’s not your abs working.

It’s your body creating stability when your deep core can’t fire on time.

And it’s connected to everything else you might be noticing:

Jaw clenching during family dinners
Toes gripping while cooking
Breath holding while wrapping gifts
Knees aching after holiday shopping

Try this right now:

Place your hand on your belly, around your navel.
Stand on one leg.

Feel your belly brace?

Now notice:
Your jaw
Your toes
Your breath

All gripping. All compensating. All at once.

This isn’t just holiday stress.
This is the pattern the holidays tend to amplify.

When we restore core timing in Discovery Sessions, the whole cascade can release.

Belly softens.
Jaw lets go.
Toes relax.
Breath flows.

**I’m booking through the holidays and closed only on Dec 25.**

Link in bio or DM “NAVEL”.

Comment what you felt first when you tried the self-test 👇
Tag someone who’s bracing through the holidays →

12/15/2025

After Part 1 (Breathing/Waves), here's what changes everything.

Your body doesn't grip because something is wrong with it.
It grips because your nervous system detected a threat.

Chronic tension develops when your nervous system shifts into protection mode - and stays there.

Here's the mechanical chain reaction:

Nervous system detects threat → muscles tighten → breathing shifts → compensating muscles activate → joints compress → movement restricts → proprioception decreases → nervous system tightens MORE → pattern reinforces itself.

Your nervous system doesn't distinguish between external threats (stress, injury) and internal threats (poor structural support, fluid retention, restricted breathing). It just responds: something is unstable.

This shows up differently in every body:

Maybe your jaw locks before you realize you're stressed.
Maybe your shoulders live near your ears.
Maybe you can't take a full breath without your neck helping.
Maybe tension is there when you wake up.

Protection was necessary. The challenge is when it becomes your baseline.

This is Stacking Principle #2: The Protection-Safety Shift

Protection mode: Muscles grip, breathing shallow, movement restricted. You feel tight, guarded, braced.

Safety mode: Muscles release, breathing restores, movement fluid. You feel ease, mobility, groundedness.

The shift happens in three steps:

1. Restore breathing mechanics
2. Release protective holding patterns
3. Rebuild structural support from the ground up

When pressure is reduced and support is restored, your nervous system can reorganize.

This is body literacy - the foundation of the Body Stacking Method.

This is the work I do in Discovery Sessions - assessing YOUR nervous system patterns and teaching you how to shift toward safety.

In-person: $250 | Virtual: $145

3 spots this week. Link in bio.

12/14/2025

"Post-surgical bloating that won't go away isn't just "normal recovery."

Surgery fixes the immediate problem. But no one shows you how to restore the breathing patterns and release the protective tension that developed during recovery.

When those patterns don't resolve, pressure builds.
And when pressure builds, fluid can't drain the way it should.

That pressure doesn't just show up as bloating or swelling.
It can affect posture, movement, energy, and pain patterns that seem unrelated.

Your body isn't broken.
It adapted to protect you.

When pressure is reduced and flow is restored, the body can reorganize itself.
Nothing is forced. Things start to feel easier.

This is why change can happen quickly and continue to build over time.

If this resonates, save it. Your body remembers, and it can reorganize.

12/14/2025

When the body starts working harder than it should

If your body feels heavier, puffier, tighter, or more tired than usual right now, it’s a signal that your system may need support.

December stress does not just live in the mind. It shows up in the body.

Long days, emotional load, disrupted routines, travel, sitting more, clenching without realizing it, and shallow breathing all affect how fluid moves through your system. When stress stays high, fluid movement slows. The body can start to feel dense instead of light.

This often shows up as jaw and neck tension, swelling or puffiness, sinus congestion that keeps you sniffing or feeling pressure in your face, a heavy feeling in the chest or belly, restless sleep, or that sense of being off without a clear reason.

It is not failure.
It is not something you caused.
It is your system responding to sustained stress.

Your lymphatic system relies on movement, breath, and relaxed tissues to do its job. When we brace, grip, or hold our breath, even subtly, fluid does not circulate as easily. Over time, this creates congested tissue.

Congested tissue is not just fluid sitting still. It changes how nerves communicate, how muscles move, and how easily the body can relax. When tissue stays congested, it takes more effort to stabilize, breathe, and move, which often leads to more gripping and fatigue.
That extra effort is stressful for the system, even if it does not feel dramatic.

This is why gentle support matters. Reducing effort helps tissue decompress.

If you are noticing this in yourself, a few reminders:

Unclench your jaw when you catch it gripping.
Slow your breathing without forcing it.
Change positions more often than you think you need to.
Support your body instead of pushing through discomfort.

If these feel hard or inconsistent, that is information, not failure. It simply means your system may need support before these changes feel accessible.

Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is respond to what your body is asking for.

If you want extra support this month, I’m here and have a few sessions available.

If not, consider this context for what your body may be responding to.

Mara

Let's work together

ALIGN your body and your HEALTH

Click here for an update from MaraNicandroNMT!