Collins de la Cour, LMT

01/21/2023

So how do we address stored pain in the body?

We journey inwards.
We give ourselves permission to rest.

And this makes sense—any tech support rep will ask first thing, “Have you tried shutting down the device and turning it back on again?”

Not to say that human beings are computers—WE ARE NOT COMPUTERS—but, this analogy has its merits. Stick with me.

Turning off a human mind that is running off an outdated nervous system response pattern is much more complicated than pressing a button. We humans are multi-layered, integrated systems functioning off of biological negative and positive feedback loops. Our brains are processing way more than we are even conscious of. And!—some of the patterns that we are working off of are quite frankly not helpful anymore. They are outdated systems that must evolve/mature/renew.

Many patterns that we function off of were developed when we were children. Some of the patterns are so well grooved, that it would be nearly impossible (nothing is impossible) to consciously acknowledge, process, and change them. These neural patterns are who we think we are—and to change them overnight would be a shock to our entire existence.

In order to address that which is running subconsciously, we must endeavor into the subconscious. And to do so requires rest. It requires pause. It requires stillness.

I made a post a little while back about seated meditation. I have to say, above all “modalities”, this has been the most profound healing tool that I have personally interacted with. Not only is it a free and accessible practice, but when done routinely it has thousands of years of human trials that prove its effectiveness.

If you feel as though you need a kickstart in trying to relax your mind—massage, or other modalities that assist in calming the nervous system will help to address the inner “programs” that are running in the background of your subconscious.

If you are looking to start the journey of releasing stored pain in the body, please reach out. I’m literally here on this planet right now to walk with you through this very difficult, but very satisfying path towards coming back to yourself.

✨BOOKING LINK IN BIO✨

01/05/2023

✨booking link in bio✨

09/26/2022

🦌🌊so this deer jawbone washed into the drainage ditch “creek” at my house.

I just looked over the railing after a rain storm, and it was lying inert on the wet grass after the flush of water had receded, and of course it made me think of lymphatic flow…

Because lymphatic fluid can carry larger byproducts through our system so that they may be eliminated—like proteins, and cellular waste—and, sometimes, if the flow stops flowing these larger molecules can get deposited in body and left behind.

For instance—lymphatic fluid can stagnant around the joints (like the inside of the knee) and protein buildup can get deposited over time, and boom—one day your knee is so swollen it doesn’t bend anymore.

Until a Collins, or some other lymphatic practitioner peeps over the railing, notices the large proteins all built up, and wades down into your popliteal ditch to clear it out for you.

I’m not sure if this translates as well as it does in my brain—but regardless—if you are experiencing symptoms like: swelling, stiffness, bloating, heaviness in you limbs, you may find some relief by receiving some clearing of your lymphatic pathways. And I’m totally here for that.

Have a nice day!! 🦌

09/02/2022

✨there is nothing inherently wrong with magical thinking✨

Except for when you use it to deny the truth, and escape reality.

There is nothing inherently wrong with allowing your mind to manifest your hearts deepest happiness—to dream big—to daydream the possibilities…

…unless you sit immobile, and unwilling to take the first step towards those dreams.

There is nothing inherently wrong with allowing your hopes for a particular outcome in a job, or in a relationship to encourage you forward…

…unless the realities of the person, or the environment are actually unhealthy for you.

There is nothing inherently wrong with fantasy…

Until we find ourselves trapped inside—breaking our own hearts waiting for our dreams to come true.

Recently I asked my parents what they thought I would be when I grew up (when I was a kid). To my (amazement?) ((surprise)) (((disbelief))) they both independently said that they thought I would be a princess—because that’s what I wanted—and they wanted to encourage me towards my dreams.

So—obviously this was the fantasy of a child who watched a lot of Disney. When I think back on the ‘why’ I wanted to be a princess—it is because I wanted to feel valuable, loved and adored, precious.

What strikes me is that this fantasy was taken at face value, accepted and even encouraged as a possibility.

Recently I’ve been doing a lot of work to uncover my inner child—and offer her what she was seeking IRL.

To little me still fantasizing about becoming a princess I offer you sovereignty. To tiny me seeking love and adoration, I offer you a community of supportive friends and family. To sweet, sweet baby Collins who felt a loss of preciousness, I offer you wholeness. You are never lacking sweet one.

💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎

08/09/2022

🔹The truly beautiful thing🔹

✨About lymphatic vessels—it’s that they are regenerative, for the most part. When a vessel or group/pathways of vessels is severed in surgery, or become blocked because of trauma (physical/mental/spiritual) the vessels find another way—they regenerate—they don’t give up.

🐍isn’t that something🐍

🦖nature always finds a way🦕

08/05/2022

No big shares today. Just gratitude.

But also—We got a kitten! Meow. She is so sweet and cute and soft. Odette named her Pearl—after her favorite character in

“Truth is a thing she must find for herself. Precious and rare as a Pearl.” — Neil Gaiman “Blueberry Girl” 🎁:

08/03/2022

“There’s lots of different types of wounds—and you can’t go healing each an’every one just the same, you see…”

✨I began “speaking” with Samantha about three years ago. She is my inner knowing, my guide, my muse, sometimes the only person who can make me laugh. She is a “figment of my imagination” and she is brilliantly smart, an old school healer, an intuit.

“So you got burns, twists, puncture wounds, slices from something sharp…You got stings, bites, scrapes, bruises…You got blockages, bloating, bulging discs. And then of course you got heart ache—and all of them gots different ways of being treated.”

✨Samantha started coming forward while I was writing morning pages—part of the daily routine outlined in
Samantha was the one had the brilliant idea that I go to massage school—she’s got all sorts of great life advice.

“Heart aches the worst of the wounds cause it can come from nowhere at all—hell—we break our own hearts all the time! And a broken heart don’t always feel like a broken heart heart. Most times it feels like indigestion, or a sore mid-back, sciatica, or frozen shoulder. Might turn up as liver disease, or the flu.”

✨Now I’m not suggesting that Samantha’s a doctor. No. Samatha is a guide. She’ll tell you if you need to go to a doctor.

“Bites! Now there’s an interesting wound—see now there are lots of differen’ sort of bites too. There’s a venomous sort, then there’s the warning bites, there’s an intentional mean sort of bite, a bite from a something scared and then there’s a nip. And a nips a good thing—it’ll keep you moving along.”

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

08/02/2022

🌝Have you ever birthed something? 🌚

Anything—Big. Small. Animate. Inanimate—What did it feel like coming out of you?

This month I am reviving within me the sensory experience of what it felt like to give birth. I want to remember what it took. I want to remind myself of the supreme struggle, and the ecstatic relief of extraction.

Though it’s not always comfortable, I am reminded that LIFE is a gift. And to remember birth I call back my strength. I call back my generative spirit. I call back the true power and pain of what it really took—physically, psychologically, spiritually—too to draw up from within my own self a consciousness all its own.

In this space of remembrance I find wonder. I find reverence. I find the satisfaction of knowing what I am truly capable of, and I break past the point of fear.

There—I find honesty. There I find freedom.

What have you been gestating? Is it time to prepare yourself for birth?

07/07/2022

"Inside every one of us is a garden, and every practitioner has to go out to their garden and take care of it. Maybe in the past, you left it untended for a long time. You should know exactly what is going on in your own garden, and try to put everything in order. Restore the beauty; restore the harmony in your garden.”
—Thich Nhat Hanh
🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯

This month’s theme (for me) is about tending to my own inner landscape—and taming my inner tiger.

There are a lot of reasons why our collective tigers are activated right now, and honestly this is appropriate and a good thing.

Taming the tiger isn’t about subduing rage—taming the tiger is about attuning the fierceness and hunger for justice within us towards the greater good. Taming the tiger allows us to focus. Taming the tiger allows us to see with clarity what we are up against, and how best to use our might.

Part of taming your tiger is finding ways to regulate the nervous system so that you are not acting from a place of fear or scarcity, but from a calm and intentional mindset. Bodywork helps by easing the tension collected in the tissues caused by long-term nervous system disregulation. Tending to the body helps to calm the mind, and focus the channel for inner knowing, and outer action.

Please reach out for more information about my practice, and how I may help you in taming your own tiger.

Meow.

✨Links for bodywork are in my bio. ✨

☀️JULY AVAILABILITY ☀️

Monday/Wednesday
9:30am & 11:30am

12/01/2020

Balance is a dance—a homeostaic flux of energy and vital resources through the body. Balance is both negative and positive. It is on a spectrum. Balance has polarity. It is also neutral. Balance is found in sway, and also in a moment of stillness. Balance is a suspension and knowing where you are in that consistency. Balance is a tuning, a frequency, a tone.

Balance is right now.

📸: .thomas_

11/19/2020

What is sacred is ours, again
The means of production
In the public domain
Unbordered
Not even by the
boundaries
Of the
Body.

Yes.

The sacred is ours, again
Anointment of the sick
Means so much more, now
No longer
defined by a priest
In a robe
of various
Color

No.

The sacred is ours again
Anointment of the sick
Is a smearing of oil
A blessing
From someone you trust
Who is able
To hold
Space

📸: .thomas_

08/18/2020

Let’s make some magic, y’all.

06/04/2020

For the past year or more, I've been a volunteer patient advocate on the board of this phenomenal, inclusive, non-profit, family medicine clinic—CONNECTUS Health.
Every woman deserves to give birth in a safe and respectful environment. This tender moment of birth opens the door for our next generation to experience equity and joy from their first breath.
I was asked to join the board after my daughter's birth, and since have spoken on a couple occasions on panels, and for the grand opening of the new birthing center at Ascension Saint Thomas.
This opportunity was offered to me very randomly, but of course I now know that there's no such thing as a coincidence.
The birth of my daughter just happened to be the first baby born in this new Birthing Center, which offers pregnant women (with Medicare, Medicaid, TennCare, and most private insurances) the opportunity to birth in a "home-like" setting with the security of hospital level patient care.
BUT—let's be very clear, it was more like giving birth in a beautiful, luxury spa/hotel, with personalized care, a king sized bed, a submersion bath, a private shower with multiple shower heads, birthing aids like bars and stools, you name it... (and because of TennCare, this birthing experience was cheaper than a normal hospital labor and delivery—potentially available at NO cost to the new family)
"Adverse birth outcomes such as preterm birth, low birth weight and infant mortality continue to disproportionately affect black and poor infants [...I would add black mothers to this statement...] in the United States." - from a study released Oct 1, 2018 by the US National Library of Medicine
Of course, it’s not that black women are less capable of carry their babies to a healthy, full term—but that systemic racism leads to chronic stress which the body responds to in physically harmful ways. Black women in America, diserve more, and better healthcare options that are not stressful, where they can trust that their provider will treat them with respect, and where they are not going to be forced down a birthing pathway with interventions that don’t match their personal birth plan. This is just one of the means by which POC could receive the same access to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that white women have access to.
"CONNECTUS is a non-profit community healthcare organization founded on the values of Compassion, Wellness, Community and Culturally Sensitive Care.
Our staff and facilities help to manage the healthcare of the entire family and community, including individuals who are underinsured or lack insurance."
If you are pregnant, or wish to be—no matter your income, background, race, nationality, if you are an english speaker, or if you even identify as a women—consider Connectus Health Midwifery for your pre/post natal care and delivery. I literally couldn't recommend them more.


https://youtu.be/EOndcl3zzTU

Connectus Health is a 501(c)3 Federally Qualified Health Center that provides high-quality, affordable, holistic healthcare for the entire community, includi...

05/28/2020

Left my mark on Massage School today.

I was about a month and a bit away from graduation when mandatory quarantine began. Thankfully for me and all my cohort made a quick and graceful jump to online learning and though I’m not quite finished yet—because of about 25 more hours needed of hands on clinic work that can’t happen just yet—I’m all finished with my anatomy, physiology, pathology, clinical concepts, biomechanics, hydrotherapy, eastern theories, ethics, law, and business course work. Whew.

•

MIND BODY INSTITUTE taught me to slow down, be observant, and do no harm.

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I also learned that health is more than a negative or positive test for an illness, but a full spectrum balance of the mind and body that we as individuals are fundamentally responsible for. This means listening and abiding regulations set by experts. This means educating yourself. This means keeping up to date with relevant, trustworthy information. This means doing what you can to keep yourself and thereby those close to you safe and well.

•

“You’re a prism, yeah you spread the light.”

—from a song written by the wise and joyful

05/22/2020

Happy Birthday André.
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“You were meant to be this colossus, this indestructible thing! And yet, he gains.”

“Yes, well he is not carrying three people.”
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We cannot judge ourselves against the progresses of others. It is not always easy to see what people are carrying.

04/08/2020

Acceptance suggests that there is a willingness to move from a painful experience to a less painful experience.

04/07/2020