06/15/2025
I used to love backbends — but my spine didn’t always feel the same
This variation of a backbend is something I first learned during my Tune Up Fitness Practitioner Training over ten years ago. What it taught me was how to approach my body with more respect.
I discovered that a true backbend isn’t just about the spine — it’s a whole-body experience. Every joint plays a part.
One of the biggest revelations from that training was realizing how little of the anatomy I learned in massage school I had actually embodied. I knew it intellectually, but I hadn’t truly felt it in my own body.
Anatomy doesn’t live in your head or in books — it lives in your body.
At the time this photo was taken, I was still recovering from a shoulder fracture I’d had a few years earlier. Rebuilding my shoulder’s range of motion — in every joint position — was a huge part of my personal journey.
This training helped me bring anatomy to life. It gave me tools to turn the static words in a textbook into something I could feel, understand, and teach from.
And even now, a decade later, I still use much of what I learned — not only in my movement practice but in how I assess clients. The principles, exercises, and breakdowns from that course continue to shape the way I teach my clients
