Natisha Amaidas Physiotherapy

09/09/2025

23/08/2025

A 2012 study from the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity found that, on average, people spend 64 hours a week sitting, 28 hours standing, and 11 hours lounging around regardless of whether or not they exercised 150 minutes a week.

That’s over nine hours of sitting a day.

Prolonged sitting invariably leads to slouching, and comes with a host of other problems that are typical of poor posture.

Here are 7 effects of sitting posture on your health.

As a rule of thumb, for every hour of sitting try standing for 10-15 mins.

If you’re a desk jockey at work, consider a standing desk instead. Getting on your feet works the valves in your leg veins, sending blood up to your heart.

Get moving!





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31/07/2025

**Open Day: Smit Street Society Community Event**

Join us for an exciting Open Day at Smit Street Society, where we are thrilled to partner with our vibrant community! This event promises to be a fantastic opportunity for families and individuals to connect, learn, and enjoy a variety of activities.

**Highlights of the Day:**

-Free popcorn and face painting will be available for the little ones

-Bring your costume along for a swim with one of our teachers in the pool

- **Mermaids with Free Diving Johannesburg:** Dive into the enchanting world of mermaids! Experience the thrill of free diving and discover the beauty of the underwater realm.

- **Math and English with Kumon:** Enhance your child's learning with expert instruction from Kumon. Engage in fun and interactive sessions that make learning enjoyable and effective.

- **Coffee and Food with Coffee Boer:** Treat yourself to delicious food and aromatic coffee from Boer Brothers. It's the perfect way to recharge while mingling with fellow community members.

- **Natisha, Our Physio and cranio:** Have any questions about physical well-being? Natisha will be on-site to provide insights and advice on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

- **Helena, Our Reiki Master:** Explore holistic healing with Helena, our skilled Reiki master. Experience relaxation and rejuvenation through her calming techniques.

- **Whale of a Time Swim School:** Join us at the Whale of a Time Swim School booth for fun water activities and learn about swimming lessons for all ages.

We invite you to come and be a part of this wonderful community gathering! There will be something for everyone, so mark your calendars and bring your family along for a day filled with learning, fun, and connection.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to engage with local services and meet your neighbours! We look forward to seeing you there!

24/07/2025

💔🌀 When Trauma Blocks the Flow

How Emotional Wounds Create Physical Stagnation in Your Lymphatic System

(This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your health regimen.)

“Our biography becomes our biology.” — Dr. Gabor Maté

What if your swollen nodes, chronic puffiness, or lymphatic congestion aren’t just physical…
What if they are echoes of unspoken pain?

The truth is, trauma doesn’t just live in your memory. It embeds itself in the tissues of your body — tightening fascia, freezing breath, gripping muscles, and quietly clogging your lymphatic system.

This is the science of emotional stagnation — and the healing potential that’s unlocked when your lymph starts to flow again.

🧠💧 The Forgotten Link: Emotions + Lymph

Your lymphatic system is the silent river of your body — it carries toxins, waste, immune cells, and inflammatory messengers. But it doesn’t have a heart to pump it.

Instead, it relies on movement, breath, relaxed fascia, and neurological safety to flow.

And this is where trauma steps in.

When the body is trapped in a chronic fight-flight-freeze state — whether from abuse, grief, surgery, illness, or stress — your nervous system stays alert. Shoulders rise. The breath shallows. The diaphragm stiffens. Fascia contracts.

And the lymph slows.

🔒 Fascia: Where Trauma Hides

Your fascia — the connective tissue that wraps every muscle, organ, and lymphatic vessel — holds somatic memory. Emotional trauma causes fascial rigidity, particularly in:
• The neck & jaw (where the vagus nerve and deep cervical nodes sit)
• The gut (where trauma often somatizes and lymph collects)
• The pelvis (home to lymphatic cisterns and stored grief/violation)

Research in biotensegrity and somatic release confirms that emotional experiences change fascial tone, impeding fluid flow and lymphatic movement【Scarr, G. Biotensegrity】.

🧬 The Vagus Nerve & Lymph Flow

Your vagus nerve is the body’s brake pedal. When it’s toned and calm, your body feels safe — digestion flows, breath deepens, and lymphatic rhythm returns.

But trauma often leads to vagal shutdown or overload, impairing:
• Gut-lymph circulation
• Neuro-lymphatic drainage in the brain
• Immune balance and inflammation

That’s why so many trauma survivors develop autoimmunity, swelling, or chronic fatigue.

😭 When You Cry, You Drain

This may sound poetic, but it’s physiologically true:
When you weep, sigh, exhale deeply, or shake, you’re moving lymph.

Emotional release techniques — like somatic therapy, breathwork, craniosacral therapy, and MLD — often trigger “emotional detox” symptoms. This isn’t a setback. It’s a sacred reset.

🌿 What Can You Do to Heal?

Healing trauma-driven lymph stagnation is about more than drainage. It’s about creating safety in your nervous system so your body can finally let go.

💆‍♀️ Therapeutic Tools:
• Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD): Gently moves fluid & rewires safety into touch
• Fascial Release & Craniosacral Therapy: Frees old holding patterns in the body
• Vagus Nerve Stimulation: Cold exposure, humming, gargling, breathwork
• Castor Oil Packs: Anti-inflammatory, grounding, and somatically soothing
• Somatic Therapy: Releases stored trauma through body awareness and movement
• Gentle Movement & Emotional Expression: Dancing, weeping, sighing, praying

🧘🏻‍♀️ Real Healing Happens When…

The body feels safe enough to surrender.
The fascia softens.
The breath deepens.
The lymph begins to flow.

And the soul finally exhales.

This isn’t just lymphatic therapy.
This is sacred restoration of a body that’s been carrying too much for too long.

📚 Supporting Research:
• Van der Kolk B. The Body Keeps the Score — trauma’s impact on physiology and memory
• Scarr G. “Biotensegrity and the Fascia System”
• Carter J, et al. Brain Behav Immun. 2016 — trauma, inflammation, and immune dysregulation
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2016.10.019

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