endo friends

After a particularly tender appointment with a client who experiences complex-chronic illness, I was moved to start a semi-regular gathering for my clients, friends and community members who experience complex chronic pelvic pain. And then my friend Becky reached out with a very similar idea. Together, we are creating a gathering for folks experiencing pelvic pain and endometriosis.

Some of you may know about my experience with endometriosis and my rocky maneuvering of the symptoms for the last 20+ years. You may also know of my 16+ years of work and learning as a somatic bodyworker and 30+ years of training as a vocalist and performer. In the past decade I have met more and more people with endometriosis, and have even helped them discover their diganosis and subsequent care. I hope that my combined skill set, along with my Becky's, and the collective experience in the group, will be a deep well of resource, in a path that can often feel desolate.

This gathering will be a space for those of us experiencing the challenges navigating the ups and downs of unexpected flare-ups, a space for somatic check-ins, resource sharing and space to share feelings and experiences of living in a body that is having a hard time finding ease and balance. Maybe we can find it together, even if for a moment, once a month.

We hope to collaboratively attempt a somatic awareness practice through breathwork, visualizations, movement, sound and writing, and in future gatherings, we hope to bring in guest bodyworkers and somatic practitioners to share their talents.

Our first meeting is Saturday, January 24th at 3pm in SE Portland. Reach out for more info: deepgroundmassage@gmail.com

updates, and...

It is my 10th anniversary of opening my practice in Portland! I have been a LMT for 15 years, and the vast majority of that has been here, with you. So thank you for your support of my practice, and thank you for letting me support you.

At Apex Wellness Clinic, Dr. Rebecca Schacker has retired and Dr. Krystal LaPlante, DC has returned to a full time schedule at the clinic. I refer all of my clients looking for chiropractic work to Dr. K, she is attentive, thorough and a delightfully collaborative practitioner.

2024 begins

It is a restorative practice to reflect on the past year, especially at the transition into a new one, as it can feel so futile. 2023 brought so much change: A new tattoo! A new space for my practice in Foster-Powell! A big surgery, and recovery! A haircut; lobbing off 15 years of long hair! Travel around the Salish Sea!

2023 was also a year full of various creative endeavours: performing with Extradition for a festival and our quarterly showings, performing with Linda Austin in 3 miles of possible and improvising with a large-scale installation at Building 5, and designing/building a beautiful tool shed for my backyard.

I imagine 2024 will be more of the same; performing, building, and continuing our work together at my studio. At the end of this month I will begin a new course, Neural Manipulation, with the Barral Institute. I am especially excited for this work, as it integrates the nervous system and how our bodies hold and/or process trauma, with manual therapies to address whiplash injuries and chronic neck and spine discomfort. 

Spring updates (masks, and other news)

Spring is here now, the bulbs are really popping up, the trees budding out. I am welcoming the light. The longer days have me imagining bike rides and long walks, yard projects and picnics with friends. 

Though the Oregon Health Authority will remove the mask mandate in Oregon healthcare settings beginning April 3, the providers at our clinic have agreed to continue to require masks out of respect for our immunocompromised clients, our community elders, and our own health in this work that requires such close proximity. We appreciate your continued care of the community of people and families that thrive at our clinic.

I've gotten very use to wearing masks.

waves

The ups and downs of these days have been a lot to manage. I have been ever-more reliant on my restorative practice of walking. Portland has a wealth of green spaces and parks in the city, and nearby. Recently, I have been thinking deeply about stress and anxiety, how these states show up for each of us, individually and collectively, and the entrenching of the semantics and pathology of Stress and Anxiety. (more on these ruminations soon.) 

 As we are well within our seventh wave of Covid19, I want to bring your attention to my Covid19 Protocol & Procedures and share a few resources I use to understand what is happening with the Covid19 pandemic, my own personal risk, and assess ways to keep my clients at the clinic safe.

Welcoming a new year

 Reflecting on a year that seemed to move at superspeed, I recall sweet moments with close friends, a trip to see the Painted Hills, a humid summer week in NYC, an Oregon coast long-weekend, a few house projects, miles and miles of walks, and meeting many delightful new clients. Though the year has been peppered with heartbreak, I am thankful for all of your kindness and encouragement.

It seems challenging to be thinking, again, of a new variant and how much more adaptable we will need to become, but I am hopeful -and grateful for vaccines, boosters, and more accessible testing.

As we look to the coming weeks of this highly transmissible Covid-19 variant (omicron), I would like to remind you to please be discerning and reschedule your appointment if you have any -however mild- of the following concerns (I will be doing the same):

• You or one of your household members have had symptoms of fever, cold or flu in the past 14 days (eg. tiredness, runny nose, congestion, sore throat, cough, high temperature, shortness of breath, aches, pains, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, or loss of smell or taste.)
  
• You have been near someone who has potentially had, or tested positive for COVID-19 through a family or work contact in the past 14 days. 

August updates

 I can't believe August is nearly half over; this summer has just disappeared. Though I can't quite recall where all the time has gone, I have been enjoying early mornings and late evenings in the hammock, and chance encounters with friends during my walks on Mt. Tabor and Powell Butte. 

As cases rise in Portland (and everywhere else), I am finding it difficult to feel the recurrence of uncertainty. However I am grateful that the vaccine is doing its job; mitigating severe symptoms, hospitalization and more death. I hope you all are wearing your masks (now mandated in Oregon) and washing your hands frequently. As a slow adapter in this pandemic, I was just beginning to spend time with more folks, but am returning to some pre-vaccine habits: decreasing the number of people I see (especially the number of people I am around unmasked) and opting to gather outdoors.

To understand the state of Covid-19 in Oregon, I found this OPB article useful: https://www.opb.org/article/2021/08/12/oregon-covid-19-cases-mask-mandate-governor-kate-brown-delta-variant-vaccines-questions/

March updates

My colleagues at Laurelhurst Family Clinic and I have received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine!

However, none of my personal or in-practice protocols and procedures will change -mask wearing, and hand washing remains a vital part of our lives, and will be necessary for some time to come. The vaccine is another way to protect ourselves from experiencing a severe case and reduce the strain on hospitals. There is currently promising data about the effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing community spread, but I am erring on the side of caution. Until we reach herd immunity (a currently unknown percentage), or have more information and data, we should continue being vigilant about hygiene, personal space and mask wearing.

And here are some Covid-19 vaccine resources I'd like to share:

• This great interview by Ira Flatow on Science Friday: How Did A Vaccine Get Developed In Less Than A Year (1/15/21) 
• CDC: Understanding Covid-19 mRNA Vaccines
• CDC: How Vaccines Work
• Local information on when you are eligible and how to schedule a vaccination appointment:  https://govstatus.egov.com/OR-OHA-COVID-19 and https://all4oregon.org

dipping in a toe

Multnomah County has entered Phase 1, which means Personal Services can return to work with many new safety measures in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

We are working on procuring necessary PPE to follow the regulations and recommendations set forth by Multnomah County, OHA, and the Governor's office, in addition to creating our own office protocols and procedures.

See you when the time is right.