OSTEOPATHY AT A LYRICAL BODY PILATES and WELLNESS
Ashley Sawala (Ashley McIntosh to some of you) has had an amazing 2024, and it is only August! In January she got married, February brought a new dog into her life, and in April she completed her qualification in Osteopathy - M. OMSc. Added to all that happiness in a girl’s life, Ashley also discovered she was pregnant with her first child!
What will Ashley accomplish for the rest of 2024? Asking Ashley, she said she hopes to build her reputation as an osteopath; get lots more bodies under her hands and help heal lots more people. She is also planning for the baby, while building a life with her husband and dog. I don’t see any problems with Ashley achieving all of it.
I sat down with Ashley between clients and chatted to her about osteopathy. Some of you may share my question: What sets osteopathy apart from physiotherapy?
Ashley explained, “Physiotherapy uses exercises to lengthen or strengthen and test muscle strength. They use ultrasound and acupuncture, exercise and hands on therapies to heal. Osteopathy looks at the body as a complete unit and uses manual therapy. An Osteopath looks at the muscular skeletal, neurology and body fluids, blood and lymphatics. They look at the relationship to the spine, fascia, muscles, ligaments, and organ systems. Ashley explained to me about the 4 rivers of life. They are nerves, arteries, veins and lymphatics. In osteopathy, they align the body so the 4 rivers have the best ability to move through their path in your body. Obstruction of even one of the 4 rivers is where disease can occur.”
Recurrent things in life because of the relationships in the body causes compensation patterns. If the hips position in one way, then the body will compensate, causing problems, pain, and debilitating soreness.
Each treatment is specific to the person and their body on that day. I consulted with Ashley about pain in my left knee. My right knee has arthritis so I need my left to be A OK. However, the problem wasn’t with my left knee; it was with my right shoulder! Ashley explained to me the reason why.
“The positioning of your shoulder in relationship to the hip created a change of load under gravity. That created abnormal force vectors between the shoulder, spine and hip, which then acted as abnormal loading of the knee as it descended to that joint.”
I heard The Trickle Down Effect, less science but I understood. After a couple of treatments, I was feeling wonderful. Then while on holiday, I tore 2 ligaments in my right ankle - I know! I visited the physio, but also saw Ashley again. She got the swelling to decrease in my ankle and behind my knee, and also corrected the soreness in my left knee again. My compensation patterns had gone haywire with the sore ankle and knee!
Ashley helps not only with pain and the 4 rivers but also with sciatica, chronic neck or back pain, knee and shoulder pain, sports injuries, headaches and postural strain. This latter is common for many of us from sitting at a computer for extended periods.
I asked Ashley about regularity and return visits. She says it’s preferable to have 2–3 appointments, as a treatment is like pealing back the layers of the onion. Following the initial appointment, Ashley can assess the body’s reaction to the therapy. After the first few therapies, the osteopath spaces out appointments to allow the body time to self-heal.
Osteopathy helps the body to help itself, and Ashley helps your body to function at its best.
You can book Osteopathy treatments with Ashley by calling the studio at (905) 631-2300; emailing Vikki at [email protected] or by clicking on
Https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=15058&stype=-95
Coming next week-Ashley in Action!