Self-Care Coaching

WI have been teaching self-care since 2011 and adore this part of my practice. I am committed to continue to educate myself in many health and wellness modalities, and I feel it is only appropriate to share this knowledge and experience with my clients so that we may attain the greatest results possible. I personally began this part of my practice with self-massage using rollers. I eventually extended my approach to teaching about posture and form (standing, sitting, laying, hip-hinging) and breathing bio-mechanics as these components are key for long lasting results.

All self-care/home-care is given as part of massage therapy sessions whether they are Western, Thai or Osteothai massage sessions. If you have special interest in self-care, we can allocate more time for self-care than usual while making sure massage is still the main service provided.

Sylvain Broucke

Registered Massage Therapist

Osteopathy Student

Self-Massage or Foam Rolling

Self-massage sounds like a lot of work. With the proper tools and some simple techniques, it is not. It can be very relaxing and an effective way to release tension in your body. It’s almost like seeing your massage therapist is like seeing the dentist, and foam rolling is like brushing your teeth. It is the simple little maintenance you can do regularly to avoid big problems.

Here is are some examples of self-massage techniques and benefits:

Using a ball against the wall to releave chronic or acute shoulder tension.

Using rollers on the floor to bring mobility to the thoracic spine.

Using a ball on the floor to release stubbern back muscles in the lower or upper back.

You can prevent or even contribute to healing injuries by rolling the legs with rollers and balls.

Young man does self-massage by rolling a the ball

Natural Alignment and Good Spine Hygiene

Most people think that having a good posture is either a gift or hard work. I believe if it is hard work, it is not done properly. Good alignment should be easy and feel quite comfortable. It usually feels “weird” to change long standing habits, but it should not feel like hard work.

If you have chronic pain, improving your alignment while sitting, lying down and standing can change your life.

Learn how to do everyday activities that spare your spine, improve its resilience, restoring and preserving a pain-free lifestyle:

How to sit with good alignment so that it is comfortable and sustainable

How to decompress your back while sitting in order to give your lower back a chance to heal.

How to lay in a way that can provide decompression to your lower back and your neck.

How to bend forward with good alignment and avoid compression of the discs in the lower back.

Improve Your Breathing, Improve Your Life

Breath is life. The quality of your breathing can dictate how your nervous system will handle stress and negative emotions. It is also very much connected to the quality of your digestion and the health of your spine from lower back, to upper back and neck.

What can you learn about breath?

Breathing from the stomach can help lower back conditions, improve digestion and lower stress.

A good costal breathing can improve posture and free blockages in the chest.

FAQs on Self-Care Coaching

Can I get Self-Care Coaching if I do not want massage?

In short, no you cannot. In a normal massage therapy session, self-care coaching has to be a secondary aspect of the treatment. We will need to do an assessment, do some massage and then do some self-care coaching. Massage will always help the elements of self-care.

How long will it take to learn what I need to feel good again?

This is a hard question to answer as it will very much depend on your condition. Most minor injuries or imbalances can greatly benefit from as little as one or two 10-20 minutes of self-care coaching that is part of a 60minute massage treatment. For more severe cases, it can take 5 or more sessions to learn enough to get the full benefit of a self-care routine. However, you will usually benefit from all the steps on the way… so come, learn, do the work and trust the process!

What is the difference between physio exercises and this approach?

It can be very similar sometimes. However, I have found from my experience and from working with physiotherapists that the self-care I give people is usually complementary with what most physiotherapist have to offer. Also, if I find that you would benefit more from seeing a physiotherapist, I will happily refer you to one. Very often however, doing both will be the most beneficial approach.