PRI has made its way to Oklahoma! Thank you Makenzi Lewis and Robert Rosser, of Mercy Health, for hosting a wonderful group of clinicians in one of the most beautiful facilities I have seen.
Every attendee was new to Postural Restoration, another first for this instructor. They hailed from Sante Fe, Dallas, and NYC, and, of course, numerous Oklahoma towns. This group brought experience with a diversity of caseloads – pelvic health and post-partum, post-surgery, post-stroke, cerebral palsy, and the whole gamut of orthopedic syndromes – and a range of treatment backgrounds – muscle energy, cranio-sacral, visceral manipulation, structural integration, McKenzie, yoga, Pilates, and sport performance and exercise. They were eager and open to learning a new perspective in the assessment and treatment of the human in front of them.
This perspective begins with understanding the diaphragm’s role as both a postural and a respiratory muscle. And the only way both roles can be achieved and performed is through establishing each hemi-diaphragm’s zone of apposition. Once this main concept is appreciated and understood, the remaining course concepts – sensing air flow within the thorax, the dominance of neuromuscular movement patterns, the neurological provinces of inhibition and facilitation, and the orientation of the upright individual – fall into place.
This course includes numerous lab break outs to assess for the presence of dominant neuromuscular patterns in one’s lab partner. We spent time explaining the why’s and how’s behind 6 manual rib techniques and twenty of PRIs non-manual repositioning and repatterning techniques. Makenzi Lewis was a great example of how a person tests with overactive left AIC and right BC chains. And Mandy Callaway and Kyle Baker gave the class the opportunity to see how an individual with superior T4 syndrome and PEC overactivity, respectively, move and breathe differently, with test outcomes that reflect these differences.
A huge thank you to the three of you, and also to Libio Carcasses, Dana Doshier, Morgan McBee, Jenny Spinella, Blyth Timken, and Jessica Vaughn, for your willingness to receive assessments and perform the techniques. As you found out, these techniques look low-key and easy on paper, but they are anything but. As one attendee exclaimed, “This is powerful stuff!”
I enjoyed spending my weekend with each and every one of you and am thrilled to have helped you start your PRI journey. Looking forward to seeing you again at future courses!
– Louise Kelley
