Understanding Hypermobility
From "Life Sentence" of Pain and Problems
To a Whole New Freedom
Ending the Cycle of Pain, Rest, Repeat
There is so much misinformation about hypermobility.
That the quality or state of the connective tissue is essentially “broken” . . . with nothing to be done but to endure.
That there is no hope.
And related to Yoga . . . The common thought is that if you are yoga practitioner or teacher and you have hypermobility, you shouldn’t be doing yoga that you love to practice and/or teach.
Let’s ReThink All OF THAT.
Meet Amy
“I recall a day many years ago when I found myself in a doctor’s office, assuming I had pulled a groin from doing “a few too many wheel poses in yoga practice”. I waited for the orthopedic surgeon to enter and tell me whether I should ice or heat…find a physical therapist or a massage therapist…”
What he said dumbfounded me.
“You have the hip of an 80 year old. You need to prepare yourself for a surgery, maybe two (it turned out to be two, and I was 40 years old). He also mentioned that I would need to stop teaching and practicing yoga.”
THAT I didn’t believe. Thank Goodness.
However, I knew I was in a cycle. Pain, Relief, Repeat.
As I began to experience more joint problems, suffer bouts of fatigue, digestive disorders and blood pressure issues I knew there had to be a better way. I tried lots and lots of things. They were ALL GOOD…they just weren’t all good for ME.
I began working with Susi in 2019 while recovering from shoulder surgery.
I always knew yoga was not at fault for my health challenges.
What Susi helped me learn was, neither was I.
I now think in terms of “feeling” rather than “fixing”. The results have been truly life changing. When I was officially diagnosed with hEDS last June, it felt helpful and true and even empowering.
I have learned to work WITH my “unique” connective tissue instead of against it. I have never loved being a yoga teacher more.
KEY PATTERNS WITH HYPERMOBILITY
A key piece for understanding hypermobility, is that each person’s diagnosis and experience is unique and different.
Like any diagnosis, how one person experiences hypermobility is different from another.
However I have also found that there are 3 common patterns that show up.
In the process of recovery and healing, each of my clients have discovered:
- that they have unique HYPOmobility patterns that are contributing their pain and those patterns need to be better integrated.
- that they have unique patterns of tissue tolerance.
- that they have unique sleep needs.
When my clients tap into their understanding of their patterns, tissue tolerance and sleep needs, how they approach their recovery process completely changes. And so does their life. So much so, that while hypermobility is a systemic condition that will remain for their life . . . they begin to feel less trapped or burdened. It's pretty awesome to witness. If this is interesting to you - as a yoga therapist or health professional - I have brought together some kick-ass experts in Hypermobility to uplevel your skill with your clients (and for yourself, if you have hypermobility issues).
MEET AMY, YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Living and Thriving with Hypermobility (60 min)
When Amy first tried a yoga class as a busy school teacher many years ago, she decided it “wasn’t for her”. Ten years later and recovering from some serious health challenges, she decided to give “that yoga thing” another try. It was her second class after a decade hiatus that caught her attention. She walked away standing taller, breathing better and knowing she had found something integral to her healing and to her future.
A born teacher, Amy couldn’t help sharing what she had experienced with others and began teaching yoga in 2003. Amy completed her 200-hour teacher training with Johnny Gillespie of Empowered Yoga as well at Level 1 Training in Yoga Therapeutics with Susi Hately.
Amy is a certified Reiki/IET practitioner and teaches yoga, meditation and myofascial release classes. She especially loves teaching yoga therapeutically in a 1:1 setting.
Amy holds an undergraduate degree in Education and a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Boston College. She is passionate about helping people find their own unique path to wellness. Always focused on healing and prevention, she empowers her students to go at their own pace and listen to their inner voice. Fun and connection are at the heart of every class!
MEET LINDA, YOUR HYPERMOBILITY DOCTOR
Sleep and Hypermobility (90 Min)
Dr. Linda Bluestein has been practicing medicine for over 20 years and has helped countless people restore function and improve their quality of life. As a former ballet dancer and instructor, she has a special interest in treating dancers and other artistic athletes who are at increased risk of hypermobility disorders.
As an integrative medicine physician with certification in Performing Arts Medicine, Dr. Bluestein takes a unique approach to the evaluation and treatment of this highly specialized population.
Wherever you are on the hypermobility spectrum, working with Dr. Bluestein enables you to have less pain and be more accurately diagnosed.
MEET JEANNIE, YOUR MOVEMENT THERAPIST
Tissue Tolerance (90 Min)
Jeannie Di Bon is a Movement Therapist based in London specializing in working with people with hypermobility, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and chronic pain. Originally trained in Pilates, over the past decade her research and study have gone on to encompass biomechanics, anatomy, neuroscience and pain management. She is now undertaking an MSc in Pain Management.
Jeannie has hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and rehabbed her body and mind from chronic pain.
She presents for The EDS Society and other charities. Jeannie is also an educator of teachers and therapists in the field of movement therapy with the EDS Echo program. In July 2019, Jeannie launched The Zebra Club – a comprehensive collection of movement classes for people with hypermobility, EDS and chronic pain. In November 2021, The Zebra Club was transformed into an easily accessible app for home use.
MEET LESLIE, YOUR PHYSICAL THERAPIST
Persistent Pain and Hypermobility (90 Min)
Dr. Leslie Russek is Professor Emeritus, Physical Therapy at Clarkson University. She is also a Staff PT at St. Lawrence Health System, Potsdam NY.
Her clinical specialties include hypermobility, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, headaches, and temporomandibular disorders.
She is the Facilitator of the North America Allied Health Professionals ECHO, and member of The Allied Health Working Group of the International Consortium of Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders, past member of The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Committee on Selected Heritable Connective Tissue Disorders and Disability.
She has authored many articles related to HSD/hEDS and is the author of ”Chronic Pain” chapter in Physical Rehabilitation textbook for PT students
"The most remarkable thing with Susi's teaching is how I can take what she teaches and apply it with my clients and see results immediately. This works".
Registered attendees will receive lifetime access to the recordings.
[Online training]
UNDERSTANDING HYPEROMBILITY
$495
What I Want People To Understand About Working with Hypermobility
- People don’t have to push hard to get better. (The opposite is way more effective and enjoyable)
- There is a quieter, and dare I say, more supportive way to work with the unique characteristics of hypermobile tissue.
- That strengthening one’s body doesn’t have to come from bracing and gripping.
What You Will Learn In This Program:
The Spectrum of Hypermobility and How It Manifests. Some people are born with this & have always known they have “unique responses” to lots of things, while others have trained themselves into hypermobility through force and overdoing movement.
The 4 Step Awareness- Clarity- Connection – Feedback Loop. Learn how and where to focus your attention so that you can understand the nuance of sensation because the stretch sensation isn’t there.
The New Way of Strengthening. Learn how to add in strength and stability so that it improves your infrastructre and doesn’t add more patterns of hypomobility and meaningless tension.
For Professionals – Explore your cueing and instructions. Learn how to communicate with your students so that they can understand their own unique qualities and nuances and gain better function.
"Over the years, Amy's teachings have provided a practice which gently weaves the combination of building a strong foundation with Amy guiding and growing one's unique practice on the mat. Amy's classes bring together her soothing expertise of yoga and the understanding of our bodies."
This Program is for you if. . .
- Want to grow your skill and understanding about your body. You are looking for a way that works.
- You want less fluff and more therapeutic benefit, so you can move with more ease, strength, and stamina.
- You are ready for some usable techniques and tools to change, harness and channel your strengths effectively.
- If you are a teacher or health professional and you are looking for effective ways to support your students/clients/patients with hypermobility disorders.
This Program is NOT for you if. . .
- If you don’t have a hypermobility disorder, or clients with a hypermobility disorder.
- If you don’t think change is possible.
- If you are not willing to learn or do the exercises. To make a change, you will need to follow the concepts that are taught. It won't take a lot of time, will require a sustained commitment.
- Your schedule is packed from morning to night. If you’re already struggling to find the time to attend to your daily responsibilities, this may not be the right fit at this moment.
Meet Susi Hately, Your Host
I have a BSC. Kinesiology and have been helping people reduce and eradicate pain for 25 years. I have also been a bridge between the medical world and yoga. Two of my programs have been studied at the University of Calgary and both showed benefit for supporting people and their wellbeing. I am also the best selling author of 10 books and yoga video series, including Anatomy and Asana: Preventing Yoga Injuries.
I have been training teachers and health professionals in yoga therapy since 2001 and am the director and lead teacher of the highly successful C-IAYT Accredited Functional Synergy Yoga Therapy Program.
You can count on my expertise and experience. In addition to my IAYT program, I have appeared as a guest expert at Trent University, on Global TV, CTV, and in the Globe and Mail, Thrive Online, Chatelaine, Bride Magazine, Parenting, and Yoga Journal.
As a young student of yoga, I began to combine the ancient practices of yoga with my BSc. Kinesiology at a Vancouver pain clinic. When I continued to encounter individuals, including yoga instructors, who accepted that their pain was “normal”, I began to explore how yoga was being taught and practiced. By designing therapy programs that utilized sound anatomical principles of kinesiology with the time-honoured practices of gentle yoga, I have enabled people to find pain relief, feel good, and rediscover vitality in their lives.
"Amy's ability to read a classroom and transform that information into just the right yoga practice for that precise moment is amazing! Her combination of mindfulness and movement leaves my mind clear and my body relaxed - NOT an easy task!!"
[Online training]
UNDERSTANDING HYPERMOBILITY
ON DEMAND
$497
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