MY BLOCK STORY: Myasthenia Gravis|Mental Health|Increased Muscle Strength

Our featured testimonial is by our wonderful Head Office team member, Stephanie, who has made the decision to move on in her career. I want to start by thanking and honouring her, prior to sharing her story.

I have been so blessed with the Block Therapy team. They are truly some of the most dedicated and talented people I know. This journey has been full of challenges, excitement and chaos, all of which has created a team who have learned to work closely together and who have become like family.

Stephanie joined the team about four years ago when we were going through a major rebuilding phase. Her talents helped us create our own platform for Block Therapy, not a small task. There were many occasions when her genius guided us through some very tricky moments and her dedication and support allowed us to get to the next level of our growth. 

Stephanie also has been an extremely calming influence. Her approach to problem solving and understanding of on-line business has given me (someone who knew nothing about this in the past), the freedom to continue to focus on my gifts and skills. I have reached out to her on many occasions frantic for not understanding something, only to have her take the lead and find solutions.

Stephanie also has an amazing ability to write, share our work through social media and organize teachers and referral partners so they could share the benefits of Block Therapy. She has so many wonderful skills and talents that have benefited both the company, and all of us who have had the pleasure of working with her.

I am sad to say that Stephanie will be leaving the company so she can pursue other matters. She will be greatly missed by us all; her laughter, quirkiness, and view on life in general brought so much joy to the team. I am thrilled we will stay connected so we can continue to deepen the friendship. 

Stephanie you have been a true gift and friend, we wish you the best, Love you!

Deanna

And now, on to Stephanie’s Block Story. May she inspire you like she has inspired the rest of us who have had the opportunity to get to know her.

I met Deanna and started Block Therapy over three years ago. Since then my life has genuinely changed for the amazing! Not just from having such a positive influence in my life -- she truly is one of the kindest, sweetest, and most caring (also hilarious!) people I’ve met -- but from the amazing effects her system has had on my physical and mental health.

Deanna has said many times that Block Therapy is therapy, exercise and meditation all in one, and when I first heard that I really couldn’t comprehend how true it was. How could one piece of wood do all that? I didn’t understand that Block Therapy would be a lifestyle change and the block of wood would be just one of my tools.

I have had some pretty extreme physical and mental health issues for most, if not all, of my life. I have an auto-immune disease called Myasthenia Gravis (literally, Gravely Weak Muscles), Major Depressive Disorder, and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I have a few other “smaller” diagnoses, but those three are the ones that have controlled my life.

Block Therapy is the first therapy that helped me start to regain my basic muscles, after a few failed attempts with physiotherapy. I started to learn more about what my posture was doing to exacerbate the weak muscle symptoms, and cause pain elsewhere. I slowly but surely began to regain my core and stabilizing muscles. I was releasing stuck fascia and adhesions I’d developed over time as a result of horrible posture due to weak muscles.

Once I was able to support my body properly, I was shocked that I was also able to use Block Therapy as an exercise. I could do those same Block Therapy positions, but this time, by lifting or holding a leg or arm isometrically, actually build muscle instead of just releasing fascia. This was exciting for me, as I could go at my own pace. In the past I would try following a gym, jogging or at-home yoga routine, and would push myself too hard to keep up. I would end up having my disease flare up, sometimes lose the ability to walk, take several days or weeks to recover, and then be back at square one, or even worse than I was to start. With Block Therapy I used the breath-as-your-guide rule and never had a flare-up of my disease.

But the thing that surprised me most was how beneficial Block Therapy has been for my mental health. If I started to feel a panic attack coming on, I would lie in the Belly position, focus on my breathing, and the anxiety would melt away. If I was having a depressive episode and was unable to get out of bed, I would just take my Block to bed with with me. If I could accomplish one thing that day, and that was relieving some of the pain in my body with the Block, that would be enough. But more often than not I’d finish blocking in bed and that would be the baby step I needed to get out of bed and accomplish other things.

Focusing on my breath and listening to my body’s pain under the Block has been key to being able to meditate for the first time in my life. My brain actually goes quiet sometimes! Still working to make it consistent, which is great, because with Block Therapy you are never truly “done”. You keep finding new things to work on in order to better yourself.

I look back at myself three years ago when my days were full of pain, weakness, stress and negative self-talk. While I do still see a neurologist and psychologist and use a lot of standard medication for my auto-immune disease, Block Therapy has been the thing that tied it all together. Now I feel like a different person. I can’t wait to see how far I get in the next three years!