​Chantal Scerri

​What is Fascia?

​What is Block Therapy?

​The Three Components of Block Therapy

​Meet ​Chantal ​

​The path to blocking began unknowingly in April 2017 after I suffered a life-threatening heart arrhythmia. Paramedics were called and rushed to stop and restart my heart as it soared to 250 beats per minute.  The physical trauma of this ordeal left me with a dysregulated nervous system and symptoms of heart failure.  Although an ablation procedure I received six months later stopped these kinds of arrythmias, my heart rate was still very elevated which left me breathless and chronically fatigued.  Come the new year I developed severe anxiety and panic attacks and by the summer I went into full isolation from family, friends and colleagues as I could no longer function physically or mentally.  Doctors prescribed me all kinds of heart and anxiety medication, but I refused them all.  I was convinced at my very core there had to be a natural way to bring me back to health.  

Later that year in the fall of 2018, I was admitted to an OHIP covered three-month mindfulness meditation program to help me get control of my anxiety disorder.  Although it was a great program, I realized it only scratched the surface in helping me feel better. I continued researching and a few months later in February 2019, I learned about the vagus nerve and its connection to the nervous system.  I took an online Wim Hof breathing course and implemented a daily breathing practice designed to get my heart rate variability under control. By the summer, I learned how chanting and humming also stimulates the nerve and enrolled in a Sound Therapy course taught by Jonathan Goldman.  Each morning I would spend one hour chanting the vowels and humming.  The combination of these two therapies slowly helped me to walk and talk again without getting breathless and reduce the number of anxiety and panic attacks.  

Despite the tremendous progress, I still felt “off”.  My chest and abdomen would feel extremely tight by mid-day.  Even as great as my gentle yoga practice was at enhancing my flexibility, it was clear I needed something else to help me stay open and relaxed. I just didn’t know what that was.  Fast forward to March 2020, I learned about Block Therapy from a fellow member of the Vagus Nerve Study Group on Facebook.  At the time of this discovery, I was getting acupuncture treatments by an elderly couple. They also taught me acupressure and instructed me to target several places on my body everyday at home.  This went on for several weeks until I had to stop treatments because of COVID-19.  When I read Deanna’s book about a week later, I marveled at how the use of the block was kind of like using my hands in acupressure.  Block Therapy uses your own body weight for the block to sink deep into the tissue with the goal of creating space and help bring flow back into it.  My intuition told me this was the missing link I had been looking for.  I signed up for the starter package immediately.      

In just two months of daily blocking I’m now able to take deeper breaths from my diaphragm and seldom experience tightness in my chest and abdomen.  My neck pain, headaches, and TMJ have reduced. I’m even getting a bit of a facelift as my lips are fuller and undereye bags are disappearing.  This head to toe therapy is truly one of a kind and I vow to introduce as many people as I can to it.  I can’t emphasize enough how the stress we experience, no matter the degree, causes harm over time.  Stress causes us to unconsciously hold our breath and start breathing solely from the chest.  This eventually dries out the fascia and breathing from the diaphragm is seriously compromised. Pain and disease eventually overtakes the body because lack of flow in the tissues prevents all cells from vibrating harmoniously.  

Never in my life did I think I would undertake such a painful journey back to health.  I honestly believe had I not taken the path I did, I wouldn’t have found these self-care modalities or be able to help others.  Please contact me via e-mail if you have any questions.  I’ve included the Block Therapy starter package link below in case you’ve already made up your mind in starting your journey back to health now.    

-Chantal

​Meet ​Deanna, the ​Founder

Deanna Hansen is a Certified Athletic Therapist and founder of Fluid Isometrics™ and Block Therapy™, a bodywork practice that is meditation, exercise and therapy all in one. Deanna began her practice as an Athletic Therapist in 1995, always focusing on deep tissue work. She built up a thriving practice, as her strong hands could work out the deep knots in tissue. ​

In 2000, Deanna experienced a major breakthrough. Her large, heavy body stored much pain and she felt weighed down and depressed. While experiencing the worst of a series of anxiety attacks, Deanna intuitively pushed her hand into her abdomen and, at that moment, began a path of self-discovery. In a short period of time, Deanna’s body began to change. The weight was dropping, the chronic pain and issues were improving and, most importantly, the depression and anxiety disappeared. She immediately began applying this to her existing patients and the results were immediate and outstanding.

For 14 more years, Deanna owned clinics where she practiced her new technique. In 2006, as word was spreading of the benefits of Fluid Isometrics™, she began teaching other therapists. It took time to create a language to transfer her wisdom she developed through her hands. This continues to be an ongoing and evolving challenge as the connective tissue called fascia remains a mystery to many people. Deanna considers herself blessed working with countless individuals, who have had remarkable improvements healing current and past injuries and overcoming pain, stress and anxiety. It’s been a combination of transforming her own body, her life and working with others that gives Deanna such a rich understanding of the fascia.

Deanna’s journey working with individuals has been very rewarding. Yet her true passion is to teach people how to self-care. Developed from personal practice and exploration, Deanna knows that teaching individuals to self-care is of far greater benefit than giving people a treatment. Fluid Isometrics™ Block Therapy™ is the solution. Deanna has taken what she did in the treatment room and translated it into a self-help practice using a handcrafted cedar wooden block, called the Block Buddy™. This simple, efficient, and inexpensive approach is gaining credibility as people around the world are experiencing the benefits of the Block Buddy™ and sharing with others.