Directions to the beautiful 310 Happ, Northfield studio.

Well, hello there. I hear you’ll be visiting me at my Northfield studio. FAN-tastic!

I don’t know about you but I can get a little lost or confused the first time I go somewhere. To minimize any first-time anxiety, I’m going to give you step-by-step details on how to find me. This way, even your pre-treatment moments will be as stress free as possible. Also, I like to show off the lovely property where we get to do our work. OK - let’s check it out….

The address is 310 Happ Road, Northfield.

Some GPSs call us N Happ, other GPSs call us S Happ. 310 Happ is south of Willow Road and north of Winnetka Rd. Here’s a map:

 

OK great. Now let’s talk about where you turn in and park.

I am located in Northfield Village Center. You’ll want to look for parking on the north side of the plaza, which means after pulling into either of the lot entrances go to the right.

You can either park by the Ballroom Dance entrance…

…or continue around the corner to park by the cleaners and Children’s Gift Shop. ⬇️ So many choices for parking!

From the Ballroom Dance Studio you will walk across the courtyard toward the Tapas outdoor patio. From the Children’s Gift Shop you will go through the building underpass toward the Tapas outdoor patio. From here you’ll see a green awning labeled “Office Building” for our entrance.

You’re almost here!

Once inside, go down the hall to the elevator. Take the elevator up to the second floor, which you can see below.

You’ll get off the elevator and go to the left, following the hallways around to my suite, #218. Here you will find the key hanging to the bathrooms, which are back by the elevators. If the door is closed, I’m in session and you can have a seat in the seating area just past my office door.

You’ve arrived!

Welcome to my office. When you come in, you can hang up your coat and sit on the entry stool to leave your shoes by the door.

Then we can sit down in comfy chairs to chat for a moment or get you right up on the table to start your Craniosacral treatment.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this pictography journey to my office. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Aimee

Expanding Your Window of Tolerance: Guided Craniosacral Therapy for Stress Relief and Resilience

As the new year dawned, Jane felt a mix of optimism and uncertainty. The first week brought a sense of renewal, like a clean slate ready to be filled. Though she was okay, a lingering fog seemed to envelop her thoughts, making things slightly unclear. The routines of regular life began to emerge slowly, initially feeling manageable. But as the days passed, responsibilities piled up, like a snowball rolling downhill. At first, Jane found herself handling things with relative ease, but gradually, the weight of it all started to feel overwhelming.

One day, Jane hit a breaking point, the edge of her “window of tolerance”.  This term refers to the range of emotional and sensory experiences that an individual can manage without feeling overwhelmed or shutting down. When life seems quiet, Jane's window of tolerance appears wide and accommodating. However, it can be deceiving. Challenges, stressors, or sensory triggers can quickly fill up the window, leading to feeling overwhelmed, stuck or hyperfunctioning.

The mounting stress led her to withdraw into a state of shutdown. It was as if she couldn't process anything more, and she retreated from the world, seeking solitude and silence. Alternatively, on another occasion, she entered a phase of hyperfunctioning, becoming a whirlwind of activity, trying to control every aspect of her life. Both states, whether in shutdown or hyperfunctioning, were her ways of coping with the overwhelming demands of regular life. In shutdown, she withdrew and sought refuge from the chaos, while in hyperfunctioning, she attempted to regain a sense of control by doing everything possible. Jane's journey through these states was a reminder of the delicate balance between managing life's challenges and finding peace within herself.

Jane tried various methods to cope with the stress brought on by life's challenges, but nothing seemed to provide the relief she desperately sought. It was frustrating; she couldn't tell if her efforts were making any difference. Maybe she wasn’t doing the self-care correctly? Jane longed for a solution that would not only allow her to draw on her past healing experiences but also offer effective results and tangible relief. She craved a sense of community with like-minded individuals, but without the need for personal sharing. Jane needed guidance, a way to ensure that her time invested in self-care would guarantee results and help her stay on track.

The good news is that guided biodynamic Craniosacral therapy can help Jane. This therapy releases tension and sensory triggers or "charges" from her system. These charges are residual, unresolved emotional or physical sensations that get stored in the body, making it harder for Jane to stay focused or calm. They can even make Jane, hypersensitive. Biodynamic Craniosacral therapy (BCST) releases these charges from their source, the nervous system. It is here that Jane’s sensory and electrical messaging ignites stress responses in the muscular, endocrine and related body systems.  

But unlike massage and other healing modalities, BCST doesn’t stop at releasing the tension and blockages. It also realigns Jane with her body's inherent health, balance and original flow state. With increased resilience and a wider window of tolerance, Jane becomes better equipped to handle distractions, think flexibly in the face of challenges, and problem-solve in ways that align with her needs and responsibilities. This compassionate support extends not only to herself but also to those around her, creating harmonious balance and feeling regret-free about how she showed up in her life.

Do you want to spring 🐇 into self-care buuuuutttt . . .

But, well … ya’ know, it’s just not happening? You're not alone.

I can group 20 years of clients into 2 self-care camps, those who want to do self-care and those who are showing up and doing it.

There’s no judgment for which category you fall into right now. I too find myself bouncing between both sides of the coin. But in case you didn’t know why you're in the camp you're in, here’s the thing that changes your wanting to doing: your level of discomfort.

When life is really intense and you’re maxed out, you will likely do self-care: get the treatment, go work out or do the meditation. Last year when remote learning went from an annoying mess to a disastrous, full fledged $#!* show, I hit a breaking point and as a result, got really good about my 5-minute morning Qigong practice. AND the Qigong made a noticeable difference in how I was able to self-regulate and cope throughout the day, I kept at it. (I’ll talk more about this important piece later in the month.)

But when the stress is less severe or it is just an ongoing nuisance, you’ll likely manage stress with coping mechanisms such as procrastination, "I don't have time for self-care", intellectualizing by talking about or analyzing it or even organizing your stressors on 800 post-its or to do lists. Let’s be honest, sometimes coping might even be a cocktail or an edible. Sound familiar?

Next week, I’ll send you two different ways you can move forward from managing your stress and all that self-care "shoulding" into feeling good about the self-care you've done.

Talk again soon,

Aimee

PS - In the meantime, I invite you to consider how much of your energy you're using to "manage your stress" with coping mechanisms versus processing and dissipating it.

4 Ways Clients Are Staying Inspired

Last week, I told you about the best advice I got this year, “Keep listening to your teachers." It’s helped me stay focused on my priorities, despite the fluidity of life right now.

And as promised, this week I’m sharing the top 4 client recommendations to stay inspired.

1. Magnetic Minds recommended by Melanie. Melanie enjoys this binaural beat music for meditation, sleep and focus. They are also helpful to catch a break from the nuisance of tinnitus. Thanks Melanie!

2. Matt Kahn recommended by Maureen. His blogs are long but I was hooked when he started talking about energetics and the nervous system. Maureen knows how much I love an evidence based approach. Thanks Mo!

3. Highly Sensitive Refuge recommended by Brita. This is a great resource for those who “feel things that they can’t put thier finger on” as well as those who already self-identify as empaths or sensates. HSR has a lot of great quizzes and articles that discuss mirror neurons, trauma patterns and non-mystical explanations for what you feel but can’t explain. Thanks Brita!

4. Last but not least, my very own Calm Clarity in 3 Minutes was recommended by Jill and a few others. (I heart you guys!) If you haven’t download this golden ray of self-care sunshine yet, click here to get access to my 3-minute settling and a few other free goodies. Jill downloaded the audio file to her phone and put it on her home page. This way she can easily hit play it in the car, doing laundry, walking the dogs or as a 3PM work break to regain clarity and focus.

Thanks to everyone who emailed me with your inspirations! Feel free to post more in the comments below or in our private community on Facebook.