Stay out of a FREEZE state!

As the body begins to untangle patterns of tightness, compensation, and overuse, it’s important to set expectations: you will encounter underlying imbalances.

When people set out to become more flexible or improve mobility, they often begin a movement practice and then run into a wall. Not a metaphorical wall—a physical one. The wall of their own tissues.

Pain caused by asymmetry is not something that can be avoided. But it can become directive. As discomfort increases, it provides information—pointing you toward areas that need movement and attention. This often requires exploring outside your current range of motion and into other parts of the body before pain begins to decrease.

This is the point where many people stop. They assume the movement itself is the problem.

And in a way, they’re right.

Movement reveals the impairments that are contributing to discomfort—but not because it’s causing harm. It exposes imbalances that have been present all along, often masked by compensatory movement patterns.

When discomfort increases, the instinct is often to freeze.

That response can be protective in acute situations, but in the context of chronic pain, it works against resolution. Instead of reducing tension, freezing reinforces it.

This is where the approach shifts.

Rather than stopping, this is the point to continue with controlled, exploratory movement—to move through the body instead of bracing against it. This requires having multiple movement options and the ability to adjust based on what you feel.

For example, someone may start with knee pain that progresses into the hip or leg. Instead of interpreting this as the problem worsening, it can indicate a broader issue in how force is being distributed through the system, including the spine.

Traditional approaches often focus on identifying a specific point of compression, such as a nerve root, and addressing it directly. That approach is valid and often necessary.

This method takes a different approach.

Movement is used to gradually decompress the body—similar to reversing a twist. Instead of forcing change at a single location, movement patterns are used to reduce tension across the system.

Gravity is a constant compressive force acting on the body. Over time, repetitive movement patterns and imbalances can cause the body to organize around that compression.

Moving in less familiar directions—often opposite of habitual patterns—can reduce that compression and create space within the system.

As one area of the body releases, it reduces the opposing tension from other tissues. Instead of a continuous tug-of-war, muscles begin to function with more balanced length and tension, supporting more efficient movement.

The body adapts in layers. Addressing superficial tension exposes deeper patterns. Each layer provides more information and an opportunity to adjust movement with greater precision.

As the system untwists and tissues decompress, pain decreases. You identify which movements are effective, movement patterns become more balanced, and awareness of sensation improves. Pain shifts from something to avoid to a signal that informs movement.

But that shift does not happen if the response is to freeze. So my love letter to each of you is to keep moving. Keep trusting that there is releif and your capable of critically thinking and assessing what's serving you. Pay attention to what sensations show up as you try new movements and see if you can start pattern matching for movements that reduce the undesired experience. If the lower body is where the discomfort is try moving the upper body! If the upper body is struggling stretch those hip flexors(proposal stretch - see logo for demo), hamstrings and calves! It's all connected ya'll! I hope this brings hope, clarity, and curious movement to you all.

Warmly,

AJ