04/01/2026
I was talking about nervous system safety long before it was a wellness hashtag — but not in the way you might think.
It started with the science.
Early in my career, I recognized the importance of neuromuscular inhibition — what I've always called the "oh s**t, don't do that" reflex.
The way the nervous system will inhibit or alter muscle activation patterns, limit range of motion, and brace against movement the moment it perceives threat.
It's not weakness or something that's damaged or broken.
It's your system doing exactly what it's wired to do- create a feeling of safety if it can't access it on its own.
Understanding that reflex changed everything about how I practice. If your body doesn't feel safe enough to move — if it's anticipating pain, guarding against it, organizing itself around fear — no amount of manual therapy or exercise is going to hold.
Fear-avoidance behaviors are just bigger versions of this. When we become scared to move after injuring our back by simply picking up a towel from the floor, it's not much different than becoming scared to go out alone at night after we've been attacked the last time we went out by ourselves.
Unfortunately, these very real ways that our bodies try to protect and compensate can also get in the way of healing if we don't remind our brains and our bodies that we are safe. It's safe to fire that muscle. It's safe to bend over. Doing these things won't cause more pain or injury.
That's the foundation The Modern Physio was built on.
The more abstract understanding — what it means to feel safe in your body on a deeper level, beyond the neuromuscular — that's a bit of a newer layer of this work for me.
One I'm still developing, both professionally and personally.
I'm not someone who has it all figured out and is handing it down from a polished place.
I'm someone who has spent decades studying the body, who has her own complicated relationship with hers, and who keeps following the science and the lived experience wherever they lead.
That's what you get when you work with me.