Healing with Nanci Heart

12/18/2025

I’ve had left hip pain since 2007. I’ve done pelvic floor physical therapy, I’ve had shots, MRIs. The pain has never fully gone away. I found myself expecting this is my forever norm.
About 6 months ago, an elderly client I do massage work on regularly, woke up with pain in her left hip and down her leg. She has since gone to many doctors and specialists and is still in so much pain to the point she accepted she likely has to live with this for the rest of her life.
I hated that. I wanted to help improve her situation!
I brought in other massage specialists, I went with her to her pain doc to better understand what’s going on, I tried new techniques- watching her suffer and not be able to help felt awful.

I realized.. if I don’t feel like I can improve my hip pain, how can I I expect she could?
What if I put as much faith and belief in my ability to reverse my pain as possible, maybe we both will benefit?

This was a big reason why I signed up for Restore Your Core. It’s a 12 week program to reset my nervous system, reset my holding patterns that create strain on the pelvic floor and that glute, and strengthen the surrounding muscles- retraining them how to fire when they are supposed to.

A month in to it, I pay better attention to how I sit and stand, I feel confident that I’ve stuck with a program and been committed ❤️ and yesterday, Maelene had her first appointment in months that we didn’t have to shift her leg around or add extra pillows because of her leg aching. She *might* be feeling a little better.

This is work! It’s physical, mental, spiritual! And it takes longer than I would hope :) I’d love quick fixes. This.. has been trusting a slower, consistent shift over time!

I’ll keep yall updated.

12/17/2025

Grandma Roush passed away and today we celebrated her life.
Grandma LOVED music and passed this down through generations. Sooo much beautiful music was shared today!
I played my oboe for my first performance in years, with my sister on piano and my nieces and nephews singing 🩷 (my kids were both sick today and were unable to attend/participate).
I loved seeing cousins and aunts and uncles- some I hadn’t seen in 20 years!
I loved hearing stories about her life- how much she loved family, serving others, music, learning, and Christ.
I am happy for her to be out of physical and mental/emotional pain and to be with my Grandpa again. They were both a big part of mine and my siblings lives while growing up. My heart feels full and grateful today (after feeling so sad last week- the combination of hearing news of Grandma’s passing within days of another friend’s funeral— too much heavy death in one week was hard on my heart 💔)
Grandma and I shared a disposition for depression. I do not wish depression on anyone. I felt her pain so deeply- it reflected my own inner aches like a reflection. However, that I left feeling hope.
I see how she could have the mental struggles- and how she lived anyway. She used music as an outlet, love of God and the gospel as her foundation, serving and loving others to forget about her own hardships. She worked to be positive.
I’m grateful for all the time I had with her and excited for my LIFE I get to live!

12/02/2025

💓💓💓 video credit to Something about working side by side with other massage therapists is so healing to me. Learning new techniques from each other, while exchanging loving healing touch in return. Ah 😌 The more I know, the more I realize there’s SO much left to learn in the world! I’m here for it!

12/01/2025

Oh fifth water hot springs. You do it again! And SNOW!!! First snow of the season!

This was a beautiful day! ❤️
I loved watching Lucky run up and down, playing in the snow with that sense of joy and FREEDOM!

*If you’re thinking of going, be sure to bring spikes under your shoes and bring a head lamp! A rescue team was there to help a lady who slipped and had hurt her ankle. It was slippery in several areas.

11/20/2025

Signed up for ’s Restore Your Core program today. My first journal entry about it and why this is such a big deal for me. ❤️

11/20/2025

11/13/2025

Successful TMJ therapy session and happy client (happy massage therapist too 🙂) Happy to do what I do and to help people find relief. You want to set up a TMJ consultation with me? Send me a message and we will find a time.

11/13/2025

“I didn’t realize how much tension I was holding in my jaw until we released it, and I could finally feel what it’s like to live without that constant pain. I thought ‘Is this what a normal jaw feels like?!’ I couldn’t believe the difference I felt after our session.”

Follow up appointment today one month after her first session when she reached out to me seeking help for pain in her TMJ and neck, and headaches.

Message me if you’re interested in setting up a TMJ consultation to try a new approach.

Healing with Nanci Heart
Connected Massage Therapy

11/11/2025

“I know I can do an adequate job!” My mantra this week while I change my thoughts to change my reality. In therapy today, I shared how I am scared to make big, real commitments (I.e. committing to a strength training program) and I want to understand why and how to change it. Our THOUGHTS create our FEELINGS which create our ACTIONS which creates our REALITY. I told him about this moment last night where I had to stop my initial immediate thought right away, and swap it for a new one that then let me FEEL more CONFIDENT!

11/11/2025

Neither John, nor I, have fixed a broken dishwasher before. Here we are, with residue being left behind on my bowls and plates after they just finished a cycle in the dishwasher. I realized I was waiting for John to fix it because I assume it’s his role, his job, to fix this. Somehow I assume he has done this before, he is better at it, he is the male, therefore, he’ll do it. He isn’t more capable than I am, however, he is often willing to TRY. He tried. And now I’ve tried. I watched three YouTube videos, I’ve sworn three times trying to get this one plastic doohickey back into its original spot, and shout “finally!” when it sinks into place! 💪 Now John and I both can appreciate this beast of a machine- the cheeky little bu**er it is! And we’ve both put in time and elbow grease to appreciate one another’s efforts!We shall see if this works, or if we gotta recruit outside help and/or try the next thing!

11/11/2025

We assume we know, but we don’t.

I observe as I follow behind my mom walking back to the parking lot after finishing hiking Jenny’s Canyon in St. George, Utah:

I hear hikers say “Hello!” “How are you?”
and “Beautiful day, isn’t it??”
to my mom as they pass each other in opposite directions.

I wonder what they think when she doesn’t respond.
She walks past them, lips zipped.
Legs moving. Boots stepping. Hiking poles pole-ing.

Do they assume she is just a grumpy woman ignoring them?

They don’t know, they couldn’t know just from looking at her that
she is deaf.

My mom walks past them without responding.
Silent.

Because she didn’t hear them in the first place.

When their eyes meet mine after passing her, sometimes I say hello.
Sometimes I tell them she’s deaf and I’ll tap her shoulder to have her turn and interpret for her through sign language.
Sometimes I’m quiet as well, despite hearing them.

My mom didn’t hear any of those friendly hellos from passer-bys,
and probably doesn’t know it’s a common social norm in the hearing world to say hello as you pass one another hiking.

I wonder what she was thinking about in those moments instead?

It makes you think.

We assume we know, but we don’t.

10/23/2025

I.love.cats. I arrived to this fave home girl’s house for a quick cupping appointment. She laid down, and approximately 13.86 seconds later, Chip the kitty jumped up and settled in. 😸🩷