Movement has been my primary mode of expression throughout my entire life. From growing up running around climbing trees, to playing competitive soccer and baseball, to becoming a Broadway dancer and actor, the one constant has been motion. I’ve always loved the high I got from a challenging workout, the full body exertion of an overhead press, or the full sprint and dive to catch a hard hit ball. I threw myself into my work with maximum effort and always saw that effort as my greatest strength—until it wasn’t. In 2014 I was touring the country with Dirty Dancing and I thought that I was at my all-time fittest. I had gained a bunch of muscle mass, was dancing eight shows a week and was hitting the gym most days on top of it—I thought I was invincible. Then one day I was resting on my hands and knees before a show when my shoulder suddenly separated—not dislocated, but separated. I did the show that night (talk about maximum effort!) and then saw a doctor the next day who after x-raying me refused to believe I could have sustained that injury without some blunt force trauma or accident. But I had. All my effort, stress and pushing had literally broken my shoulder.

As someone who spent my whole life studying and training my body, I couldn’t believe that I had messed myself up so badly. As I recovered, I began studying the somatic work like the Alexander Technique, Breathwork, various mindfulness practices & stress science, I was amazed by what I learned. The truth is that the feelings I had associated with hard work and maximum effort were in reality excess tension, which was interfering with my natural coordination. Additionally, I discovered that I had become ADDICTED to constant stress, work and productivity and as a result, I had truly lost the ability to rest, recharge & give my body the recovery it needed to sustain such a high output. I was unable to tune in and listen to my body’s cues and needs, which had also made me more reactive, childish & selfish. Learning these somatic tools helped me to re-coordinate my neuromuscular system, regulate my nervous system which has helped me to show up in the world more in alignment with my actual values and not just constantly reacting out of fear and insecurity. I now teach this work because I’ve found it to be the ultimate self-help technique and fundamentally crucial to help any human live an intentional, resilient life.