Hi, I'm Liz, aka The Workout Witch...
I’m a somatic specialist, narcissistic abuse survivor, and someone who knows — first hand — that your chronic pain, your anxiety, and your past trauma are all related.
Here’s my story…
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I learned what rage was at an unusually young age from a narcissistic parent.
It was something that became an unfortunate constant for the duration of my childhood — affecting me in ways I could clearly recognize, but also in ways I never could.
So when I spent the better half of my twenties going in and out of doctor’s offices, searching for a cure to the manifestations of chronic physical pain and muscle tension I’d developed years before, the official diagnosis, time and time again, never faltered.
“You’re just stressed.”
“Try and take it easier,” they’d say.
“Have some Tylenol,”
“Maybe buy a better mattress,” they’d say.
And while, yes, of course I knew I lived with stress (who doesn’t these days???), I also knew that this pain I was experiencing everyday would NOT be completely cured by any of those suggestions.
And that stress (and stress alone) was NOT the major issue here. I knew there was something deeper going on...
***
The chronic, unexplained pain and muscle tension started when I was 10 years old.
First, it was manageable — an inconvenience, at best. And that inconvenience, (along with self medicating and suffering from chronic anxiety), became my new normal.
But as the years went by, that inconvenience became intolerable. My pain became unbearable. And the life I was living genuinely felt unlivable.
By the time I was in my twenties, my ability to get out of bed on some days faded. And with every doctor’s office visit, the answers to all the questions I was trying to ask were never actually answered.
That’s when I took my healing journey into my own hands — and I started to realize that western medicine would never actually provide me with the answer I was looking for.
***
I'm NOT against Western medicine. BUT I also recognize this…
Western medicine is quick to treat the symptoms of our problems.
Extra-strength ibuprofen to get you out of bed in the morning. Xanax for the anxiety I was experiencing. Steroid injections for the tight hips I was walking around with everyday.
But these things weren’t doing the thing I needed most. And that was for the chronic, unexplained pain to go away NOT just for a little while… But for good.
***
In my mid-twenties, I was introduced to somatic exercises — gentle, therapeutic movements that connect your physical body to your emotional body. Somatic allow you to treat the physical manifestations of long-term pain by addressing the trauma, anxiety, and stresses that have been causing it.
Because, it turns out, your body can feel much better than what it’s used to.
With a Degree in Psychology from UCSB, somatic certifications in Feldenkrais and Pilates with a specialization in injuries & pathologies, and 15 years of teaching experience, I’ve been changing the conversation around how trauma and anxiety affect the body for 15 years.
And specifically, how trauma, anxiety, stress, and emotional experiences are all connected to the aches and unexplained pains we’ve been generationally programmed to just “put up with.”
So don’t wait until it’s too late.
By utilizing somatic exercises, I’m helping today’s generation heal from the unexplained pain that doctors can't treat, be free from the trauma you’ve been putting off, and introduce you to the way your body is supposed to feel.
I’m The Workout Witch, and your healing starts here.