Balanced Body Therapy

If every squat hurts...

If every ride leaves you sore...

If every run aggravates the same knee...

The answer probably isn't to stop moving.
It's to understand why your body is moving the way it is.

www.balancedbodytherapy.ca

Here's something fascinating...

🧠Your brain has an internal map of your body.🗺️

Every joint.
Every muscle.
Every movement.

It's constantly updating that map based on the information it receives.

After an injury, concussion, chronic pain, surgery, or even years of compensation, that map can become blurry.

Sometimes the problem isn't that a muscle is weak.

It's that the brain has forgotten how to coordinate it efficiently.

This is one of the reasons Hanna Somatics can feel so different from stretching or strengthening.

We're helping improve the quality of information between the brain and body.

🩵Better information.
🩵Better movement.
🩵Better function.

It's neuroscience in motion.

If we've never met before, welcome! I'm Michelle, the owner of Balanced Body Therapy.

For more than 15 years, I've had the privilege of helping people move through pain, recover from injury, improve performance, and reconnect with their bodies. But if you ask me what I'm most passionate about...

It's understanding why the body isn't functioning the way it should.

My clinical focus has evolved over the years to include Manual Osteopathy, Hanna Somatics, fascia, concussion recovery, brain health, and nervous system regulation. Every course I take and every technique I learn has the same purpose: helping my clients get lasting results, not just temporary relief.

Many people come to me because they're dealing with:

🧠 Concussion symptoms or brain fog
💥 Chronic pain that just won't go away
😵 Headaches or dizziness
💪 Movement restrictions
🐎 Performance goals, both in and out of the saddle

I look at the body as an integrated system, because muscles, fascia, joints, nerves, movement, and the nervous system all influence one another. When we identify the key restriction and restore movement, the entire body has an opportunity to function more efficiently.

One of my favourite things to hear is:
"I didn't realize how much better I could feel."

Whether you're recovering from a concussion, training for your next competition, managing chronic pain, or simply want to keep doing the things you love for years to come, I'd love to help.

📍 Balanced Body Therapy
Inside Evolve Strength, Royal Oak | Calgary, AB

Unless you've been living under a rock lately, you've probably heard people talking about **berberine**.

Some call it *"Nature's Ozempic."* Others swear it's the next big thing for weight management.

The truth? Like most things in health, it's a little more nuanced than that.

Berberine is a naturally occurring plant compound that has been extensively studied for its role in supporting **healthy blood sugar metabolism, insulin function, cholesterol metabolism, cardiovascular health, and metabolic wellness.** Research also suggests it may support your body's natural **GLP-1 secretion**, which is one of the reasons it's become such a hot topic in conversations around healthy weight management.

One important thing to know is that **quality matters.** Berberine isn't absorbed particularly well on its own, which is why I recommend **Berberine-Evail™ by Designs for Health.** Their proprietary **Evail™ technology** is designed to enhance absorption, helping your body make better use of the ingredient.

As always, supplements aren't a substitute for healthy habits. They're one piece of the puzzle alongside movement, strength training, quality nutrition, good sleep, and stress management.

If you're curious whether Berberine-Evail™ might be a good fit for your health goals, I'd be happy to chat.

You can order it directly through my Designs for Health dispensary: https://www.designsforhealth.ca/u/michellew/products/berb-evail-cn/ -CN

*If you have diabetes or take medication to manage your blood sugar, it's important to speak with your healthcare provider before starting berberine, as your medication may need adjustment.*

We live in a world that loves extremes.

-Start Monday.
-Go all in.
-Never miss a workout.
-Cut out sugar forever.
-Meditate for an hour.
-Drink a gallon of water.

🙃

No wonder so many people feel like they're failing.
The body doesn't reward perfection. It rewards repetition.

Ten minutes of walking.
A few strength workouts each week.
Enough protein + fibre.
Drinking more water than you did yesterday.
Booking treatment before the pain becomes unbearable.

Small things.
Repeated consistently.

Those are the habits that change your body over time.

www.balancedbodytherapy.ca

15 years as a member of The Canadian Massage & Manual Osteopathic Therapists Association... time flies when you're having fun!

I'm very thankful for my journey, those who have been part of it and all that I've learned along the way❤️

🛻 August is shaping up to be another fun month on the road! 🐎

Here's where you can find me:
📍 August 11 | Cochrane Ag Society Barrel Jackpot
📍 August 18 | Cochrane Ag Society Barrel Jackpot Finals 🏁

I'll also be available at Rocky Mountain Show Jumping (RMSJ) by request, so if you're competing and would like to book a treatment for yourself or your horse, just reach out in advance!

One of my favourite parts of this job is bringing care directly to athletes, equestrians, and busy competitors. Whether it's helping you recover between runs, preparing for competition, or keeping your body moving well throughout a long show week, I'm happy to come to you.

✨ Hosting an event?
It doesn't have to be equestrian! If you'd like to offer Manual Osteopathy, Hanna Somatics, or recovery treatments at your rodeo, horse show, sporting event, wellness day, or corporate event, I'd love to chat.

Send me a message to discuss bringing Balanced Body Therapy to your next event!

📧 [email protected]
📱 403-463-3396

One of the questions I hear most is: "Couldn't I just stretch?"

Maybe. But here's the difference.

Stretching PULLS on a muscle from the outside. Hanna Somatics works from the INSIDE out.

When we've lived through years of repetitive movement, old injuries, stress, sitting at a desk, riding horses, lifting weights, or simply life... our brain can lose the ability to fully relax certain muscles.

It becomes the new normal. You don't even realize you're carrying the tension anymore.
So you stretch. It feels good.

Then an hour later...
Everything feels tight again.

That's because the brain is still sending the same message.

Hanna Somatics uses gentle, intentional movements called **pandiculations** to "reboot" the communication between your brain and muscles.

You're teaching your nervous system that it no longer has to hold on so tightly.

It's one of the reasons I love this work.
We're not forcing your body into a position.
We're helping it remember what relaxed actually feels like.

Have you ever stretched something over and over without lasting relief?

I'd love to hear where.

📍 Calgary, AB

"I started a new workout program... and now my knees hurt."

This is actually a pretty common conversation in my clinic.

While knee pain can come from many different things, one of the most overlooked contributors is weakness or reduced endurance in the calves and other stabilizing muscles of the lower leg.

When those muscles aren't doing their job efficiently, the knee often ends up taking on more load than it was designed to.

One of the simplest things you can do? Release the tissues before you strengthen them.

✨ Try this:

🦵 Foam roll your calves
• Sit on the floor with your back against a couch or chair.
• Place the roller high on your calves, just below the knees.
• Instead of rolling back and forth, simply pause and let the muscles "melt" over the roller.
• Rotate your legs slightly to target the inside or outside of the calf.
• Gradually work your way down toward the ankle.
• If you need more pressure, cross one leg over the other.

🔥 Then move to your quads
• Hold a forearm plank with your core engaged and toes tucked.
• Position the roller high on the front of your thighs.
• Again, don't rush. Pause on tender areas and let the tissue relax before slowly moving lower.
• Shift your hips slightly to target different parts of the quadriceps, including the outer thigh (without rolling directly and aggressively on the IT band).

Remember: Effective doesn't have to mean painful. More pressure isn't always better.

If your knees have started complaining after taking up running, strength training, hiking, or another new activity, don't ignore it. Pain is often your body's way of saying, "Something else needs a little attention."

Sometimes a few simple changes can make a world of difference. And if the pain isn't improving, that's where I'd love to help.

📍Book your assessment at Balanced Body Therapy, and let's figure out why your knees are talking to you instead of simply trying to quiet them.

January gets all the credit for checking in with ourselves.
But the end of July might be a better time.

You've golfed.
Gardened.
Ridden.
Hiked.
Camped.
Lifted.
Driven approximately 700 hours to horse shows. 😂

You've probably slept in a trailer, a hotel bed, or somewhere your spine strongly disagreed with.

So... how is your body actually doing? Not how are you *functioning.*
We're all frighteningly good at functioning through things.

I'm asking:
**What have you started compensating for?**

Are you putting your hand on your knee to stand up?
Turning your whole body instead of your neck?
Avoiding one side at the gym?
Riding differently?
Skipping an activity because you know your back will complain tomorrow?
Taking Advil before the thing instead of after the thing?

Sometimes we just slowly rearrange our lives around discomfort and call it normal.

You still have a lot of summer left. Let's make sure you can actually enjoy it.

📍 Calgary Manual Osteopathy + Hanna Somatics
📩 Online booking available