Author Archives: Dawn
About Dawn
I began to develop SMRT upon hearing about a technique called ortho-bionomy. Owning a school means you can have many teachers come to you instead of having to travel to take classes. During a class on MLD (Manual Lymphatic Drainage), the teacher began to use some ortho-bionomy, I was fascinated and asked what the theory behind it was. Enthralled as I was, I contacted the ortho-bionomy institute and arranged to have a teacher come to the Cottonwood School, but they wouldn’t be able to make it for several months. In the meantime, I began to experiment with the theory, and as if I had all the knowledge about this from a previous life, I just knew what to do. The technique developed quickly and by the time the ortho-bionomy teacher came I had surpassed what he was teaching. I began teaching SMRT while still at the Cottonwood School of Massage. But upon leaving Cottonwood and opening Full Circle School of Alternative Therapies, I could write my own curriculum and included SMRT as our third level massage course. I found that SMRT was more effective than Neuromuscular therapy, while also being easier on the client and the therapist. Also, while Neuromuscular has momentary negative effects of the lymphatic system, SMRT positively stimulates the lymph system. I have said to many people that I developed SMRT because the universe was kind enough to send me a lot of really screwed up people to practice on, and that is what I have done since 1995, practice, practice, and more practice. Between teaching anatomy and SMRT, along with everything else, and working on many, many, many people, I was able to fully embrace this knowledge and take my massage to new levels.-
Hip Girdle
Posted on October 12, 2018 by Dawn in Abdomen, Anatomy, Articles, Hips & Sacrum, Lower Back, massage therapy, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueHip Girdle I was in an airport (what else is new) after teaching a fantastic SMRT hip girdle in NY. Typically in any hip girdle class, we have a few people in class who end up with immobilizing lower back pain from having their posterior hips, sacrum, abdomen, and lower back worked. Plantar Flexion This […]
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Pelvic Floor Scarring
Posted on October 5, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, massage therapy, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique, Trouble UrinatingPelvic Floor Scarring I am on my way to Albany to teach SMRT: hips, lower back, and abdomen. As I think about this class, I am reminded of a therapist who took this class several years ago. She had a 3-year-old son. Since giving birth, and having tearing in her pelvic floor, she had only […]
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Gluteal Amnesia
Posted on September 28, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, bodywork, Feet, Lower Back, massage therapy, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique, Testimonials and ReviewsGluteal Amnesia Yesterday I had a new client complaining of lower back pain. “It just hurts right here!” She said, grinding her fist into her right SI joint area. She asked questions throughout the session. I began by working on her abdomen but quickly recognized that her left gluteus maximus muscle had decreased tone. Something […]
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Chronic Headaches
Posted on September 21, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, bodywork, Head & Neck, massage therapy, Ribs, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueChronic Headaches Okay, I am going to tell you a funny and mildly graphic and useful story. One of my clients has chronic, intense headaches. She messaged me last week begging for an appointment. She had gone to the doctor, gotten pills, taken them, and felt the headache was worse instead of better. I am […]
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Pectoralis Major
Posted on September 14, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, Articles, bodywork, massage therapy, Shoulders, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniquePectoralis Major Let’s talk about pectoralis major. Recently I taught an SMRT lower extremities course. During classes therapists/students finish their trades at slightly different times. There was a table in the room that finished with about 5 minutes left before I called time. The person working began to work on a tender spot their partner […]
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Erythema Nodosum
Posted on September 7, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, Articles, bodywork, Legs, Lower Leg, massage therapy, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueErythema Nodosum One of my newer clients has erythema nodosum, a condition in which any pressure through touch on the lower leg causes tender nodules in the subcutaneous fat that can take weeks to resolve. Typically this condition resolves itself in a few weeks. This client has had it for years. Her pain complaints are […]
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Thyroidectomy & Vertigo
Posted on August 31, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, Articles, Back & Spine, bodywork, Head & Neck, Hips & Sacrum, massage therapy, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, Ribs, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueThyroidectomy What happened in SMRT class in Pittsburgh? So much!! First, we had a therapist in class who had a thyroidectomy. The scar tissue in the front of her neck was pulling her chin and trachea inferior and posterior. On Saturday, we did SMRT for the anterior neck and I did some extra work on […]
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Relief without Pain
Posted on August 24, 2018 by Dawn in Abdomen, Anatomy, bodywork, massage therapy, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueRelief Without Pain Imagine a world in which you, as a massage therapist, could change the tone of piriformis or psoas without using pressure or causing pain to the client, in a way that creates tonal balance from right to left and lasts. That is world of SMRT. A couple of years ago I met […]
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Scar Treatment
Posted on August 19, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, bodywork, massage therapy, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueScar Treatment Last weekend I taught an advanced SMRT shoulder class in Raleigh, NC. In the advanced SMRT classes we have people come in to get worked on at the end of class. One of the women who came in for a keloid scar treatment. It ran down the center of her chest from open […]
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SMRT Changes
Posted on August 10, 2018 by Dawn in Articles, bodywork, Human Body, massage therapy, NCBTMB approved continuing education, Self Responsibilty, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique, Testimonials and ReviewsStudent Interaction Recently I had the an interaction with a student/therapist in one of my SMRT classes about “new” bodywork. He came into class assuming that this SMRT class would be a breeze for him because he had 30 years experience and had been made to take CE classes every 2 years for license renewal. […]
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Thumb Pain
Posted on August 3, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, Arm & Hand, bodywork, massage therapy, Ribs, Shoulders, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueThumbs up! I had an interesting thing happen during a session today. I was working on a client’s shoulder. Her pain complaint was her right thumb. She is a long time client, so we know that typically to alleviate the pain in her thumb, her shoulder needs to be worked. Her right scapula was immobile, […]
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Chronic Headache
Posted on July 27, 2018 by Dawn in Questions and AnswersChronic Headache This week I saw a client that I have seen only once before. He was referred to me for a chronic headache. His headache was centered in the suboccipital area. At times the pain radiated around the side of the head and up into the temple. I spent most of our first hour […]
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Arm & Hand
Posted on July 20, 2018 by Dawn in Questions and AnswersArm & Hand Working on a client this week who came to me for the first time about a month ago. Her complaint was severe right shoulder pain and she had been diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome in the right shoulder. The first time I worked on her I worked her shoulder. We got limited […]
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Deep Tissue Issue
Posted on July 13, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, massage therapy, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueDeep Tissue Issue This year I moved my practice out of my house and into an office. I decided to expand and hire other therapists, an acupuncturist, and a personal trainer. The philosophy of the SMRT Pain Relief Center is pain relief and management. Done through a combination of bodywork and exercise designed for each […]
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Abduction & Adduction
Posted on July 7, 2018 by Dawn in Arm & Hand, bodywork, massage therapy, Massage Therapy Continuing Education, NCBTMB approved continuing education, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueHand Work A few months ago, I taught an SMRT arm & hand course. We were exploring how to increase our knowledge of the hand, working with muscles, connective tissues, and bones. One of the therapists fell into a deep state of relaxation while on the table. Her partner was working on her left thumb. […]
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Shoulder Pain in the Hand
Posted on June 29, 2018 by Dawn in Questions and AnswersShoulder Pain in the Hand I recently had a student come to 2 SMRT classes who had a shoulder issue. Her left shoulder had been in pain for over 2 years. Throughout the head & neck class she commented on how every move hurt her left shoulder. She didn’t know if she could SMRT, and […]
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Another Client’s Shoulder Pain
Posted on June 22, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, bodywork, Shoulders, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueShoulder Pain Yesterday I was working on a new client with shoulder pain. When we started he said he believed it was time for him to see his MD. He was concerned he had a tear or a spur somewhere. His pain was mostly in his left middle deltoid, and it was consistent and limiting. […]
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SMRT Headache Relief
Posted on June 15, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, Back & Spine, Head & Neck, massage therapy, Shoulders, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release TechniqueSMRT Headache Relief One of my clients this week was suffering with an intense headache that had begun almost 10 days before she came to see me. She had tried numerous things for relief, but did not get any relief. In the assessment I felt decreased mobility throughout her c-spine, tension in the suboccipital muscles, […]
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Shoulder, Chest & Axilla
Posted on June 8, 2018 by Dawn in Anatomy, bodywork, massage therapy, Ribs, Shoulders, SMRT, Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique, Testimonials and ReviewsImplant Work I just got back from teaching an SMRT shoulder girdle class in Fargo where a really cool thing happened. We had a woman in class, maybe late 50’s who went through breast cancer treatments about 5 years ago. She had a unilateral mastectomy on the left, 7 nodes removed, chemo, and radiation. Then […]
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