P.S. Neck & Shoulders

October 19, 2021 Susan McCulley

A pain in the neck.

Shouldering a burden.

Sticking your neck out.

Put your shoulder to the wheel.

Not just our busy, screen-oriented lives, but our very language underscores the stress our neck and shoulders constantly bear.

The head is the heaviest weight of the body and the intricate web of tiny neck muscles is charged with holding the thing up. The shoulders’ design which allows a wide range of movement in all directions is also what makes them vulnerable to injury and malfunction.

What’s more, the strain on the neck and shoulders from overuse, under use and misuse, leaves us carrying tension and pain in these areas that we may not even notice.

When my yoga teacher asks what body part needs attention, I never say “neck & shoulders,” but when somebody else does and we focus on them, I’m always shocked at how much better I feel after the practice.

This is why I have recently begun reminding myself, “P.S. Neck & Shoulders.” After I run through the parts that always jump out at me – hips, quads, hamstrings and my beloved side body – I tap myself on the shoulder (see what I did there?) and say, “P.S. Neck & Shoulders.”

If you, too, find yourself forgetting about the workhorses of neck and shoulders or if you are someone who is painfully aware of them, here are some P.S.s to consider to take care of these precious parts.

Nourish the Pivot

October 13, 2021 Susan McCulley

You don’t need to be a Wall Street Journal subscriber to know that the last 20 months have wreaked havoc on almost every business. Everything from grocery stores to gyms, restaurants to retail, hospitality to hospitals: nearly all businesses have experienced seismic shifts in what they do and how (and where) they do it.

Just a few weeks into the pandemic, the word I kept hearing was “pivot.”

Can we pivot and save the business? Can we totally change directions and stay afloat?

From my perspective as both a small business owner and a movement teacher, I’ve thought a lot about pivoting.

Grace Three Ways

October 6, 2021 Susan McCulley

The first time my future-partner, Frank and I had dinner with his kids (then aged 8 & 4), I was jittery and nervous. I’d not spent much time with them as a family. I loved this man with my whole self and I wanted it to be easy-breezy and smooth.

We served up the plates in the kitchen and as I approached the table, the three of them started eating as soon as their butts hit the chairs.

“Hold on!” I said. All three of them looked up at me with forks suspended in front of their mouths. “Let’s say grace first.”

They looked at me again.

“Let’s wait for each other, just pause and give thanks before we eat,” I said, realizing immediately that I’d already blown the whole easy-breezy thing.

“This is the grace my family has said for three generations,” I said, soldiering on. “To the Giver of all good things, we lift up our hearts with praise and thanksgiving. Amen.”

We still say it together before every meal. Now it’s four generations.

Love's "Fierce Celebration"

September 29, 2021 Susan McCulley

What does it mean to love someone? To love yourself? To love your body?

I can say I love someone but if the impact of my beliefs, words and actions hurts them and they don’t feel my love, do I really love them?

This question was beautifully broached in the Let Her Rest episode of Glennon Doyle’s We Can Do Hard Things podcast recently. The conversation was around addicts who say they love their family while hurting them, and evangelical Christians who believe that homosexuality and queerness is a hell-worthy sin while also professing their love for gay and queer family and friends.

While these are extreme and dramatic love dynamics, we can explore love in all kinds of relationships.

Non-Linear Healing

September 24, 2021 Susan McCulley

At the ocean last week, I spent a lot of time looking at sea shells. Shells have always struck me as extraordinary treasures to be discovered among the rocks and sand. In all their strength, protectiveness and beauty, there is not a straight line among them.

Same for trees and flowers and everything that grows: no straight lines.

And yet somehow, when I look at my own growth and healing, I think it’s going to go on a straight trajectory. I somehow think that this will heal and then that will heal and then *bingo-bango* I’ll be all healed just like new.

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