Sorry to hear about your back, Elinor. But since I probably have 30+ years on you, and am pretty much pain free, I just had to reach out. Drum roll... it's not your age, it's your brain that is causing you your pain. The brain controls everything we do, including how our muscles contract and release. But because we humans are pretty much just hamsters on a wheel keeping up these days, our muscles never get to rest to their true length. We end up perpetually stressed and in pain. Our brain has forgotten how to relax our bodies. Applying tension to the already present tension,--with stretching and strengthening-- doesn't work. If it did, we'd be all hunky dory.

I learned how to remedy my body after I was hit by a car--a Prius no less, total Portland moment, don't ya think? First, I did all the typical things, but nothing worked. Then I discovered a book on Clinical Somatics while volunteering at the Holgate Library. It worked for so well, that I became a practitioner.

But Somatics is sooooo different, I have to resort to posting comments on weekly publications websites to get the word out.

Please take a look at my youtube channel and try the moves. Then, let's talk. Maybe we can save the world from "this f-ing guy!" Starting by letting people calm their bodies and nervous systems, from the inside out. If we are all jacked up, stressed, and in pain, there's no hope for us.

Taking back control of our senses is the first step to creating positive changes in the world, IMO. :-) https://www.youtube.com/user/trainerkristinPDX/videos