Wolf Wellness Physical Therapy

12/12/2023

Just a couple of spots left for both the full and half day Retreat this week! 🙏🏼 contact me or meira to register!

05/27/2022

Learning how to breathe properly through your respiratory and pelvic diaphragm is key to getting stronger and moving efficiently, regardless of whether you have pelvic floor symptoms or not. If you aren't engaging properly with your breath, all of your movements are going to lack an essential aspect of overall stability even with movement from the arms and head.

***So let's get back to the basics!
As you inhale, relax through the pelvic floor, feeling it lower towards the ground and at the same time feel your respiratory diaphragm move up into your ribcage and feel you belly extend out. Make sure your shoulders and chest aren't moving too much. Then as you exhale engage the pelvic floor muscles, the ones you would feel turn on to stop the flow of urine and pull up and in connecting to the deep core muscles (transverse abdominals).

I talk about stopping the flow of urine in the video, disclaimer, you aren't suppose to p*e during this exercise 🤣 in case that wasn't clear haha. Just giving an idea of where those muscles are. But feel free to try this on the toilet if you are having trouble findong/engaging/relaxing these muscles!

Do this atleast 1-2 x a day for 2 mins each or until fatigued and take stock on how you feel even after a week or 2! Let me know how this goes :-)

11/14/2021

Falling into some inward reflection. Tis the season : -) Also getting some good blood flow to our hips and boosting our immune system with some good old fashion Forest Bathing. A Japanese coined practice, known as shinrin-yoku or forest bathing, has been scientifically studied to show that walking amongst the trees, which release an essential oil called phytoncides, increase the activity of Natural Killer cells (NK) cells. These are the cells that kill tumor cells and virus-infected cells. Pretty awesome, as always thank you trees!!

So how do you forest bathe!? Just find a forested spot, and take a 30 minute - 5 hour journey walking amongst the trees. Tune into all of the different senses and make sure to breathe. Pay attention to what you feel in your body and take note of what feels tight, tender, ache or restricted as you walk. Walk some more and repeat this cycle :-)

Dive in a little further and journal about your experience after (not during), what was happening in your body and your mind.

Happy Fall everyone, stay healthy and enjoy the colors :-)

09/03/2021

Congrats to my first and most important mentor on officially retiring!!! Dr. Wolf and Daddy, you crushed it!! We started the celebrations on Wednesday when Dr. Wolf saw his last patient after 39 years of practicing at Advocate Aurora Health. , you are welcome! There is no one else in the world who I would trust more for medical advice, care and just advice on the reg. I’m grateful to have your continued guidance all of these years, and to have seen you exemplify true compassion and understanding for all humans who cross your path. You have impacted more people than I’m sure you are aware of with your patient, thorough, knowledgeable, dedicated and exceptionally kind care I know you have given them. And all with an easy going smile and calm demeanor, even when they have taken up twice their allotted time.
May you have a sweet and joyful start to this new chapter of life adventures! Excited to see where your new culinary skills and travels take you next! Love you Dr. Papa Wolf!

04/22/2021

Couldn’t agree more! Support this cause, I know the beautiful soul behind it! Help spread the message and plant some trees too :-)

If you are familiar with Among the Jungle- ✨welcome back plant friend! If this is your first time here, ALOHA! I’m Shii! Botanist and host of Among the Jungle Podcast + Community. I collaborate with plant gurus around the world to share the curiosity and magic of the plant kingdom, in hopes of c...

04/02/2021

It may seem obvious, but nature has so many therapeutic qualities. Some of them we know of and some we don’t. But even 5 hours a month of outdoor/nature time can impact your physical and mental health in a number of ways. It can decrease cortisol levels (your primary stress hormone), boost your mood and encourage movement. Even when you are not in some of the world’s most treasured lookouts, take a moment to notice whatever nature is around you, tune into your breath and appreciate it’s beauty. A few minutes at a time of being outside, even if you aren’t mindful about it can definitely make a difference. You will rarely regret going outside because



is worth the hype

01/25/2021

Cook county COVID-19 vaccine registration went live within the last hour! Chicago and cook county is officially vaccinating 1B - 65 and older - link in bio to sign up! Lets do this :-)

01/08/2021

A Covid-19 Vaccination registration in Skokie, IL went live at 1:50pm CT today and there are still spots for anyone who falls into the 1a category listed above! If you are a non-hospital healthcare worker like me and many healthcare workers in outpatient settings, this is the email we have all been waiting for! Thought I would spread the word to anyone who works in Skokie who falls into this category or knows anyone who does.

*See Link in BIO to register for the Jan 12th sign up and for upcoming CoVid-19 vaccination registration links in Chicago.

***I will also be updating my bio link regularly as vaccinations start to kick up for other groups and the general public in the Chicagoland area! I’ll likely do the same for DC!

12/31/2020

Laughter is healing. Period. If you are looking for something fun to do online tonight, I can't think of a better way to start the year off than laughing with wonderful humans! No Laughter Yoga experience required, I promise you will love it, Sarah is Amazing!
And if you can't make it tonight, try again next week!

Laugh our the old year, laugh in the new year!

12/15/2020

If you are someone who suffers from chronic pain or are noticing new aches and sore spots keep creeping up, it’s time to start looking for those roots ya!?

Whether you need to address an old injury or just revamp your emergency Covid-era work station you set up 9 months ago, it’s always a good idea to get to the source! The sooner you do, the less likely you will be to have worse issues down the road and the sooner you will be pain free.

When our body sends pain signals it’s often a great indicator that there is most definitely SOMETHING wrong, but it’s not always great at telling us WHERE the problem is. The way our nervous system is wired and how our web-like connective tissues (our fascial system) exists, it’s not quite so simple... You can have shoulder pain because of an old hip injury and chronic headaches from a hard fall on your tailbone you took in high school!

So, depends on the problem, everyone is unique, but sometimes even changing a couple of simple things can Make ALL the difference. Changes like moving your screen height so it’s eye level, throwing out those 2 year old tennis shoes that basically have holes in them, or doing 5 minutes a day of hip strengthening or self-myofascial release techniques can allow for some incredible lasting shifts!

***Set-up a free 15 minute online telehealth consult or jump right into a full online or in-person treatment session to get a better idea of why you have pain and where it’s REALLY coming from! Your body will thank you!

08/12/2020

One of the biggest fears that mom’s to-be open up to me about is tearing during childbirth...

Want to reduce your chances of an episiotomy and tearing during childbirth!? Both of these birth traumas are linked to an increase in perineum pain after delivery, and pelvic floor dysfunctions such as urinary incontinence - something I see all of the time with my patients who are moms. But, let your fears be at ease... There are ways to avoid the severity and or the tearing all together!

I had the pleasure of working with to help get the word out about preventing the common but often avoidable occurrence of perineal tearing during childbirth. Thank you for putting this out there and helping to make this research-backed technique more mainstream and accessible! Full article in Bio.

Here’s what to do: After 34 weeks double check with your doctor, and be consistent about these massages (at least 3 times a week for 5-10 minutes each). These massages will help loosen up the tight tissues that are often the culprit behind tearing and other pelvic floor dysfunction. Read the whole article for a more detailed background, descriptions of the techniques involved, as well as products that you can use to help assist you - link in Bio.

***Warning that the article goes into detail about female anatomy and how to actually perform the techniques effectively and safely, so if this makes you uncomfortable I encourage you to take the opportunity to lean into it :-)

Still feeling like you aren’t quite sure how to do these techniques after reading the article? Talk to me or another pelvic floor physical therapist about your challenges performing the massage to make sure you are doing it correctly. Best thing to do is go to someone in-person to get evaluated and any assistance you might need.