Libra Sun Integrated Therapy

Internal Family Systems is rapidly becoming recognised as the most powerful and effective therapy of our time because it unfailingly delivers what clients are seeking: permanent changes in the personality system resulting in less extreme thoughts, feelings and behaviours and a greater sense of peace and contentment.
Gay men who train as mental health professionals usually do so in an environment dominated by heterosexuals that can at times feel unsafe, or less supportive than when we are with community.
This one-day introduction to the model is open to men who identify as gay and are therapists, counsellors, sacred intimates, coaches, psychologists, psychiatrists or other health professionals who work 1:1 with clients.

February 2020 Shalom Retreat — The Integral Company Carrie Jameson and Tom Goddard will co-lead the Shalom Retreat February 13-16, 2020 at Shalom Mountain.

🔈 MYTH OR FACT?

There has be a debate as to whether weak abdominal muscles may lead to low back pain. Recently I've come across to contradictory opinions. I would like you to read them and express your point of view based on your experience.

🧐 OPINION 1

The muscles around your spine and in your abdomen contribute to lower back health. Loose or weak abdominal muscles can cause lower back pain by encouraging a forward-leaning posture. Abdominals work in conjunction with back muscles when bending, straightening or lifting. This is why weak, damaged or separate abdominal muscles can be associated with lower back pain.

But you can protect back muscles by strengthening your abdominals through exercise. The abdominals are relatively small, so there is less of a possibility of overtraining as with exercises that involve weights. Keep in mind, though, that you can strain abdominals by overdoing exercises.

- Ronald B. Tolchin
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

🧐 OPINION 2

The idea that lower back pain comes from weak abdominal or stomach muscles is probably one of the longest running and most widely held back pain myths among patients and many therapists, yet the basis for it remains unproven. The myth itself is illogical. It may have started from a notion that by increasing the strength of your stomach muscles, you can increase pressure in the abdomen and thereby increase support for the spine. Sorry, but you cannot. Your stomach muscles function to support the contents of your abdomen, not your back. The good news is that weak abdominal muscles have never had, and will never have, anything to do with lower back pain. Strong abs are no guarantee of a pain-free back, and weak abs are no predictor of a painful back.

- Gerald M. Silverman
Chiropractic Medicine

⏳ What's your view on that? Please leave a comment below ➡️