Kathleen Gramzay Blog

With fireworks and parades, barbecues and loved ones we commemorate the independence of our country. We pay tribute to those who gave their time and many, their lives, to afford us certain unalienable rights, the freedoms of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. It took courage and conviction for our forefathers to stand up and say NO LONGER would they accept the status quo. It then required sustained willful action to change the circumstances that were no longer acceptable. What had long been tolerated became intolerable -to the... Read More

It was heartening to hear local company reports of the favorable trend of increased employee participation in wellness programs at the Phoenix Business Journals Healthiest Employers event. Notwithstanding arguments of hard ROI versus soft returns regarding employee satisfaction and productivity, wellness clearly benefits both the employers and individuals. While nutrition and exercise programs help to improve blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and body mass index, a significant gap in wellness remains for both businesses and their... Read More

Holidays designated to celebrate relationships often have a way of magnifying their absence for those not in one. Valentine's Day, in particular, can be challenging because the implied message is that validation of being lovable comes through someone else's expression of love for you. Whether you're single (or in a relationship) and feeling unloved because someone else isn't demonstrating their love or affection, I invite you to challenge the assumption of what defines "lovable" and free yourself in the process. Being lovable is a... Read More

The third place sitting is a pain is air travel. Between schlepping bags, the mental duress of contending with possible schedule changes, and the actual time stuck in a seat, flying can definitely be a pain. If your job or vacation involves cross-country or international travel, you are already keenly aware that 5 to 15 hours in a cramped seat can definitely cause some discomfort. Hopefully, you get to travel business class which makes flying a lot more comfortable. My recent flight to and from Greece, then from New York to Phoenix had me... Read More

In my August blog, Sitting is a Pain in the Butt, I offered some simple and effective tips to make your office chair a little less painful. There is another office seat that causes many people pain, the mobile one located behind a steering wheel. While cab and Uber drivers come readily to mind, there are untold numbers of people who spend their days on the road for their jobs covering expansive territory, as my friend Lynn did. She, along with many of my previous clients, dealt with sciatic pain as a result. Neck pain is equally... Read More

Have you heard the saying if you want to understand someone's experience "walk a mile in their shoes"? Instead of walking in someone else's shoes, I have been sitting in someone else's office chair. All I can say is given the option, I'll take the shoes. I'll admit I've been spoiled. For the last 17 years as a self-developed, movement-based therapist and educator teaching Kinessage to therapists, my days were all about movement. My desire to share the method with everyone else who lives in a body led me write Release Your Pain, Expand Your... Read More

Have you ever noticed certain subjects have general perceptions around them? For example, how many times have you heard the adage: "it's not rocket science!" Meaning, whatever you're talking about is understandable or not that hard. To the average person, rocket science is believed to be very difficult to understand or you have to be brilliant to do so. To a rocket scientist, however, it just makes sense. What's the difference between the average person and the scientist? Education, interest, and the belief that the information is... Read More

In my last blog, What Kind of A Boss Are You? , we saw that "Team Body" does the best job it can given the leadership, tools and materials provided by its "Mind-Boss". The body gives feedback all the time about whether the leadership and materials are sufficient or not. How do you know? It tells you. It speaks. As the boss, you might not have ever learned its language (who thought you needed to?) Maybe you've relied on interpreters. Great interpreters are highly valuable;but if they're off duty when the team is ready to strike, you... Read More

When you think about it, it's pretty miraculous that your body's innate intelligence keeps you alive with fairly minimal participation on your part. Your role? Provide the materials it needs: water, nourishment, sleep, and movement. Everything else happens without your conscious participation. You don't have to understand it or pay attention for your cells, organs, and systems to continually operate for highest function and health. The system is extraordinary. It's also familiar. It's your body. You've been living in it for years. And... Read More

A predominant myth in our culture is "No pain-no gain." In addition to athletics, it permeates beliefs with regard to healing. I say "no pain-no gain" is a bald-faced lie. In sports or working out, you can argue the merits of pushing the body through its limits to increase its capacity for greater strength or endurance. But why is that belief so common when it comes to healing? Therapies that initiate pain or discomfort first and then provide relief, fuel the underlying assumption that some kind of pain is necessary in order to... Read More