Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Armstrong.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My movement journey began early studying dance and performing in North Carolina. I chased this dragon all the way through undergrad eventually graduating with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance and Choreography from VCU in Richmond, VA. Following this milestone, I moved to sunny Orlando, FL, and began practicing yoga for cross-training purposes which quickly led to a love affair with the physical and mental exploration that yoga inspires.
A few classes turned into a desire to dive in headfirst and in 2016 I took my first teacher training in Baja, MX. Upon arriving home, I began teaching at multiple studios and breweries around Orlando and really began to understand how important sharing this movement is. I continued my education to earn a certificate in Yin and Restorative Yoga.
Most recently, I spent 18 months as an apprentice working with Emily Sabo of EKS Beachside Bodywork in Melbourne, FL earning a 1,200-hour yoga and pain management certification. The EKS Methods are alignment-based modalities of healing and pain management utilizing precise movement, manual manipulation, and deepened awareness to increase your mobility, strength, and overall health and well-being by moving into proper body alignment long term.
I am now the owner and operator of Orlando Private Yoga and Pain Management, instructing the EKS Methods of yoga and bodywork at the beautiful Peaceful Peacock yoga studio in the Hourglass District.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Haha. Is any entrepreneur’s road smooth? Well, first deciding to even travel down the road of apprenticeship was a big hurdle. Leading up to this decision, I really considered going back to school to become a physical therapist, and honestly, although it would have had its own challenges the road is paved and well-worn so it seemed like the safe option. But a lot of my family is in the medical field and as a dancer, I have had more than a few experiences with PTs, and I just felt like there was another way to offer to heal to the community I love without having to answer to insurance companies and all of the madness that is the medical industry.
In walks Emily Sabo, owner of EKS Beachside Bodywork, whom I met through my mom, Emily’s client. She was just doing something so different than anything I had seen or experienced in the yoga, therapy, and bodywork world or otherwise and it was HIGHLY effective. I knew what she was doing made sense and just felt right, but I was nervous because I wouldn’t graduate with a degree that I could walk into an office with and just start working. This commitment meant me starting my own business and building my career from the ground up which creates whole other challenges beyond just trying to master this method. But, lucky for me, she agreed to take me on as an apprentice and that was definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Then came the challenge of learning, unlearning, and re-learning. The number of frustrated, tearful phone calls on my weekly drives back from Melbourne, thinking I would just never “get it” was challenging to say the least. There were days I was convinced I would never be able to learn it all or even just enough to heal people the way I wanted to. But waking up every day, rolling out the mat, studying, listening, watching, rinsing, and repeating I made it to the finish line over 1200 hours later to realize I still had so much to learn.
That’s how it goes right? You learn enough to feel like you know nothing and dive back in. haha. I think it is the hardest but simultaneously the most exciting part of my job. I am and will always be a student. Every new client presents new obstacles and challenges, but that is also what makes my work so exciting. There is nothing more satisfying or gratifying than a client’s gasp when the lightbulb turns on and they “get it.” When the client understands their pain and how they can manage or eliminate it (themselves!!) with stretching and movement and coordination work, I have done my job. The moment they realize they woke up for the third day in a row without a headache, or that they haven’t noticed that pain in their hip during their workout for a week, or they finally got a good night’s rest instead of tossing and turning all night, I promise you, I am just as excited as they are. I love it and it never gets old.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
The work that I do with Orlando Private Yoga is based on the EKS Methods developed by Emily Sabo. In her words, “The EKS methods, are integrated approaches to teaching various body types and mental/physical strength profiles—as well as people with varying backgrounds and training—to move with the fluidity, alignment, and the core strength and muscle control required for graceful and pain-free movement through life’s most basic daily activities or through advanced yoga, gymnastics, dance or professional athletic movement and competition. Instruction stresses proper alignment with anatomical verbal and tactile cues to assist the practitioner in finding deeper and more effective postures safely. The reason these methods are valuable at both extremes is that they establish the ability of the practitioner to control and differentiate muscle groups on a micro level as opposed to the usually very macro level employed subconsciously by most people for movement of the body, core, and limbs through life and various physical activities. Strength is not only the ability to flex a muscle but also the ability to disengage other muscles which are pulling against the flexed muscle and decreasing the effectiveness of its engagement. A muscle flexed while other muscles are flexing in the opposite direction becomes less effective since the body is essentially fighting against itself—this produces misalignment and resulting pain, oftentimes, but it also reduces the efficiency of movement, balance, and control all too important to athletes operating at peak performance.”
Overall, these methods are addressing the body as a whole unit and system, not separate contraptions stacked on top of each other. We seek to create harmony and efficiency throughout the body. For example, the weird way you walk on your left foot really can (and most likely does) affect the tension you have on the right side of your neck. So, by not addressing your gate or the discomfort in your foot or knee causing the misalignment and just addressing the neck, we are not getting to the root of the problem. And although we can get some relief by just stretching and manipulating the neck, it will not last. The musculature will eventually go back to the place it likes to live, squeezing in that pain spot, and we will back at square one until we really start to change the alignment as a whole.
Another unique element to this modality is the “release work” we incorporate. This is a process in which we use gentle hands-on manipulation and tactile cues to help people learn the sensation and coordination of truly relaxing overly tight or stressed muscles and fascia, often for the first time, providing relief and a deeper understanding of efficient alignment. Sometimes it really does feel like magic, haha, but I assure you it’s all science. I’m not a witch yet.
Additionally, I weave my background and understanding of my many years of dance and movement training into my work so it is truly a very unique experience. I give everything I have to every client that walks in the door. Really listening to my clients and their unique backgrounds, pains, and concerns is essential for me as each is so unique and the solution is often in their story; we just have to dig it out. Then I take it home and dissect it on my mat, outside of our sessions, to come back with more information for the next time. There is no one size fits all way of healing or doing this work and I treat every client with that in mind, which in itself sets me apart.
Any big plans?
I don’t foresee any big changes in the near future; I am pretty happy with the direction things are going. However, I am looking forward to having my own space soon. Currently, I rent the main studio at the Peaceful Peacock and meet my clients in that little oasis during hours when there are no group classes. I do love it and the space is just lovely, but I am looking forward to having my own personal studio so I can get more toys and props to utilize. I use all kinds of props in a variety of new and inventive ways to get different stretches and angles and leverage points on the body for deeper stretching. I can also then create more accessibility for clients with limited mobility in need of extra assistance.
And who doesn’t love to have their own plant babies in their space?!
Pricing:
- single sessions $90/session
- 5-pack $85/ session
- 10-pack $80/ session
- 20-pack $75/session
- I also offer in-home services with an added travel fee
Contact Info:
- Email: orlandoprivateyoga@gmail.com
- Website: orlandoprivateyoga.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brookearmstrongbodywork/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brookearmstrongbodywork
Image Credits:
Dingo Diamond JC Rodriguez
