I am a personal trainer specialising in helping people with low back pain restore pain-free activity. I follow the evidence-based McGill Method to address low back pain, and also incorporate breathing practices and guided relaxation. My overall goal is to lead my clients through spine and spirit restoration to get out of pain, and enhance their overall wellbeing.
The McGill Method was created by over 30 years of research in the laboratory and clinic by professor Stuart McGill. He is a world-renowned lumbar spine expert, and yes, we have the same last name and are related. Professor McGill is my Dad. Growing up seeing his expertise change and save lives, I was inspired, and also intimidated. I subconsciously believed that I would never be intelligent enough to “follow in his footsteps” in any capacity, despite my interest in health and helping people. It wasn’t until years of trying to figure out what to do after University that would really feel true to me, that I found the answer. I was in a holotropic breath-work journey in Sydney, Australia facilitated by the Owakening group. It was my third journey with them. In a nutshell, I met my higher self, who removed my limiting beliefs that I was not “good enough” to really help people at a deep level, and I received a stream of downloads on what I am here to do. “Spine and Spirit Restoration”, you were given your Dad as a gift in this lifetime so you can carry on his methods in combination with your healing gifts, and you are here to create a revolution, were among some of the downloads I received which are shakily scribbled in my journal from that afternoon. I immediately pursued the necessary education to become Certified in the McGill Method, and slowly but surely saw the fusion starting to come together of how I could offer these very scientific approaches to back pain, and some of the spiritual practices that have been instrumental in my own wellbeing.
Spiritual wellbeing is one of my personal priorities and passions, and I saw a huge opportunity to offer “spirit restoration” to my clients while recovering from injury or chronic low back pain. Pain and injury often lead to increased stress that trickles into most areas of someone’s life. Holding this excess stress and tension in their bodies can actually prohibit them from full recovery.
During our sessions of movement and exercise, we are stimulating adaptations in their bodies to build resilience and robustness, but the body also requires rest and relaxation for these adaptions to occur. Therefor, I also incorporate breath-work and relaxation practices to optimise the results with my clients. The breath is a tool we can use to signal the body into a restorative state, the parasympathetic nervous system. I use certain breathing practices with my clients to cool down after a training session, provide a daily practice for them to reduce overall stress and tension, train their diaphragm to optimise their breathing habits, and offer relaxation practices to do before bed to enhance their recovery while sleeping.
Reiki has been one of the most impactful healing modalities in my life, and I was so excited to share this gift with my clients. I have been a Reiki practitioner for the past couple of years, and have benefited immensely from my personal Reiki practices. I understand that not everyone is open to energy work, although I do believe that will change in the coming years and decades, but having Reiki as an option for my clients who are open to experiencing it has been really wonderful. It compliments my physical training sessions in a very yin/yang way.
I see a huge potential for more health care practitioners to offer holistic fusions with their current medical practices, and as many are beginning to see this too, it really excites me!
About the Author
Sarah McGill,
Bachelor of Commerce
McGill Method Certified Back Pain Practitioner
NASM Certified Personal Trainer
Certified Breath Coach
L2 Certified Reiki Practitioner
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