Do you suffer from age-related aches and pains that traditional stretching or medications won’t relieve? Are you doing all the sports recovery things and still feel pain? It’s possible that the cause isn’t actually aging, but because your body is in a state of fight-or-flight. Tune into this episode and discover how simple posture adjustments and diaphragmatic breathing can transform your physical performance and well-being.

In this episode of Salad with a Side of Fries, host Jenn Trepeck welcomes Dr. Amy Novotny, founder of the PABR® Institute. Together they explore a naturalistic approach to pain relief, stress reduction, and overall wellness. Dr. Novotny shares her groundbreaking work on how altering your breathing mechanics and ribcage positioning can shift the body from a fight-or-flight state to a state of rest and relaxation, helping to reduce muscle tension and improve physical performance. By addressing the autonomic nervous system this approach can relieve digestive issues, and decrease the impact of chronic stress, and this episode offers insightful strategies for relieving pain, improving sleep, and even overcoming trauma-related physiological responses—all without the need for traditional stretching or medications. 

The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast is hosted by Jenn Trepeck, discussing wellness and weight loss for real life, clearing up the myths, misinformation, bad science & marketing surrounding our nutrition knowledge and the food industry. Let’s dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store. 

IN THIS EPISODE: 

• (05:27) Amy shares her professional journey
• (09:47) The three main components of the autonomic nervous system. Amy explains the results of a patient changing their breathing mechanics
• (15:15) Amy explains muscle contraction and why it’s worse with age and gives an example of how to relax the breastbone
• (26:47) What should you notice about back muscle tension 
• (29:11) Belly breathing versus diaphragmatic breathing and how chewing and swallowing impacts your TMJ joint

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

• Dr. Amy Novotny discovered that altering her ribcage position and breathing mechanics allowed her to shift from a fight-or-flight state (sympathetic) to a state of rest-and-relaxation (parasympathetic), significantly reducing muscle tension and enhancing her physical performance without traditional stretching or rehabilitation techniques.
• Dr. Novotny's work highlights how chronic stress and muscle tension, especially in the abdominal region, can contribute to digestive issues. People can naturally relieve physical tension, improve digestion, and even overcome trauma-related physiological responses by addressing posture and breathing mechanics.
• Unlike voluntary muscle contractions (e.g., lifting an object), emotional stress triggers involuntary muscle contractions that can persist unnoticed. Over time, this accumulated tension can lead to chronic pain, which is often mistaken for age-related discomfort.

QUOTES:         

• (06:11) “I realized if I changed my breathing mechanics, very different than breath work, but if I changed my mechanics of how I held my rib cage and how that affected my diaphragm, I could run eight miles in 55 minutes, get off the treadmill and not have to stretch.” Dr. Amy Novotny
• (20:45) “You must physically train your body to get in the correct position again.” Dr. Amy Novotny
• (28:51) “There are specific techniques that can help us hone that interoception.” Jenn Trepeck
• (33:52) “Diarrhea, constipation, all those types of things as we know, are also connected to trauma." Jenn Trepeck.
• (34:45) “I'm a big fan of playing with it. See what happens. Because what do we have to lose?” Jenn Trepeck

RESOURCES:

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GUESTS RESOURCES:

Dr. Amy Novotny - Facebook

Dr. Amy Novotny - LinkedIn

Dr.  Amy Novotny - Instagram

Dr. Amy Novotny - Twitter

PABR Institute - Website

Dr. Amy Novotny - YouTube

GUEST BIOGRAPHY:

Dr. Amy Novotny founded the PABR® Institute with the mission to provide pain, stress and anxiety relief to those who seek a naturalistic form of treatment when other treatment methods have fallen short. Her unique approach comes from her experience treating in various settings and with a wide range of patient populations over the past 16 years. Her background in orthopedics, sports, geriatrics, balance disorders, nerve injuries, and most recently, chronic pain; and influences from coursework at the Postural Restoration Institute gave her the foundation to develop this treatment method to address a wide variety of painful and restrictive conditions. Her methods have helped countless people reduce and eliminate pain, stress, anxiety, orthopedic surgeries, sleep issues and the need for medications. She co-authored two Amazon #1 Best-Selling books, Don’t Quit: Stories of Persistence, Courage and Faith and Success Habits of Super Achievers, sharing her journey on developing the PABR® Method. She co-authored Wall Street Journal Best Seller, From WTF to OMG, With a Little LOL: Unpacking Entrepreneurs' Hidden Lessons.  Her ability to speak French and Spanish has allowed her to communicate with and help various clients worldwide, including France, Mexico, Central America and South America. She has a variety of interests including running 40+ marathons, running 10 ultra marathons (including two 100 milers), completing an Ironman triathlon, photographing wildlife and landscapes all over the world that has led to several of her images being chosen as Photos of the Day, most notably National Geographic Your Shot World Top Photo of the Day. Visit her photography portfolio at www.amysimpressions.com!