I am really looking forward to the upcoming teleseminar with Bill O'Hanlon on Treating Trauma without Drama. If you don't know Bill, he is such a highly acclaimed, upbeat, dynamic, hugely popular teacher that you will not want to miss this event (remember -- if you have vacation plans, your registration admits you to the live event by web or phone as well as to permanent audio download for your resource library for later listening when you have time). Bill has authored or co-authored 33 books (!) and is prolific in his interests and achievement.To learn more about Bill, please visit  www.billohanlon.com and mark your calendar for July 13 (sign up now, so you won't forget, at www.maggiephillipsphd.com/courses_teleseminars_bo.html). If you sign up right away, you will also receive two outstanding bonus items.

In August, we will feature our usual vacation sale where you can find special prices on selected seminars from 2008-2010. Many of you write to ask about receiving discounts or scholarships for financial reasons. This sale is especially for YOU, so please stay tuned for more information!

We have some of our most successful presenters coming up starting in September. Please scroll down to read about our Fall Teleseminars.

During the month of September, we'll be featuring an Ask and Receive e-course. The Ask and Receive teleseminar in April, 2011 (read the description here if you missed it) was one of our most popular presentations during this calendar year, with many of you stating that you would like to go further. Our September e-course will consist of a series of teleseminars. Each session will feature 45 minutes of presentation about Ask and Receive and 45 minutes of questions and answers about how to apply and modify the techniques with yourself or others. For this event, Sandi Radomski will be joined by her co-creator Tom Altaffer.They are a dynamic team, and I know you will enjoy them. As always, if you can't attend live, your registration includes permanent audio download available immediately following the live events with the opportunity to purchase Highlights edited transcripts and CEU's for professionals. Please watch for more information in our August newsletter.

In October, Claire Frederick and I will present a teleseminar series on Ego-State Therapy and Mindbody Healing. Our Ego-State Therapy e-courses have been especially popular during the last two Octobers, and this year, we will include a new e-book on Using Ego-State Therapy in Mindbody Healing, which will only be available through registration in this course! Please plan to join us!

In November, we welcome Diane Poole Heller, senior faculty member for the Somatic Experiencing® Trauma Institute (formerly the Foundation for Human Enrichment). Diane and I will present a teleseminar on Creating Healthy Adult Relationships, based on Dynamic Re-Patterning Experience (DARE), Diane's unique somatic model for creating healthy attachment bonds. You will learn skills to help your own relationships become stronger and more secure, as well as how to use these to help others. Stay tuned for more information including the exact November date.

To round out the year, in December, we welcome Laurel Parnell on Using EMDR to Heal Childhood Trauma and Neglect. Laurel is an outstanding teacher, clinician, and healer. She received rave reviews for her last teleseminar (read the description here if you missed it) and this time will present an e-workshop to allow you to go deeper. We know the holidays are a busy and stressful time, but with our permanent audio download feature, you can give yourself a gift to enjoy when you truly feel ready to receive it. This e-workshop will inspire your work with new tools, and provide ideas for how to let go of old family wounds that often reappear during this time of year. Specific dates for this two-part series will follow.

We are so grateful for your loyalty as a member of our online community. This quarter's thank-you bonus is a pdf of Compassion Meditations by Christopher Germer, author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion.  

To access your bonus, go to: maggiephillipsphd.com/_private_/bonus_0711_22511.html. 

We hope you will enjoy these meditations and invite you to explore Christopher Germer's work further at www.mindfulselfcompassion.org.

LEARNING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PAIN AND SORENESS    

As many of you prepare for vacation, warm weather, and the possibility of long hikes or other types of more strenuous activity than you've been used to, it's very important to consider how to recognize and work with soreness that can result from too much exercise.

Many people in pain opt out of regular exercise because they feel too sore afterwards. This is an important consideration, yet it's important to learn how to manage the soreness so you can keep on improving and expanding your mobility. One suggestion is that you consult your doctor (or other treating professional who best knows your pain reactions and whom you trust). Ultimately, you can never be too careful, especially if you have not yet learned to identify a muscle sore from overuse vs. one that is in pain from reinjury.

The simple distinction is that "pain" refers to fairly constant hurtful sensations while the word "soreness" is used to describe a kind of aching or cramping feeling that occurs only when you use a particular muscle or muscle group, usually a day or two after a workout.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) seems to occur when you change your exercise program or dramatically increase the duration or intensity of your exercise routine. Although it can be alarming, DOMS is a normal reaction to unusual exertion that leads to more strength and stamina as muscles recover from activity and rebuild. Delayed onset muscle soreness is thought to be a result of microscopic tearing of the muscle fibers. The amount of tearing (and soreness) depends on how hard and how long you exercise and what type of exercise you do. Any movement you aren't used to can lead to DOMS.

What is the best treatment for muscle soreness after exercise? There is no one simple way to treat DOMS. In fact, there has been an ongoing debate about both the cause and treatment of DOMS. In the past, gentle stretching was one of the recommended ways to reduce exercise related muscle soreness, but a study by Australian researchers published in 2007 found that stretching is not effective in avoiding muscle soreness.

Nothing is proven 100 percent effective, so it's best to try a few things to see what works for you. Ultimately, the best advice for treating DOMS is to prevent it in the first place. 

1. Use a Foam Roller. One technique to reduce muscle soreness is to use a foam roller regularly as a part of your cool down. This can be particularly helpful after an intense period of exercise (even if it feels good at the time), or after you start a new type of exercise or a new weight training routine.

2. Use Active Recovery. This strategy has support in the research. Performing easy low-impact aerobic exercise that increases blood flow is linked with diminished muscle soreness. After an intense workout or competition, use this technique as a part of your cool down. For suggested practices, visit http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/tipsandtricks/a/activerecovery.htm.

3. Rest and Recover. If you simply wait it out, soreness will go away in 3 to 7 days with no special treatment.

4. Try a Sports or Medical Massage. Some research has found that sports massage may help reduce reported muscle soreness and reduce swelling, although it might have no effects on muscle function.

5. Try an Ice Bath or Contrast Water Bath. Although no clear evidence proves these are effective, many pro athletes use them and claim they work to reduce soreness.

6. Use PRICE. The standard method of treating acute injuries, if your soreness is particularly painful, is Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.

7. Perform Gentle Stretching. Although research doesn't find stretching alone reduces muscle pain of soreness, many people find it simply feels good.

8. Try a Nonsteriodal Anti-Inflammatories (NSAIDS). Aspirin, ibuprofen or naproxen sodium may help to temporarily reduce the muscle soreness, although they won't actually speed healing. Be careful, however, if you plan to take them before exercise. Studies reported that taking ibuprofen before endurance exercise is not recommended because NSAIDs block all prostaglandins , which are substances that cause pain as well as those that protect tissues such as the stomach lining. Several studies have found little actual performance enhancement and warn that ibuprophine, for example, may mask pain, which can lead to injury.

9. Try Yoga. There is growing evidence that practicing yoga may reduce DOMS.

10. Listen to Your Body. Avoid any vigorous activity or exercise that increases pain. Allow the soreness to subside thoroughly before performing any further vigorous exercise.

If your soreness persists longer than about 7 days or increases despite these measures, consult your physician. Learn something from each DOMS experience about your patterns of delayed soreness. Remember, prevention is the best defense!

Enjoy your increase in exercise this summer. For more information about these and other tips, visit http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/injuries/a/doms.htm.

Also, please feel free to share your opinions and experiences about muscle soreness and pain on our community blog at blog1.reversingchronicpain.com. Remember, for each post we publish (and this can be only a sentence or two), you will receive a free teleseminar! It's really easy. Go here now to blog1.reversingchronicpain.com.

Thanks, as always, for taking the time to read this newsletter, 

Maggie