Practitioner Spotlight:
Beth Williams

I have been a licensed physical therapist for 30 years, treating primarily geriatric patients in acute and long term care, outpatient and home health settings. I always enjoyed working with older clients because they have such interesting stories to share, and are generally resourceful, resilient, and highly motivated to be independent. In 1999, I started applying my skills as a physical therapist and Aston Patterning practitioner to help our four legged friends – mostly dogs with a few cats and horses along the way. I also have a master’s degree in counseling and educational psychology with an emphasis on services to the aging. I just celebrated 10 years as a licensed prayer practitioner with Centers for Spiritual Living. Over the years, I have been trained to work with the whole person – 

body, mind, and spirit. 

I was introduced to Aston-Patterning by my colleague Chris Colberg, who convinced me to go to Lake Tahoe and be a client for a certification class. The movement ideas my practitioner presented seemed so logical, and the body work so amazingly effective and enjoyable that my body and mind said “Yes”! So, I started taking the bodywork and movement classes, and found that I was better able to help my senior clients. For example, a typical instruction to patients moving from sitting to standing is to “put your nose over your toes”. However this doesn’t work when they simply flex their spine and keep their weight on the pelvis. So, after all those physics classes and P.T. school, I learned from Judith how to teach people to get their center of gravity over the base of support, and voila they could stand up with much less effort. And so, I jokingly created “Beth’s law of physics”, teaching my clients that “you can’t move it if you are still sitting on it” which not only gets a laugh, it gets results. 

I went on to complete the certification training in 1998 and took the Aston Pilates and Senior Fitness courses. At the time, I was working at a P.T. clinic that utilized Pilates equipment for most clients, and I taught a Pilates mat class for seniors. Teaching my senior students to use ground reaction force and stabilize themselves in an optimal alignment allowed them to perform exercises much more easily and efficiently. My seniors could hold a front or side “plank” position for 60 seconds, long before “planking” became a popular movement. I have been privileged to teach Senior Fitness classes with Chris Colberg in Reno and with Judith Aston in Hawaii, empowering people to “be in their best body.” 

What I love the most about this philosophy is how applicable the same principles are to any areas of life or ability level. It works just as well for seniors, athletes, moms carrying babies, and people with disabilities. I appreciate that Aston Patterning practitioners meet people where they are and help them move from there by “teaching on the yes”, capitalizing on what is working rather than correcting what is “wrong”. I have personally used this work to improve my abilities as a physical therapist, singer, ballroom dancer, and equestrian. 

Using corresponding Aston Kinetics and spiritual principles, I created a class called “Moving in Spirit – a correlation of physical and spiritual laws” to help people move through life with greater ease, strength, flexibility, balance, and grace. In this class we discuss and practice finding a “neutral” place to rest in our physical bodies, attitudes and prayer/meditation. The concept of base of support applies not only to sitting and standing positions, but to who or what is holding me up spiritually and how I can increase that base when needed. Gravity and ground reaction force are important in consciously moving on the earth, and correlate to being both grounded in spiritual principles and uplifted in faith by “pushing off” or leaning into Spirit. I plan to continue developing/expanding this class, and hope to share these ideas with spiritual communities across the country. 

My photo includes one of my beloved companion Nitro who inspired me to apply what I know about healing to canines, starting with his recovery from hip surgery. He was a puppy during my training with Judith and naturally gravitated towards her healing presence, sneaking across the room to sit near her whenever he had a chance. If you look closely at the treadmill walking video, you may see him in the corner of the room! And so thanks to Nitro, I now use my palpation skills, ability to see postural and movement patterns, and design exercises for my furry clients at K9 Wellness Center In Reno. I also teach owners to use optimal body mechanics when assisting their dogs, i.e. helping them in/out of the car or up/down stairs. I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn and practice this amazing work with two and four legged clients, and to call Judith Aston my teacher, mentor, and friend. 

I can be reached on Facebook at K9 Wellness Center, or beth@k9wellnesscenter.com.

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