DeAnnaKay with Essentrics® founder, Miranda Esmonde-White, at the May 2018 retreat
DeAnnaKay Swetzig, a certified Level 4 Essentrics® Instructor, has been involved with Essentrics® for over fifteen years. Being physically active with her horses, bicycle riding and co-managing the ranch, all this requires physical strength and prowess. To keep up with all the demands of life, the Essentrics® Program is an important part of DeAnnaKay’s life. Here’s her story:
In 1999, I was a mom, was working full time, and managing all things at home and the ranch. Being in constant, severe pain, I turned to the medical field for help to understand the cause of the constant, persistent mind-numbing pain. After many years of growing, irrigation, producing hay, moving hay, riding, feeding, and caring for horses and cows, ranch work became very difficult. In addition, the normal physical workouts like running, working out with weights for strength training, and participating in aerobics classes, became next to impossible as the ability to move without being in constant severe pain became part of life. After MRIs, meeting with Neurosurgeons and numerous back specialists, I was diagnosed with severe Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD), Arthritis and intense inflammation. The Doctors concluded I could expect surgeries every 3-5 years for the next several years, due to the severe deterioration of the discs in my spine.
Looking for alternatives to surgery, I tried many natural methods including daily massages, daily deep water workouts, and acupuncture, all which had limited, short term results. After passing out from prolonged nerve inflammation and severe pain, I was hospitalized for a one level fusion at L3/L4. Recovery was long and hard, however, the pain had changed and things were different. During the recovery period, I found Classical Stretch on PBS in 2002.
Working out with specific Back Pain Release “workouts” from Miranda Esmonde-White, I began to move better and feel better. This requires doing these sessions, regularly, daily, often twice a day, just to be able to get through a normal day and set of activities at home and at the ranch (like feeding all the animals twice a day!). To date, I have had only the one reconstructive surgery and I often workout daily and some times twice daily.
In 2012, I participated in a retreat with Miranda in Estes Park. During this retreat, Miranda was working on her book, Aging Backwards, and asked for volunteers to share their story on how they learned about Classical Stretch and how the program had affected and changed their lives. I shared my story and it was featured in the PBS Aging Backwards special, one of the most watched PBS pledge specials of all time. I can be seen here in this short video preview of Miranda’s Aged Reversed Pledge Special Program: http://essentrics.com/agingbackwards.html#TES
After being a regular participant of the program, my family surprised me with a gift of the Level One Training materials to further develop my knowledge and skills of the Essentrics® Program, with the goal of becoming a Certified Instructor. Little did I realize the impact of this gift.
Crossing over from participant to Teacher/Trainer has had its challenges. Locating a training facility and suitable location for the Essentrics® Program took time and dedication, with some trial and error. The program requires a thorough understanding of anatomy and body mechanics, as well as knowledge on how to support the clients to receive the benefits they seek in their workouts. Studying the human body and anatomy requires many hours of study and the learning continues with new findings. Each workout is composed of several movements with each movement, well thought through and designed to move and strengthen the entire body in a balanced way.
As an Essentrics® Apprentice Teacher, in 2016, I began teaching regular classes at Work Out West (WOW) – in the Yoga Room in the Tennis Center. Today I continue classes there as a certified Essentrics® Instructor.
DeAnnaKay is dedicated to sharing the Essentrics Program and making it available to anyone who wants to feel better, strengthen their bodies, and move in a balanced way. DeAnnaKay’s classes can help:
- Increase full body flexibility
- Unlock tight muscles and joints
- Relieve pain
- Improve agility and balance
- Slenderize the entire body