Have Lifelong Wellbeing Newsletter

July 2026

           Welcome to the 142nd edition of the Have Lifelong Wellbeing monthly newsletter!  

If you are a new reader, please know it's my life's passion to erase pain from the world and empower lives to age with strength, truth, wisdom, and joy. This newsletter is a cherished labor of love and I thank you for allowing me into your inbox each month. I'm humbled by your trust in me to provide content of value and I will continue to strive to that end. 

UPCOMING CLASSES

This Month's LIVE MELT Class: 

Neck Release

July 14th at 5 pm Eastern   Recorded if you can't make it live

Join us for a new MELT Class each month! Purchase 5 classes and get a class FREE! Special discount for Academy and paid level Private Club members.

On-Demand Virtual Classes

For those with a challenging schedule ~ recorded classes to access 24/7, INCLUDING an effective four class series for Urinary Incontinence done on your feet, an Age Well With Strong Bones course, and a Nourish Your Body for Lifelong Wellbeing course!

MONTHLY EVENTS FOR HLW ACADEMY STUDENTS

Office Hours with Eileen

July 6th at 12 pm Eastern

Topic: Mindset & the Power of Words This is a special hour to learn something new from Eileen and get your questions answered on any of the following topics: pain, aging, exercise, nutrition. 

Monthly Reward Event

July 7th at 12 pm Eastern

Specialty Class: MELT Hand & Foot Treatments. 

Unique Workout

July 7th at 11 am Eastern

This week: Everything's Connected. Every Tuesday is a unique workout that promotes optimal mobility, stability, strength, or stamina in 3 planes of motion. Taught LIVE with Q&A.  

This Month's Article

How Your Back Really Works

Since statistics tell us that 8 out of 10 people will experience back pain at some point in their lives, I thought it would be a good idea to cover this topic again. It will be a multi-part series because it’s important you are fully informed so you can make better decisions and have better outcomes.

Originally, when I first wrote about this, I titled it, Functional Back Education. Below is the definition of functional which you may find interesting.

Functional:

One of the definitions from Merriam-Webster is: used to contribute to the development or maintenance of a larger whole

Oxford defines functional two ways:

• of or having a special activity, purpose, or task; relating to the way in which something works or     operates.

• designed to be practical and useful, rather than attractive.

My perception of back function, based on decades of training and studying under experts, will be shared here. I love that Merriam-Webster mentions a larger whole and Oxford speaks of special purpose, task, and design. Your back is very specially designed to do what it does and I’m excited to share the details with you.

Back Surgery

Surgery for back pain is a huge business; yet back surgery often fails to alleviate pain because it does not address the core root of the problem. In an interview for an article titled, “The Truth About Back Pain,” the founder and president of the Association for Medical Ethics, Dr. Charles Rosen, made this startling statement. “Maybe 5 percent of patients with back pain need surgery.” Dr. Rosen is also Founding Director of the UCI Spine Center and a Clinical Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of California, Irvine.

There is a medical term for those who undergo back surgery and fail to obtain relief from pain; it is Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS). Other terms used are Post-Lumbar Surgery Syndrome, Post-Laminectomy Syndrome, Failed Back Syndrome, And Postoperative Persistent Syndrome. That’s a lot of names for failure!

A syndrome is a collection of signs and symptoms, and it seems if you have back surgery and it fails to resolve your pain, you now have a syndrome.

To make matters worse, after a failed surgery a person may, if desperate due to unrelenting pain, choose to have another surgery. Up to 35% of those who have back surgery have repeat surgery for this reason. Of course, there are those who opt against having a second, or third, surgery.

I took a manual technique course many years ago that was taught by a woman from New Zealand. She said something I have never forgotten. She said in America we perform surgery much more often than in her country. She said we need to stand in front of our patients and say, “No, doctor, let me have them first.” I have seen countless patients who were considered candidates for surgery; yet they refused and were determined to get their life back without going under the knife. They did the right work the right way and they were successful.

My professional opinion is that back surgery should be the absolute last resort after everything else has been tried for real. I say for real because so often someone thinks they have tried physical therapy but they were less than compliant with showing up for scheduled sessions and/or they did not do their homework OR, sad to say, their clinician was not that experienced or knowledgeable about what was needed to help them. There are also those who never even tried PT, but they did try “everything else”, meaning injections, and other medical interventions. Only 7% of people who go to the doctor about pain are referred to PT!

It is possible to train your body to restore and/or protect healthy back function. Your back is the most central part of your body and where your stability comes from so you can do things like get your baby and their car seat out of the back of your car.

Please know your back is greatly impacted by other areas of your body, especially your hips. If your hips are not mobile or stable in all 3 planes of motion, your back (or knees) will most likely suffer. If your thoracic spine/trunk is not mobile your back (or neck) may be forced to make up for that lack. Also, if your back has issues; your shoulders or hips or neck may have issues.

I must repeat it is vital to look at your body as a whole and not isolate parts to determine where the restrictions live in order to fully and effectively restore healthy back function. I have seen countless patients resolve back pain by working in other areas; neck, hips, etc. I had a patient who had back pain whenever she sat which limited her ability to go to the movies, read a book, or watch tv. After some treatment she was able to sit without pain; however, she still had back pain when eating meals at the dinner table. It was common sense that the only difference between sitting at the dinner table and sitting while watching tv was that we look down at our food when we are eating. I assessed her neck and she had limited motion with flexion. She had no neck pain when looking down, but she felt pain in her back. A manual technique to improve cervical flexion resolved her back pain while sitting at the dinner table.

Full mobility and stability in all 3 planes throughout the body must be the goal for a healthy, strong, and well-functioning back.

EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED TO EVERYTHING ELSE.

Let me summarize how to improve back function this way so you don’t have to wait for more newsletters to understand the most basic truth of back function. The most effective way to train your back is to feed it with movement in other places. Rotation (turning right and left) must be unrestricted in your trunk (ribcage) and hips. Power (strength) must come from your hips. Your low back can be the strongest link in your body when your hips are your power source.

Next month will provide a basic understanding of the anatomy of your back and common issues that occur. We will then cover how your back moves in more detail and finish this series with common back issues so you can be a more informed consumer.

I will close with this statement. The #1 reason I launched the Move Without Pain Private Club is because I want you to know how to be stronger, more mobile, more stable, and more capable in your daily life. I truly want you to be able to move without pain so you can have lifelong wellbeing!

Would you like to locate the core issue(s) of your pain, balance deficits, or weaknesses and learn how to address them with powerful (safe) self-care methods so you can move without pain and age without decline? You can work with Eileen one-on-one! Just ask a question or schedule a consultation via Zoom by clicking the button below.

You CAN resolve pain and age independently by training authentically and nourishing well.

Recipe of the Month

Decadent Chocolate Mousse

This is whipped, light, and amazing!! I served this as dessert in the first class of my Nourish Away Pain Series as part of a four-course meal. People can’t believe this is dairy free. Enjoy!

Want peace & joy instead of fear & stress?