Bringing this podcast episode out of the archives because this lesson shows up ALL THE TIME. I can’t wait to hear what you think of the episode! Feel free to email me and let me know what you think!

Elite athletes and high performers understand discipline, repetition, and pushing limits. But when pain shows up, especially chronic pain, it can feel like betrayal. 

But the truth I see in people’s bodies all the time is that pain isn’t your enemy. It’s information. It’s your body’s built-in whistleblower. Pain is your call to action.

I’ve built my entire movement philosophy around noticing patterns.

As a former Broadway understudy and swing, my job was to recognize patterns — choreography, scene changes, costume cues, and dialogue — and see how they fit together. Since I didn’t perform the same role every night, I couldn’t rely on muscle memory. I had to rely on pattern recognition.

Good thing this is one of my superpowers 😉

This superpower served me so well onstage and continues to do so when working with clients and athletes. I am an expert at decoding the body.

When I watch someone move — running, lifting, or just standing — I’m not focused on whether one exercise looks “right.” I’m watching for how they move, and what patterns repeat across different contexts. 

The movement patterns tell me more than any single rep ever could.

With the exception of acute injuries, the area that hurts is rarely the area that needs help. Pain is your nervous system’s flare gun, sometimes a five alarm fire, alerting you that something in your kinetic chain is off.

Let’s use me and my body as an example…

I’ve got what I lovingly call my special hip. The SI joint on my right hip is less stable, has more external than internal rotation, and more range than my left. I don’t say this hip is bad, I like to say my right hip is disorganized.

Here’s the cool part. When it’s out of alignment I don’t feel it in my hip. I feel it in my foot.

My right foot will flare up like I’ve got plantar fasciitis and gout and something that feels like “frozen foot.” (If that’s not a thing, it should be.)

If I only treated the foot, I’d get temporary relief. But when I go back upstream and work my hips — both sides, creating balance and symmetry in my pelvis — my foot calms down. The pain disappears.

The high chair (featured in the photo for this post) is my favorite piece of equipment for this.

Same thing with my neck. When my neck feels tight or “stuck,” instead of cracking it, I focus on creating better organization in my ribcage. Once my thoracic spine is moving more freely, my neck releases on its own.

That’s the power of understanding your movement patterns — not isolated muscles, but the way your entire body communicates.

It’s almost like…it’s all connected.

Pain is not punishment. It’s a signal. A request for curiosity.

When you learn to interpret your body’s feedback, and stop fighting it, you unlock a new level of performance, resilience, and longevity. Stop reacting to pain and start responding to patterns.

If you want to explore this connection between awareness and performance, check out the podcast episode above!

And if you’re ready to experience it in your own body, join me for Alissa’s Dance Class — a six-week mind-body rebellion that builds strength, joy, and awareness from the inside out.

Because your body isn’t a problem to solve. It’s a conversation to join.