Episode 37: Besty Baker-Bold, PT, CMPT, PRC, CMTPT/DN

The Postural Restoration Podcast

In this episode of the Postural Restoration Podcast I am joined by Betsy Baker-Bold who resides in Everett, WA. Betsy was pivotal in bringing PRI to the pacific northwest alongside her own journey. Betsy took her first course Myokinematic Restoration in 2010 when her employer at the time, Olympic Physical Therapy was hosting. Coming from a heavily manual based educational background Betsy and her colleagues were introduce to this new neurological perspective and left with the question of what to do with it. Betsy recalls these struggles from a clinical perspective of not only exploring asymmetry as a whole but then translating it with the colleagues around her to apply it to approaches they were already utilizing. Betsy played a role in our return to WA and continuing to host courses there, as she was hungry for more and saw this as a missing link in her skill set.

Betsy has always considered a bigger picture, holistic approach and saw a way for that to be done through a PRI lens. Following some changes within this outpatient clinic, Betsy started her sole practice "Bold Performance Solutions" in 2018 in an attempt to offer an integrated approach to address positional, neurological, repatterning in a one on one manner. For her this includes identifying the needs of the person in front of her, and helping them identify themselves and their own needs. Often including things like lifestyle changes to illicit long term change. Betsy has incorporated her training as a health coach into the lives of her patients by empowering not only the way individuals view themselves, but in turn their sense of self through positive guidance, and incorporation of PRI positional activities to increase ones awareness of their place in space.

Betsy has a storied history with downhill skiing and from a young age coached and trained others in this sport. She not only has a passion for the sport itself, spending as much time on the mountainside as possible but also applying the concepts of respiration, alternation and position to this activity with those she trains. Over the decades Betsy has worked with all levels of skiers including time as the Physical Therapist for the U.S. Ski team and Austrian national team as well as other high level athletes. We discuss the differences in applying PRI with this population vs. those who may be just trying to sense things for the first time. Betsy discusses her approach in helping anyone along this spectrum of performance be able to sense themselves better via control of their positioning and regulation of respiration. Often finding that whether its a general population patient or a performance athlete, everyone will benefit from "stacking" a thorax over a pelvis and being able to sense themselves on the ground and in the space around them. The difference being in the appropriate time to make these changes to someones system in front of you, without disturbing their reliance on previously patterned performance.

Through her lifestyle and health coaching, sensory integration, and journey alongside Postural Restoration as it has evolved, Betsy's perspective is one we can all learn from. She not only helps those she works with, but has lived these concepts and gone through her own journey finding a renewed sense of self within the world around her. Providing us all with tremendous insight into incorporating PRI concepts in our lives and through a unique passion and strong history alongside those who incorporate it on skis.