Vibrant Coaching

What if your body isn’t the problem?

This is an important question when we’re talking about persistent symptoms.

Your symptoms are real. But the presence of a symptom doesn’t always mean there is ongoing tissue damage or structural disease causing it.

We now understand that the brain plays a central role in how the body detects, interprets and responds to threat. Pain and other bodily sensations can become amplified when the nervous system has learned that certain movements, situations or sensations are dangerous.

This is one of the principles behind neuroplastic symptoms.

It doesn’t mean symptoms are “all in your head.” Quite the opposite. They are produced by the brain as part of a genuine protective response — and, in some circumstances, that response can become overprotective.

Understanding this can be a powerful first step.

Because if the nervous system has learned to protect you through symptoms, perhaps it can learn something new. 💛

If this resonates with you, I’d love to help you understand what might be keeping your symptoms going and what you can do differently.

Lindsay | Vibrant Coaching
Pain Recovery Coach • SIRPA Practitioner • Pain Reprocessing Therapy

For a long time, I thought I just had to carry it all. 🤍

I lived with chronic pain for 10 years. Ten years of frustration, fear, uncertainty, trying to work out what was wrong with me and wondering if this was simply how life was going to be.
Eventually, I found a way out.
But one of the biggest things I learnt wasn't just about pain science or the nervous system.
I learnt that asking for help wasn't a vulnerability. It was a necessity.
I began to put down some of the things I had been carrying, one by one.
The fear.
The constant monitoring.
The pressure.
The “what ifs”.
The expectations I had placed on myself.
The belief that I had to figure it all out alone.
And slowly, something began to change.
I felt lighter.
And then I started to feel something I hadn't felt in a very long time…
Vibrancy. ✨
The funny thing was, I didn't have to go searching for it.
It had been there all along.
I just had to create enough space to feel it again.
And this is why finding the right support and the right person to walk alongside you can be so important. You don't have to carry everything alone, and you don't have to have all the answers before you reach out.
My greatest privilege now is helping other people who have been where I have been — helping them understand their body, feel safer, gently put down some of that weight and begin to reconnect with the life and vibrancy that is still within them.
If you're carrying a lot right now, please know this:
You don't have to put the whole backpack down today.
Sometimes we start with just one stone. 🤍
And if you need someone to walk beside you while you do that, I'm here.

Reach out. Let's talk.

“The sciatica was 10 out of 10 for me at the time. And it just slowly disappeared.”

Saragh had lived with back pain since she was 19. Following surgery, she developed severe sciatica and chronic pain that eventually forced her to stop working as a hairdresser and give up physical activity.

With support from SIRPA practitioner Lindsay Masvaleix, Saragh explored pain science, mind-body techniques and nervous system regulation.

Today, she is pain-free—and even planning to run a half marathon! 🏃‍♀️💗

Read Saragh’s inspiring recovery story:
https://www.sirpa.org/success-story/sarah-3/

Back to school… but what about YOU? 🎒✨

The end of the summer is upon us, and we’re all getting ready for back to school…

Uniforms ✔️
Lunchboxes ✔️
Labels on absolutely everything ✔️
Kids back into a routine… WHOOP WHOOP! 😂

And perhaps, just perhaps, September could be the month you put yourself back on the list too. 🤍

Imagine having an hour a week that is just for YOU — with me as your teacher, guide and cheerleader — learning the skills that can help you understand your body, your brain and your symptoms in a completely different way.

Together, we explore:

📚 Pain science education – understanding why the brain can produce and amplify pain, even when there is no ongoing tissue damage.

🧠 Neuroplastic conditions – learning how the brain and nervous system can become sensitised and how we can begin to change those learned patterns.

🌿 Nervous system regulation – practical tools to help your system move towards greater safety, calm and ease.

💛 Emotional regulation – understanding the connection between emotions, stress, thoughts and bodily sensations, and learning ways to respond differently.

✨ Practical coaching tools – simple skills you can take into everyday life to help you move towards more peace, calm and vibrancy in both mind and body.

And the best bit?

These aren’t just tools for a programme. They’re tools for LIFE. 🌱

So while everyone else is heading back to school…

Maybe it’s your turn to learn something new. 😉

Make September the month you stop putting yourself at the bottom of the list.

📩 Book a free, friendly discovery call with me and we can chat through how I can support you.

Your next chapter doesn’t need to start perfectly.
It just needs to start. 🤍

A gentle thought for today…

When we live with persistent pain, it’s easy to think the brain is only looking out for physical threats.
But your brain is constantly predicting and scanning for all kinds of things that might mean danger.

It might perceive:
• An uncomfortable conversation
• Fear of disappointing someone
• Financial worries
• Feeling judged or criticised
• A stressful day at work
• Conflict or uncertainty
• Feeling overwhelmed
• A lack of control
• A difficult memory
• Fear that your symptoms will return
• Constantly checking and monitoring your body

And it doesn't mean that stress is simply “causing” your pain.

But when your brain and nervous system are repeatedly receiving messages of “something isn’t safe”, your protective system can become more vigilant.
And a vigilant brain tends to notice sensations more.
It may also interpret ordinary sensations as more threatening.
This is one reason the fear → threat → sensation → more fear cycle can become so powerful.

So perhaps today, rather than only asking:
“What is my body doing?”
gently ask yourself:
“What else might my brain currently be interpreting as a threat?”
There is no need to fix everything.
Sometimes simply noticing the bigger picture is the beginning of creating a little more safety.
🤍

Shirley had lived with chronic lower back and knee pain for over 3 decades.

Through our work together, she made significant changes to her mobility, grew in confidence and has discovered so much more physical freedom in her life.

I couldn’t be happier or prouder of Shirley and everything she has achieved. 🥰

Her story is such a wonderful reminder that your age, or how long you’ve lived with pain, doesn’t have to define what’s possible for you.

If you’re wondering whether chronic pain recovery coaching could help you, book a free discovery call via my website www.vibrantcoaching.co.uk and let’s talk about the possibilities. ❤️

One of the biggest things I learned through my own chronic pain recovery is this:

It’s OK to slow down. 🤍

Pain naturally slows you down — but it made me ask myself… did I need to slow down anyway?

Was I living life constantly rushing from one thing to the next? Always doing, achieving, planning, fixing?

Modern life makes it so easy to fall into that pattern.

And maybe you have your own beliefs about rest too. That stopping means you’re lazy. That doing nothing is unproductive. That you should always be getting something done.

For me, chronic pain forced me to slow down.

And my recovery taught me that slowing down isn’t something to fear. It can actually be a valuable part of healing.

I still work. I have a family, children and plenty of commitments. Life hasn’t suddenly become quiet!

But I now deliberately choose more moments of calm — especially moments where I can slow down my mind.

Sometimes healing isn’t about doing more.

Sometimes it’s about learning that you’re allowed to pause. 🌿