What Your Pain May Be Telling You About the Rest of Your Body – An Interview with Lauren Haythe
Lauren Haythe is a practitioner of Japanese acupuncture and structural bodywork who approaches the body through the lens of connection, alignment, and individual patterns. Drawing from her studies in Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, human dissection, and structural bodywork, she explores how posture, fascial pathways, nervous system function, and internal health interact within the whole person.
In this interview, Lauren shares her perspective on blending Japanese acupuncture with hands-on bodywork, the relationship between structure and energy, and why understanding the body as an interconnected system can change the way we approach pain, healing, and long-term well-being.
Lauren Haythe, Founder of Yutori Wellness
How would you describe the way you bring Japanese acupuncture and structural bodywork together in one treatment?
As I was making my way through acupuncture school, I was introduced to the Traditional Japanese Acupuncture style of practice. What drew me to this particular style over others was how hands-on it was. Because it was developed by blind acupuncturists, it naturally became a fairly hands-on way of practicing. Since I began my practice in the structural bodywork world, I have a feeling this hands-on approach was why I was so drawn to the Japanese style of medicine.
Returning to the question of how I bring structural bodywork and Japanese acupuncture into one treatment, I suppose the best answer would be that they were never separate to me. After studying posture and alignment for so long, I now can’t notice as soon as someone walks into the clinic what alignment or pattern they live within. When observing someone’s posture, you are already observing their meridian health as well as fascial pulls. Take the infamous forward head posture, for example; yes, of course it has to do with the fascial connections in the body, but you’re also observing someone’s nervous system, any congestion of the meridians, as well as the internal rhythms they present with.
When palpating the meridians, you are already gathering intel about the fascial glide or whether or not these neurovascular bundles have enough breathing room. Let’s take, for example, someone who has come in seeking help with their anxiety. This particular person has forward head posture and also complains of constipation and trouble sleeping. Their anxiety portrays itself through shortness of breath, sweating, and heart palpitations. This person’s anxiety is certainly contributing to their posture, but their posture is also absolutely contributing to their anxiety.
What did studying human dissection change about the way you understand and treat the body?
The first thing that stood out to me was that we’re so obviously not a lever system with a bunch of “origins and insertions” explaining our movements. We’re much more interesting than that! You can see how each of us has these unique workings below the surface, and if one listens closely, you truly can understand how these workings function or how dysfunction affects not only the local area but has repercussions system-wide. No two books are the same; you cannot step into the same river twice, and everybody is unique with a story to tell and interpret.
Where do you see the clearest connection between fascial pathways and acupuncture meridians in clinical practice?
This is a hot topic! Are these myofascial connections in the body the same as the meridians? I’m not sure we can claim that, to be honest. Is there overlap between the Bladder Meridian and the Superficial Back Line, yes of course. But not exactly. Maybe the broader Tendinomuscular meridians are more similar to these fascial connections, but again not precisely. I suppose I wonder if it’s necessary to make those conclusions? “The Lateral Line is the Gall Bladder Meridian!” But is it? I think there is overlap for sure, and I find the idea that they entirely map alluring. But any good detective will tell you (and, in fact, is hopefully bound by the idea) that you have to follow the evidence.
Sometimes you want someone to be the culprit and the deoxyribonucleic acid DNA just isn’t a match. When we compare fascial pathways and acupuncture meridians, there is overlap, but we’re just scratching the surface of how our connections work, and we’re not there yet.
What can get lost when healthcare separates the body into individual systems and specialties?
So much! It’s exceptionally difficult to section the body off into different systems and parts. When that’s done, it’s more done so for the convenience of the healthcare provider than for the patient. Weren’t the use of stirrups invented for the ease of the doctor catching the babe? Same as far as anatomy and our body. Having said that, by sectioning the body off, we have learned a great deal about each system. Let’s face it, if someone needs brain surgery, I definitely want a brain surgeon in charge of that operation. However, if we want to get to the root of digestive health and depression, we will need some overlap, please. Or, at the very least, communication between providers.
We all have the same goal, no? I know there are egos who want to be the one who provides the solution, and don’t get me wrong, when someone claims you “fixed their lower back,” it feels good. That needs to be water off a duck's back, if you will, and our focus needs to remain on who is in front of us. We need to acknowledge how our body systems overlap, cohabitate, and live well under one roof.
More importantly, we need to understand how these systems affect one another. The simplest example would be the relationship between digestive health and the mind. I don’t really see anything wrong with treating the gut via the brain and the brain via the gut – even if that means blending Eastern and Western protocols. We know that an unhealthy gut microbiome is linked to stress, anxiety, and depression. If we treat one and not the other, we run the risk of missing the root cause. There’s something to be said about seeing the forest for the trees. If you lose the forest and only treat each tree, so to speak, as an individual problem, you have lost the bigger picture the body is painting for you. You have lost the ability to treat the patient in the best way possible – and the priority should be to serve the patient.
Why do you think the hands-on nature of Japanese acupuncture is still poorly understood?
I get the impression that the fact that there are many different styles of acupuncture is news to people. Fair enough; it wasn’t until I went to acupuncture school that I realized truly how many unique styles there are! The history of Japanese acupuncture being heavily influenced by blind practitioners is unknown to many, and this is a very clear reason behind why we are hands-on as opposed to just looking. We palpate to find a specific acupuncture point, and that point may be slightly different in each human. It’s more important to find the point unique to the individual in front of you, rather than the precise location indicated in a textbook.
When pain appears in one area, what clues tell you to look elsewhere in the body?
This is when I go back to the famous Ida Rolf saying: when the victim cries wolf, the suspect is nice and quiet. Meaning, unless you have a direct trauma to a particular area, where you’re feeling this discomfort is usually a result of something else. The classic example is our friends sitting in front of computers all day. It’s exhausting! So eventually you round towards the screen, drawing you forward. The tissues and meridians in your upper back get locked in an overly lengthened position while the tissues and meridians in the area of your pecs and chest are getting shortened. You’ll start to have neck pain or that nag between your shoulder blades – where the tissue is locked in a long position. However, that pain and discomfort needs to be eased by opening where their pecs are short and pulling rather than massaging where the pain is. That and figuring out a new way to stare at a screen!
How can scar tissue continue to affect the body long after an injury or surgery has healed?
The most important thing to the human body is to put you back together as fast as possible. We should appreciate this goal. If you’re in a yoga class going for splits, perhaps before you’re ready for the monkey god, you will most likely tear a weak point in your hamstrings. Your body will repair and fix those tears as soon as possible so you can survive in the wilderness out there! It’s not particularly concerned if you want to try splits again next week. Similar to Ida’s quote of victim and wolf, the scar tissue does have a profound effect, and not just at the location of the scar or where the injury is. The scar tissue itself is not just limited to the tissues of the scar. A hamstring tear, for example, will change the way you walk or sit, and that will leave a mark on your hip socket, the meniscus in your knee, or where your heel strikes the ground. Could an appendicitis surgical scar have an effect on digestion? Why not? We’re not just a pulley system – we’re a tensegrity system where we are intertwined with ourselves in an intimate way.
What does the idea of yutori, creating more space and less forcing, mean in the way you treat people?
We all need a little Yutori in our lives right now. We are bombarded with screens staring at us, deadlines at work, in-laws arriving soon, bills to be paid, and groceries to be bought. The concept of Yutori is leaving a little more breathing room. Try eating till you’re 80% full, not to the max, and notice if you enjoy the process of digesting food a little more. Arrive for a meeting 10 minutes early so you’re not rushed getting in the door. We’re cramming ourselves on the tube, on buses, or in gridlock traffic, all while the radio is blasting, a screen is showing you where to go, and someone decides to honk their horn. As soon as you enter Yutori Wellness, I want you to feel a little more space. Space around you physically, space in your mind, space to breathe. To make life a little easier to navigate, we need some breathing room. At Yutori, we are not bound by how many clients we squeeze into a day or how many clients we can see at once. One client, one practitioner, no rush.
What would you like readers to understand differently about the relationship between structure, energy, and whole-body health?
I would love people to recognize that structure and energy are much the same thing. Don’t squirm away from the word energy – remember Albert Einstein worked with energy, and he’s widely regarded as a genius. Also, don’t assign structure with rigidity. The key to whole body health is ensuring the structure is able to hold your being gently and kindly. Are you able to withstand gravity without discomfort? Are you able to move with glide and not anxiety? It’s all interconnected, and there are many ways to work towards whole body health. Personally, I have found Japanese Acupuncture and Moxibustion to be the language I love to speak, but there are others such as Shiatsu, Kobido & Reiki.
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