It Takes a Zoomed-Out View to
Understand Why You Have Pain

Most people I see are generally in good health, yet they experience chronic musculoskeletal pain. The discomfort may show up in their back, neck, or shoulders, but those tight, sore muscles are not the real issue.

The muscles aren’t driving the problem. Muscles have no will of their own—they’re simply following orders from the nervous system. The nervous system is running your tension patterns in a way that *perpetuates* the pain. The nervous system is the boss.

 

Local Pain Is the Boiling Over of
Full-Body Tension Patterns

Tightness, soreness, and pain aren’t isolated issues—they’re signs of a deeper problem. Full-body tension patterns run in your body at a high idle. They simmer beneath the surface and *boil over* as localized pain and discomfort.

Your posture reveals the full-body tensions that your nervous system runs in the background. Just like background noise in a room that fades into the unnoticed, these patterns become your normal—they run outside of your awareness.

 

The Problem Is Too Much Tension

Your nervous system is good at learning. The tension patterns you are stuck in didn’t just show up overnight—they’re responses to stress, injury, repetitive motion, and all the creative ways you’ve had to use tension to get through life. Your system adapted.

The problem is, we get stuck in our adaptations. Once learned, these tension strategies begin to run automatically, like a skipping record needle wearing the groove deeper and deeper. They become ingrained habits, running outside of your conscious control.

 

The Roots of the Problem Are Hidden.
But There Is a Way to Find Them.

The deepest tension patterns—the root holdings in your body—can be found by looking for the lines that restrict even the gentlest breathing effort. You’re stuck in combinations of constriction and *confusion* about how to access specific lines and spaces for easy breathing.

The areas of your torso that you don’t use for breathing feel normal to you. You’ve adapted around these persistent background tensions. Over time, the problem becomes *invisible*.

But once you see these restrictions, you can teach those spaces to move again. With Eric Cooper’s specialized movements, you can show your brain that what was once locked down can become a place for free, easy breathing. You can *retrain* your nervous system to create a new normal with more breathing possibilities. You can *change* the root holdings.

Pain Is Only a Hint,
Not the Root of the Problem

Pain patterns point toward the real issue. To truly solve the problem, you need a *zoomed-out view*—one that looks beyond the painful area and into the underlying tension patterns.

The key is to address the *root holdings*—the deep tensions that all other tension patterns are built around.

Teach Your Brain to Release
the Patterns Keeping You Stuck

The problem isn’t tight muscles—it’s that your nervous system has forgotten how to let go of its learned tension habits. These automatic patterns run like a skipping record, wearing the groove deeper and keeping you locked in the same cycle.

You can change this. By using specific movements that target these deeply ingrained patterns, you can teach your nervous system to release tension and regain control. It’s a skill that will serve you for a lifetime.

Discover the Joy of
Moving Freely Again

This isn’t about pushing through pain or forcing change. It’s about using gentle, enjoyable movements to show your body a new way to move.

These movements are designed to help you *unwind* the patterns keeping you stuck. You’ll learn to free yourself from the habits causing your pain and rediscover the joy of moving freely again.