August 26, 2024 • 30 mins
In this episode of the Mom Owned and Operated podcast, Rita Suzanne and Nelin Krull discuss raising a family, running a business and remembering yourself.
Nelin Krull is the co-owner of Myofascial Canada. NeIin completed her Master’s of Science in Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto. Upon graduating she was attracted to the fast pace and acute nature of patients in the hospital setting.
For 6 years, Nelin worked as a Physical Therapist in her local Hospital in various areas including Surgery and ER. After the birth of her daughter, Nelin decided the pace of the hospital didn’t fit with her young family any longer and took on the role of Clinic Director & Co-Owner of Myofascial Release Mississauga, a chronic pain clinic started by herself and her husband Justin, also a Physical Therapist and Expert Myofascial Release Practitioner.
Nelin is an advocate for Women’s Health and ties that passion into the practices of the clinic. Her goal is to empower as many people (especially women) as possible with the tools to self-heal both physical pain and emotional trauma through Myofascial Release.
You can connect with Nelin locally in Mississauga, ON Canada, on their website, on Instagram and Facebook.
Send a text message! Email, if you want a reply though. ;)
P.S. You can find more interviews at momownedandoperated.com and learn about working with Rita at ritasuzanne.com/apply/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rita Suzanne (00:04):
I am Rita, suzanne , and this is Mom Owned and
Operated.
Today I have my guest Nellynwith me.
I'm so excited to chat with you.
Please tell us all about you,your business and your family.
Nelin Krull (00:16):
Of course.
Yes, thank you so much forhaving me.
So my name is Nellyn Krull.
I am a registered physicaltherapist up in Canada.
I'm in just outside of Torontoin Ontario, and my husband and I
co-own a practice here calledMyofascial Release.
Mrs Saga and we're also theco-founders of Myofascial Canada
, so we started our jointpractice back in 2020, but we've
(00:41):
been practicing for just over12 years together and we have a
young family.
We have two young children.
One is I have a seven and ahalf year old girl and a three
year old boy.
So very, very busy and and it's, you know, it's that's like
(01:04):
being a business owner and beinga mom.
Rita Suzanne (01:07):
Yeah, definitely.
So, um, how was it, like, whatmade you decide to start your
business and how did that happen?
Nelin Krull (01:16):
It.
Yeah, it was a bit of aninteresting story.
So, um, when my husband and Igraduated from our master's
degree, we both kind of went indifferent directions.
We're both physical therapists.
I went more the hospital route,so I was doing a lot of acute
care doing, I was working onsurgery and I also worked in the
(01:36):
ER for quite some time and myhusband did went strictly to
private practice.
He knew from the get-go thatthat's what he wanted to do and
he was lucky enough to have beenexposed to this technique that
we use called myofascial release, at one of his clinical
placements as a student.
(01:56):
So he just pursued that for thenext seven or so years and I
was in the hospital.
Seven or so years and I was inthe hospital and I was decently
happy there until I got pregnantwith my first child and then
the demands were just so, so, sointense, like and I'm sure you
(02:17):
know yourself in the audience isvery aware of like what
caregiver burnout is, especiallywhen it comes to healthcare,
and it was already present backthen, not before COVID.
So I was working way too much 10hour days doing a lot of heavy
lifting, and I just didn't knowif I could continue.
(02:40):
I did go back to work after Ihad my daughter for a year and
it was torture Just a little bit.
I mean, I love helping people,it is so fulfilling, but at the
same time it was just reallyhard.
So I decided I couldn'tcontinue at the hospital anymore
(03:01):
.
And so at the same time myhusband around that time decided
he wanted to open his own solopractice.
He just wasn't finding what hewas looking for you know,
working for other people inother clinics and so he started
a solo practice and I helped himset that up, because he's so
good at treating clients buthe's not good at anything
administrative.
So the business just took offand he realized that after a
(03:27):
year that he needed to expandand that he desperately needed
my help in order to do that, sowe decided to open our practice
together in January of 2020.
Rita Suzanne (03:40):
And what made it so hard for you going back to
work?
Was it just the demands of thejob or just like trying to
juggle all of it together?
Nelin Krull (04:09):
Yeah, a little bit of both.
I think the demands of the jobare intense.
When I went back, I was workingin the ER, so I was doing 12
hour shifts, basically eight toeight, and so those were like my
daughter's waking hours, like Iwould.
She would just have woken upwhen I left and she would
already be in bed when I gothome.
Rita Suzanne (04:17):
So I didn't see her on the days that I worked
and that was really hard.
And then, yeah, er is just it'sa wild.
It's a wild thing, I don't knowhow better to describe it.
I'm sure it's super stressful.
I remember when I was workingin corporate and just I hated
dropping my son off and justleaving him there, and so I can
only imagine you not getting tosee her and how you know.
That would, you know, be somuch pressure in addition to
having such a stressful job.
(04:38):
So I'm sure there's differentstresses when you have a
business and all of that stuffand you know.
So let's talk about myofascialrelease.
How let's you know?
Because we talked briefly aboutit and I'm a little bit aware
of what it is, but I'd love tohear a little bit more of what
(04:59):
it is and how it's beneficial.
Nelin Krull (05:02):
Of course yes.
So myofascial release techniqueis the way we do.
It is a sustained pressureapproach.
So before I get into what thetechnique is, I want to explain
a little bit about what thefascia is, because I feel like
that's important for people tounderstand.
So your fascia is the connectivetissue of your body.
It is a three-dimensional webthat, basically, is continuous
(05:26):
from head to toe and it supportsevery single structure in the
body.
So a lot of times when peoplethink about fascia, if they have
some awareness of it, theyoften think of it as like the
sausage casing, you know, orlike if you've ever cooked a
piece of raw chicken, that sortof like white sheath that you
kind of pull away In livingtissue.
(05:46):
It actually is not just thecasing, it is integrated into
every cell.
So it supports your muscles andbones, of course, but also your
internal organs, your braintissue, your blood vessels and
your nerves.
So it touches every structurein the body.
And because it's continuous,the way we see the body is you
(06:11):
can't compartmentalize it, sincethe fascia touches everything.
So this fascial web we call it,when it's healthy and happy,
everything's moving and glidingfreely, everything's all good.
When it's restricted, it getsstuck down.
So this sort of web gets stuckand if you can imagine it's
(06:32):
similar to like bubble gum inhair.
It gets stuck down and thatsticky area alters all the lines
of tension and force in thebody and so all of our typical
biomechanical patterns ofefficiency become completely
inefficient and so it can createthese far reaching effects
(06:56):
where you have this restrictionand pain in one area of your
body but it's creating all kindsof weird symptoms elsewhere.
So the number one being pain,but it's creating all kinds of
weird symptoms elsewhere.
So the number one being pain.
A lot of people will experiencethat first, but you can.
The thing about fascia isbecause it touches every
structure.
You can get really weirdsymptoms, like you know, like
nerve issues.
You can get blood flow issues,you can like some of the things
(07:19):
that people come to us to seeare like IBS or fertility issues
.
So it's because it's so farreaching, it can have such a big
impact on the body when itcomes to myofascial release
essentially the way to get ridof that sticky glueiness that
the fascia gets stuck in, toapply what we call gentle
(07:42):
sustained pressure.
So we find areas of restrictionin the body and they typically
present as really hot, reallytender, really firm, or even
sometimes we can feel thatthey're vibratory, really firm,
or even sometimes we can feel,uh, that they're vibratory, yes.
And so we place our hands inthat area and apply gentle
pressure so just meet the tissuewhere it's out, so we're not
forcing anything, we're not likeum and, and hold that pressure
(08:09):
for at least five minutes andthen five minutes that time is
key to allow that really sticky,gluey substance that's holding
the fascia down to actually sortof quote unquote melt and
become less sticky so that nowthe fascia can glide again and
all of the pressure that it wascreating on all those pain
(08:30):
sensitive structures around itis relieved.
So not only are you relievingthat pain, but you're also
relieving the pressure on thenerves and the blood vessels and
all the lymphatic tissue andall that, but and it takes
repeated treatments, though, tomake it actually go back to its
original self.
Rita Suzanne (08:49):
or does it ever go back?
How has that worked?
Nelin Krull (08:57):
or does it ever go back?
How does that work?
It does.
Yeah, it's totally reversible.
It tends to be that as we sortof accumulate experiences in our
life as we age, that weaccumulate myofascial
restrictions as well.
So it's rare that there's justone.
And so if you think about thatfrom a structural point of view,
if you have one myofascialrestriction, you release that.
Think about that from astructural point of view If you
have one myofascial restriction,you release that.
(09:18):
Now that area is moving well.
But now you may notice inanother area that you feel
restriction because now it'slike it has been freed to some
extent and it's like wait, Iwant to do more.
So it doesn't take a lot ofsessions to get to those areas
because there's a lot of fullbody techniques that we do, a
lot of sessions to get to thoseareas because there's a lot of
full body techniques that we do.
Rita Suzanne (09:43):
But it is totally reversible and it is really
quite effective for any kind ofpain.
So the first time that I heardabout it and I'm sure that like
you've heard this before butwhen the whole fascia blaster
came out, like obviously whatare your thoughts on that?
And like that's, when I got, Idove like really into it,
because when I was young Istarted to have cellulite just
out of nowhere, you know, and Iwas like this is wild, you know,
(10:08):
especially because I was veryathletic and I was, you know, in
shape and I just couldn'tunderstand where it was coming
from.
Nelin Krull (10:16):
Yeah, so in that context, tools like that they
tend to promote more of like anaggressive, forceful type of
pressure and unfortunately, likethat will break up a little bit
of the elastic componentinitially but won't help you
with that sticky groundsubstance, right, um, so what
(10:41):
ends up happening is you getsome temporary relief and then
it sort of just keeps comingback.
Um context of cellulitis.
Um, essentially what cellulitisis is basically just like um
restricted fascia creating thesepockets of fatty that um reduce
that sort of smooth appearanceof the skin.
Um, so release is actually anexcellent tool for cellulitis.
(11:05):
Um more of a hands-on practice,you can also do it with some
tools at home.
We've taught many people how todo that Um's, but it's much,
much less aggressive and muchmore pleasant to do.
Rita Suzanne (11:18):
I think over time, people have realized that you
know, all of that bruising andthings that people were seeing
is that they were being a littlebit too aggressive and that
maybe it wasn't as effective asor maybe they weren't following
directions I don't know.
Nelin Krull (11:33):
I think what it is, too, is, if you're feeling that
kind of you know the sensationthat people say like when they
leave a treatment of some kind,that they felt the next day they
felt like the hit by truck.
It's because it's that thataggression creates so much
inflammation in the body, and ifwe want to truly heal, what we
(11:54):
need to do is bring thatinflammation down.
Actually, so oftentimes we'resort of working against our goal
.
Rita Suzanne (12:01):
Yeah, and anytime you get any type of massage
you're supposed to be, you know,hydrating again and all of
these things.
So maybe they weren'tnecessarily fueling their body
the way that they were supposedto be.
I don't know.
Yeah, I found, I just found thewhole thing really fascinating
(12:24):
because she I believe she waslike a physical therapist, as
you know, and and trained indoing all of these things as
well, and so I thought, you know, this is just a really
interesting concept and I'vegotten massages that were
specific to fascia releasebecause of, you know, like I
(12:45):
said, the tightness that I wouldfeel because I love working out
and but I always had tightnessin my hamstrings and so having
those massages would help thattightness and all of the extra
stretching and stuff, and so,you know, that has definitely
helped over time, but I thinkthe massaging is is wonderful.
(13:06):
So what are some things thatpeople can do, maybe at home if
they can't come all the way toToronto to see you?
Nelin Krull (13:13):
Of course and you know what we do actually offer a
program for people to fly in,get a week of intensive
treatment and then go home adifferent person.
But if you are just startingout at home, there's a couple of
tips that I can give you, thenumber one being that time
component.
Any kind of stretch that you'redoing at home, hold it for at
(13:34):
least five minutes and so, offthe bat, that does sound really
intense, right, but that'sbecause typical conventional
stretching it encourages you tolike, go to the end of your
range and then like, push, like,really push into that end of
range.
In order to sustain a fiveminute stretch, what you need to
(13:54):
go is just to that firstbarrier of tension.
Don't worry so much about howmuch range of motion you're
getting, how much your stretchlooks like, the picture of what
it's supposed to look like, it'smore of a felt sensation.
So going inward, really feelingwhere that first barrier is,
(14:15):
and just holding there, usinggravity to help you, is really
beneficial as well.
So you're not stuck in a youknow, bracing pattern with the
rest of your body just to beable to stretch one part.
So something as simple as, forexample, a hamstring stretch.
If you don't have that fullrange of motion to just be able
(14:35):
to sit with your legs extendedand bend over your legs, if you
do, great, just get into thatposition and let your upper body
hang and wait that five minutes.
But if you don't let the kneesbend a little bit, you can hold
on to like a yoga bolster or apillow or even one of your couch
(14:55):
cushions.
Um, put that on your lap andthen rest your upper body on
that, um, so you're partiallysupported, and then hold that
for five minutes.
Um, if that's too difficult,flip it the other way.
Do legs up the wall again.
You don't have to get your bumall the way into the wall, just
find that first barrier oftension and then, just like, let
(15:16):
gravity do the work right, andwhen you feel that, stretch to
to actually relax and to yeah,yeah I love that so are you able
to do?
you take your kids to work withyou, like what is an actual day
(15:37):
in your work life looking likeyeah, um, my, so my daughter is
in school, um, but my and myson's in daycare.
But during the summer, um, youknow, I have the luxury of being
able to not have to put mydaughter in full-time camp.
Uh, so, uh, so, um, sometimesshe does come to work with me
actually, um, it's just, youknow, like folding linens in the
(16:00):
back or like putting them inthe rooms.
She actually really enjoysdoing those things.
I've asked her to help me withlike more administrative tasks
before, like scanning documentsand stuff, and she's like no,
she's not interested in that,it's boring, um, but she
actually does enjoy coming towork with me.
I get very little done whenshe's not interested in that,
it's boring, but she actuallydoes enjoy coming to work with
(16:20):
me.
I get very little done whenshe's there, of course, but on
the days where she's at schooland my son is also in daycare,
it usually looks moreadministrative.
So I spend a good amount oftime doing consult calls with
new clients and then a lot moreof the background scheduling,
staff management.
Staff management is kind of ahuge piece of what we do.
We have, um, about eight staffright now, and so like managing
(16:44):
all of their needs as well.
Um and then, uh, you know doingthese sorts of things talking
to new people, networking,marketing, accounting, social
media, all of the above.
Rita Suzanne (16:59):
So, speaking of that, what would you say is the
hardest thing about running abusiness?
Because I always say thatpeople assume that when they
start their businesses, thatthey're just going to be doing
the thing that they're going tobe doing right.
When they start theirbusinesses, that they're just
going to be doing the thing thatthey're going to be doing Right
.
So what, now that you have todo all of the things, what is
the hardest thing about runningyour own business?
Nelin Krull (17:23):
Uh, easily, social media media it is.
It's a beast.
I um if I do get a little bitof help with it, uh, because I
have to.
I am not a social mediamarketer.
I can come up with some ideas,but keeping like feeding that
funnel constantly, constantlywith fresh content, or even
(17:43):
recycled content or just contentin general content creation, is
very time consuming.
Not only does it take a lot oftime, but it's a long game.
You have to keep at it.
Um, it's not an instant rewardand um, and it's hard to know
what's what's topical, whatpeople want to hear about.
(18:04):
Every, every time you'recreating that content.
Um, so that's easily thehardest thing.
And then, second to that mightjust be staff management, but
because there's everybody's sodifferent.
Rita Suzanne (18:17):
Yes, and there's so many things.
There's always something goingon, I'm sure.
I remember when I was incorporate and I was in
management and there was alwayssomething and you know you had
to deal with um at the time.
So I can only imagine havingeight.
I think I was overseeing fiveat the time.
So yeah, so, okay.
(18:40):
So if another mom came to youand she wanted to start her own
business, what would your advicebe to?
Nelin Krull (18:47):
her.
That's a good question.
If I'm being perfectly honest,I would say, um, stick to your
strengths, like, stay in yourzone of genius, stay in your own
lane and whatever is outside ofthat realm, either bring on a
partner or hire out, becauseotherwise what ends up happening
(19:09):
is you spread yourself way toothin and then, um, you, you, you
, you, you.
You don't have that momentum,that drive to keep going in your
business.
I love being a physicaltherapist.
That being said, I don't carrya clinical caseload because if I
did, all of the otheradministrative stuff would fall
(19:30):
by the wayside, and I actuallydon't mind it.
I help people through otherways, through educating them,
through bringing them into ourdoors and then our therapists
take over from there.
But I actually have alwaysenjoyed the business side of
things.
When I was back, when I wasyounger and pursuing, you know,
my degrees, I actually had areally hard time deciding
(19:52):
between, like, business andaccounting versus health care.
So this kind of gives me thebest of both worlds.
Rita Suzanne (19:58):
So this kind of gives me the best of both worlds
, right, and I think it's goodbecause you're educated in the
actual aspects of the businessso that you're able to go out
and make educated decisions andtalk about it in a way that
someone who isn't reallyeducated would be able to.
So I think that that's amazing.
(20:19):
So tell everyone what are youlistening to or reading right
now?
What is what's on your list?
Nelin Krull (20:26):
All right.
So right now I'm listening toslash reading, because I mostly
just do audio books BadassHabits by Jen Sincero.
Rita Suzanne (20:37):
Love it.
Nelin Krull (20:37):
Yeah, her, her whole series.
Rita Suzanne (20:39):
I love her.
She's like my slave.
Nelin Krull (20:42):
Yeah, and listening to her is just such a joy.
She's so funny, but really Ithink the humor helps get all of
the information across.
So that's what I'm readingright now and then listening to.
I do listen to some podcasts.
I was recently just listeningto the Jay Shetty podcast, but
(21:06):
I'm kind of all over the placewith that.
I'll listen to many things.
Rita Suzanne (21:11):
I'll listen to different things, just based on
topic, and then I'll just jumparound whatever I'm interested
in.
I don't necessarily.
I don't know that if Isubscribe too many.
I just will listen based on thetopic.
I think a lot of people do that.
When I first started, though, Iwas die hard on Amy Porterfield
and Pat Flynn for smart passiveincome, and I used to listen to
(21:35):
the Fizzle Show.
I don't even know if they'restill around, but I those were
the three that I would listen toon my way to work.
We're talking 10 years ago, soI those were the three that kind
of inspired me to actuallystart my business, because they
were always talking aboutmarketing and business and they
would talk about you know,websites, and I thought I can, I
(22:00):
could do this.
I didn't even know how to makea website at the and I thought I
can, I could do this.
I didn't even know how to makea website at the time I was.
I had to teach myself how to dothis, but I was like you know
what I'm, you know I'm techsavvy, I can do it.
I don't know what I wasthinking.
Nelin Krull (22:14):
I'm but.
I did it.
You can really learn on yourown.
I you know, like I learned howto build my website, I've
learned how to do payroll andaccounting and social media and
basically human resources Right.
Rita Suzanne (22:30):
It just it's just going to take us a little bit
longer to do it Right.
And even like building websitesfor other people, it took me a
little bit longer because youhave to understand the branding
in order to make it for somebodyelse.
You can't just jump in thereand say, ok, you know, there has
to be some aspects of who it'sfor and all of these things.
(22:53):
Okay.
So, as I mentioned before andas I always tell everybody, the
main reason why I started thispodcast was because I was
struggling with, like somepersonal trauma and I was
wondering how other moms wereable to do all of the things,
because I just could not do allof the things.
(23:16):
I mean I could barely do any ofthe things, all of the things.
I mean I could barely do any ofthe things.
So I love to know how you areable to like what are you doing
for yourself.
You know, as moms, we oftenneglect ourselves and so.
I want to know how are youtaking care of yourself?
What are you doing for you?
Nelin Krull (23:34):
So, yeah, that that's a really important
question to ask.
I think lots of moms feel thatway.
I definitely felt that way invarious points in my career,
particularly after my son wasfirst born and I had two kids.
I think that there are seasonsin life where it is just hard.
There was, you know, like rightafter my son was born.
(23:56):
There was no getting out of thefeeding schedule and all of
those things.
But outside of that, I thinkthat the number one thing that
women should really, really,really, really work hard on is
delegating tasks.
There is no reason why you haveto do it all Um, it's, it's.
(24:21):
You know, if you have a goodsupport network, which is key to
be able to delegate those tasks, um, it will make your load
much easier to bear.
And again, you then you get tostay in your kind of zone of
genius, um.
So I will say, um.
One thing that I've donerecently is um, I hired an
assistant um to manage some ofthe day-to-day clinic operations
so that I can work moreremotely, which allows me to go
(24:44):
for a walk in the middle of theday while listening to a podcast
, or turn on some yoga and dolike 15, 20 minutes of yoga
whenever I feel I need it.
Do my myofascial self-carewhenever I feel I need it.
Myofascial self-care whenever Ifeel I need it.
(25:05):
And you know, just like, getthat little bit extra work-life
balance by being able to havethe flexibility in my schedule
to sort of pause Okay, I need tohandle something to do with,
like a family issue and thencome back to work.
You and then come back to work.
Rita Suzanne (25:20):
I recently heard this analogy and I thought it
was so, just so, so brilliant,and it was basically that we
should work like the lion andnot the cow, and I don't know if
(25:41):
you've ever heard this before,but I thought that that was so
amazing because, um, essentially, and so I have to tell myself
don't be the cow, don't be thecow right, so the cow.
this has nothing to do withanything else, except the cow is
constantly grazing, right, it'sconstantly grazing the lion.
It doesn't graze it in a wait,it's waiting until it sees its
(26:02):
prey, and then it's saving itsenergy until it's ready to
expend its energy.
And that way then it has theenergy to pounce.
And so the way that would workis then, when it's time for you
to go, you have the energy to go, but the cow can't go because
it's constantly expending thatenergy grazing.
(26:25):
And so I thought that was sobrilliant, because a lot of
times, as women, we'reconstantly trying to do all the
things.
Everything, even by grazing, isslow.
Right, it's a slow paced thing,but it still is expending your
energy.
And so I and I thought tomyself like that is so profound,
(26:46):
like I can't even think of ananother way to put it except
don't be the cow and even if youthink about that analogy is
like how many blades of grassyou go through in a day.
Nelin Krull (26:58):
I'd say that's probably equal to how many
different thoughts andresponsibilities we're holding
onto in our heads every singleday.
You know from you know likeschool responsibilities for your
kids to literally the groceries, taking care of your house and
then work on top of that likethe mental load we carry is
(27:19):
intense.
Rita Suzanne (27:21):
Anything that you can delegate from that
perspective is huge just huge,and so I'm always telling people
like as soon as you can hire anassistant, that'll help you
grow fast, and so I you know,much faster.
And a lot of people areresistant to do that just
because of control issues or andor financial issues.
(27:42):
Oftentimes, though, it'scontrol like they don't want to
give up in the control of doingthings, and I get that, but it
will help you grow so muchfaster.
Plus, it'll take off so muchpressure from you.
So it's been such a pleasuregetting to know you.
Where can everyone find you?
Where are you online?
Nelin Krull (28:04):
Likewise, thank you .
You can find us atmyofascialcanadacom.
We're also on social media, onInstagram and Facebook, at
Myofascial Mississauga.
Rita Suzanne (28:16):
And on your website you have.
You shared a free gift with me.
Tell me about that really fast,because I want people to like
go and grab that as well.
Nelin Krull (28:24):
Yeah, of course.
So what I've shared with you isit's basically a two pager,
really simple, easy to followdocument of the types of
myofascial stretches that youcan do at home to get that
really deep, intense and longlasting release of the fascia in
your body.
So lots of really good wholebody techniques in there that
(28:46):
really anyone can benefit from,because we've all got
restrictions.
But specifically, this guideI've given you helps people to
learn how to use myofascial ball, and we have these myofascial
balls.
But you can get them at, likeyou know, a toy store, a kid's
store, dollar store, whatever,just basically an air filled
rubber ball, and you can use itto spot treat wherever you need,
(29:10):
or you can also use it to domore of a holistic whole body
technique.
So it gives you all the how toguidelines and then a visual
representation of where to putthe ball and what positions to
get in, and it's pretty much alldone on the floor.
So it's quite relaxing.
Rita Suzanne (29:27):
Nice, love it Well .
Thank you so much.
And just one more time.
Your website ismyofascialcanadacom.
Yes, all right, Perfect.
Thank you again for being aguest.
Thanks for having me.
I am Rita, suzanne , and this is Mom Owned and
Operated.
Today I have my guest Nellynwith me.
I'm so excited to chat with you.
Please tell us all about you,your business and your family.
Nelin Krull (00:16):
Of course.
Yes, thank you so much forhaving me.
So my name is Nellyn Krull.
I am a registered physicaltherapist up in Canada.
I'm in just outside of Torontoin Ontario, and my husband and I
co-own a practice here calledMyofascial Release.
Mrs Saga and we're also theco-founders of Myofascial Canada
, so we started our jointpractice back in 2020, but we've
(00:41):
been practicing for just over12 years together and we have a
young family.
We have two young children.
One is I have a seven and ahalf year old girl and a three
year old boy.
So very, very busy and and it's, you know, it's that's like
(01:04):
being a business owner and beinga mom.
Rita Suzanne (01:07):
Yeah, definitely.
So, um, how was it, like, whatmade you decide to start your
business and how did that happen?
Nelin Krull (01:16):
It.
Yeah, it was a bit of aninteresting story.
So, um, when my husband and Igraduated from our master's
degree, we both kind of went indifferent directions.
We're both physical therapists.
I went more the hospital route,so I was doing a lot of acute
care doing, I was working onsurgery and I also worked in the
(01:36):
ER for quite some time and myhusband did went strictly to
private practice.
He knew from the get-go thatthat's what he wanted to do and
he was lucky enough to have beenexposed to this technique that
we use called myofascial release, at one of his clinical
placements as a student.
(01:56):
So he just pursued that for thenext seven or so years and I
was in the hospital.
Seven or so years and I was inthe hospital and I was decently
happy there until I got pregnantwith my first child and then
the demands were just so, so, sointense, like and I'm sure you
(02:17):
know yourself in the audience isvery aware of like what
caregiver burnout is, especiallywhen it comes to healthcare,
and it was already present backthen, not before COVID.
So I was working way too much 10hour days doing a lot of heavy
lifting, and I just didn't knowif I could continue.
(02:40):
I did go back to work after Ihad my daughter for a year and
it was torture Just a little bit.
I mean, I love helping people,it is so fulfilling, but at the
same time it was just reallyhard.
So I decided I couldn'tcontinue at the hospital anymore
(03:01):
.
And so at the same time myhusband around that time decided
he wanted to open his own solopractice.
He just wasn't finding what hewas looking for you know,
working for other people inother clinics and so he started
a solo practice and I helped himset that up, because he's so
good at treating clients buthe's not good at anything
administrative.
So the business just took offand he realized that after a
(03:27):
year that he needed to expandand that he desperately needed
my help in order to do that, sowe decided to open our practice
together in January of 2020.
Rita Suzanne (03:40):
And what made it so hard for you going back to
work?
Was it just the demands of thejob or just like trying to
juggle all of it together?
Nelin Krull (04:09):
Yeah, a little bit of both.
I think the demands of the jobare intense.
When I went back, I was workingin the ER, so I was doing 12
hour shifts, basically eight toeight, and so those were like my
daughter's waking hours, like Iwould.
She would just have woken upwhen I left and she would
already be in bed when I gothome.
Rita Suzanne (04:17):
So I didn't see her on the days that I worked
and that was really hard.
And then, yeah, er is just it'sa wild.
It's a wild thing, I don't knowhow better to describe it.
I'm sure it's super stressful.
I remember when I was workingin corporate and just I hated
dropping my son off and justleaving him there, and so I can
only imagine you not getting tosee her and how you know.
That would, you know, be somuch pressure in addition to
having such a stressful job.
(04:38):
So I'm sure there's differentstresses when you have a
business and all of that stuffand you know.
So let's talk about myofascialrelease.
How let's you know?
Because we talked briefly aboutit and I'm a little bit aware
of what it is, but I'd love tohear a little bit more of what
(04:59):
it is and how it's beneficial.
Nelin Krull (05:02):
Of course yes.
So myofascial release techniqueis the way we do.
It is a sustained pressureapproach.
So before I get into what thetechnique is, I want to explain
a little bit about what thefascia is, because I feel like
that's important for people tounderstand.
So your fascia is the connectivetissue of your body.
It is a three-dimensional webthat, basically, is continuous
(05:26):
from head to toe and it supportsevery single structure in the
body.
So a lot of times when peoplethink about fascia, if they have
some awareness of it, theyoften think of it as like the
sausage casing, you know, orlike if you've ever cooked a
piece of raw chicken, that sortof like white sheath that you
kind of pull away In livingtissue.
(05:46):
It actually is not just thecasing, it is integrated into
every cell.
So it supports your muscles andbones, of course, but also your
internal organs, your braintissue, your blood vessels and
your nerves.
So it touches every structurein the body.
And because it's continuous,the way we see the body is you
(06:11):
can't compartmentalize it, sincethe fascia touches everything.
So this fascial web we call it,when it's healthy and happy,
everything's moving and glidingfreely, everything's all good.
When it's restricted, it getsstuck down.
So this sort of web gets stuckand if you can imagine it's
(06:32):
similar to like bubble gum inhair.
It gets stuck down and thatsticky area alters all the lines
of tension and force in thebody and so all of our typical
biomechanical patterns ofefficiency become completely
inefficient and so it can createthese far reaching effects
(06:56):
where you have this restrictionand pain in one area of your
body but it's creating all kindsof weird symptoms elsewhere.
So the number one being pain,but it's creating all kinds of
weird symptoms elsewhere.
So the number one being pain.
A lot of people will experiencethat first, but you can.
The thing about fascia isbecause it touches every
structure.
You can get really weirdsymptoms, like you know, like
nerve issues.
You can get blood flow issues,you can like some of the things
(07:19):
that people come to us to seeare like IBS or fertility issues
.
So it's because it's so farreaching, it can have such a big
impact on the body when itcomes to myofascial release
essentially the way to get ridof that sticky glueiness that
the fascia gets stuck in, toapply what we call gentle
(07:42):
sustained pressure.
So we find areas of restrictionin the body and they typically
present as really hot, reallytender, really firm, or even
sometimes we can feel thatthey're vibratory, really firm,
or even sometimes we can feel,uh, that they're vibratory, yes.
And so we place our hands inthat area and apply gentle
pressure so just meet the tissuewhere it's out, so we're not
forcing anything, we're not likeum and, and hold that pressure
(08:09):
for at least five minutes andthen five minutes that time is
key to allow that really sticky,gluey substance that's holding
the fascia down to actually sortof quote unquote melt and
become less sticky so that nowthe fascia can glide again and
all of the pressure that it wascreating on all those pain
(08:30):
sensitive structures around itis relieved.
So not only are you relievingthat pain, but you're also
relieving the pressure on thenerves and the blood vessels and
all the lymphatic tissue andall that, but and it takes
repeated treatments, though, tomake it actually go back to its
original self.
Rita Suzanne (08:49):
or does it ever go back?
How has that worked?
Nelin Krull (08:57):
or does it ever go back?
How does that work?
It does.
Yeah, it's totally reversible.
It tends to be that as we sortof accumulate experiences in our
life as we age, that weaccumulate myofascial
restrictions as well.
So it's rare that there's justone.
And so if you think about thatfrom a structural point of view,
if you have one myofascialrestriction, you release that.
Think about that from astructural point of view If you
have one myofascial restriction,you release that.
(09:18):
Now that area is moving well.
But now you may notice inanother area that you feel
restriction because now it'slike it has been freed to some
extent and it's like wait, Iwant to do more.
So it doesn't take a lot ofsessions to get to those areas
because there's a lot of fullbody techniques that we do, a
lot of sessions to get to thoseareas because there's a lot of
full body techniques that we do.
Rita Suzanne (09:43):
But it is totally reversible and it is really
quite effective for any kind ofpain.
So the first time that I heardabout it and I'm sure that like
you've heard this before butwhen the whole fascia blaster
came out, like obviously whatare your thoughts on that?
And like that's, when I got, Idove like really into it,
because when I was young Istarted to have cellulite just
out of nowhere, you know, and Iwas like this is wild, you know,
(10:08):
especially because I was veryathletic and I was, you know, in
shape and I just couldn'tunderstand where it was coming
from.
Nelin Krull (10:16):
Yeah, so in that context, tools like that they
tend to promote more of like anaggressive, forceful type of
pressure and unfortunately, likethat will break up a little bit
of the elastic componentinitially but won't help you
with that sticky groundsubstance, right, um, so what
(10:41):
ends up happening is you getsome temporary relief and then
it sort of just keeps comingback.
Um context of cellulitis.
Um, essentially what cellulitisis is basically just like um
restricted fascia creating thesepockets of fatty that um reduce
that sort of smooth appearanceof the skin.
Um, so release is actually anexcellent tool for cellulitis.
(11:05):
Um more of a hands-on practice,you can also do it with some
tools at home.
We've taught many people how todo that Um's, but it's much,
much less aggressive and muchmore pleasant to do.
Rita Suzanne (11:18):
I think over time, people have realized that you
know, all of that bruising andthings that people were seeing
is that they were being a littlebit too aggressive and that
maybe it wasn't as effective asor maybe they weren't following
directions I don't know.
Nelin Krull (11:33):
I think what it is, too, is, if you're feeling that
kind of you know the sensationthat people say like when they
leave a treatment of some kind,that they felt the next day they
felt like the hit by truck.
It's because it's that thataggression creates so much
inflammation in the body, and ifwe want to truly heal, what we
(11:54):
need to do is bring thatinflammation down.
Actually, so oftentimes we'resort of working against our goal
.
Rita Suzanne (12:01):
Yeah, and anytime you get any type of massage
you're supposed to be, you know,hydrating again and all of
these things.
So maybe they weren'tnecessarily fueling their body
the way that they were supposedto be.
I don't know.
Yeah, I found, I just found thewhole thing really fascinating
(12:24):
because she I believe she waslike a physical therapist, as
you know, and and trained indoing all of these things as
well, and so I thought, you know, this is just a really
interesting concept and I'vegotten massages that were
specific to fascia releasebecause of, you know, like I
(12:45):
said, the tightness that I wouldfeel because I love working out
and but I always had tightnessin my hamstrings and so having
those massages would help thattightness and all of the extra
stretching and stuff, and so,you know, that has definitely
helped over time, but I thinkthe massaging is is wonderful.
(13:06):
So what are some things thatpeople can do, maybe at home if
they can't come all the way toToronto to see you?
Nelin Krull (13:13):
Of course and you know what we do actually offer a
program for people to fly in,get a week of intensive
treatment and then go home adifferent person.
But if you are just startingout at home, there's a couple of
tips that I can give you, thenumber one being that time
component.
Any kind of stretch that you'redoing at home, hold it for at
(13:34):
least five minutes and so, offthe bat, that does sound really
intense, right, but that'sbecause typical conventional
stretching it encourages you tolike, go to the end of your
range and then like, push, like,really push into that end of
range.
In order to sustain a fiveminute stretch, what you need to
(13:54):
go is just to that firstbarrier of tension.
Don't worry so much about howmuch range of motion you're
getting, how much your stretchlooks like, the picture of what
it's supposed to look like, it'smore of a felt sensation.
So going inward, really feelingwhere that first barrier is,
(14:15):
and just holding there, usinggravity to help you, is really
beneficial as well.
So you're not stuck in a youknow, bracing pattern with the
rest of your body just to beable to stretch one part.
So something as simple as, forexample, a hamstring stretch.
If you don't have that fullrange of motion to just be able
(14:35):
to sit with your legs extendedand bend over your legs, if you
do, great, just get into thatposition and let your upper body
hang and wait that five minutes.
But if you don't let the kneesbend a little bit, you can hold
on to like a yoga bolster or apillow or even one of your couch
(14:55):
cushions.
Um, put that on your lap andthen rest your upper body on
that, um, so you're partiallysupported, and then hold that
for five minutes.
Um, if that's too difficult,flip it the other way.
Do legs up the wall again.
You don't have to get your bumall the way into the wall, just
find that first barrier oftension and then, just like, let
(15:16):
gravity do the work right, andwhen you feel that, stretch to
to actually relax and to yeah,yeah I love that so are you able
to do?
you take your kids to work withyou, like what is an actual day
(15:37):
in your work life looking likeyeah, um, my, so my daughter is
in school, um, but my and myson's in daycare.
But during the summer, um, youknow, I have the luxury of being
able to not have to put mydaughter in full-time camp.
Uh, so, uh, so, um, sometimesshe does come to work with me
actually, um, it's just, youknow, like folding linens in the
(16:00):
back or like putting them inthe rooms.
She actually really enjoysdoing those things.
I've asked her to help me withlike more administrative tasks
before, like scanning documentsand stuff, and she's like no,
she's not interested in that,it's boring, um, but she
actually does enjoy coming towork with me.
I get very little done whenshe's not interested in that,
it's boring, but she actuallydoes enjoy coming to work with
(16:20):
me.
I get very little done whenshe's there, of course, but on
the days where she's at schooland my son is also in daycare,
it usually looks moreadministrative.
So I spend a good amount oftime doing consult calls with
new clients and then a lot moreof the background scheduling,
staff management.
Staff management is kind of ahuge piece of what we do.
We have, um, about eight staffright now, and so like managing
(16:44):
all of their needs as well.
Um and then, uh, you know doingthese sorts of things talking
to new people, networking,marketing, accounting, social
media, all of the above.
Rita Suzanne (16:59):
So, speaking of that, what would you say is the
hardest thing about running abusiness?
Because I always say thatpeople assume that when they
start their businesses, thatthey're just going to be doing
the thing that they're going tobe doing right.
When they start theirbusinesses, that they're just
going to be doing the thing thatthey're going to be doing Right
.
So what, now that you have todo all of the things, what is
the hardest thing about runningyour own business?
Nelin Krull (17:23):
Uh, easily, social media media it is.
It's a beast.
I um if I do get a little bitof help with it, uh, because I
have to.
I am not a social mediamarketer.
I can come up with some ideas,but keeping like feeding that
funnel constantly, constantlywith fresh content, or even
(17:43):
recycled content or just contentin general content creation, is
very time consuming.
Not only does it take a lot oftime, but it's a long game.
You have to keep at it.
Um, it's not an instant rewardand um, and it's hard to know
what's what's topical, whatpeople want to hear about.
(18:04):
Every, every time you'recreating that content.
Um, so that's easily thehardest thing.
And then, second to that mightjust be staff management, but
because there's everybody's sodifferent.
Rita Suzanne (18:17):
Yes, and there's so many things.
There's always something goingon, I'm sure.
I remember when I was incorporate and I was in
management and there was alwayssomething and you know you had
to deal with um at the time.
So I can only imagine havingeight.
I think I was overseeing fiveat the time.
So yeah, so, okay.
(18:40):
So if another mom came to youand she wanted to start her own
business, what would your advicebe to?
Nelin Krull (18:47):
her.
That's a good question.
If I'm being perfectly honest,I would say, um, stick to your
strengths, like, stay in yourzone of genius, stay in your own
lane and whatever is outside ofthat realm, either bring on a
partner or hire out, becauseotherwise what ends up happening
(19:09):
is you spread yourself way toothin and then, um, you, you, you
, you, you.
You don't have that momentum,that drive to keep going in your
business.
I love being a physicaltherapist.
That being said, I don't carrya clinical caseload because if I
did, all of the otheradministrative stuff would fall
(19:30):
by the wayside, and I actuallydon't mind it.
I help people through otherways, through educating them,
through bringing them into ourdoors and then our therapists
take over from there.
But I actually have alwaysenjoyed the business side of
things.
When I was back, when I wasyounger and pursuing, you know,
my degrees, I actually had areally hard time deciding
(19:52):
between, like, business andaccounting versus health care.
So this kind of gives me thebest of both worlds.
Rita Suzanne (19:58):
So this kind of gives me the best of both worlds
, right, and I think it's goodbecause you're educated in the
actual aspects of the businessso that you're able to go out
and make educated decisions andtalk about it in a way that
someone who isn't reallyeducated would be able to.
So I think that that's amazing.
(20:19):
So tell everyone what are youlistening to or reading right
now?
What is what's on your list?
Nelin Krull (20:26):
All right.
So right now I'm listening toslash reading, because I mostly
just do audio books BadassHabits by Jen Sincero.
Rita Suzanne (20:37):
Love it.
Nelin Krull (20:37):
Yeah, her, her whole series.
Rita Suzanne (20:39):
I love her.
She's like my slave.
Nelin Krull (20:42):
Yeah, and listening to her is just such a joy.
She's so funny, but really Ithink the humor helps get all of
the information across.
So that's what I'm readingright now and then listening to.
I do listen to some podcasts.
I was recently just listeningto the Jay Shetty podcast, but
(21:06):
I'm kind of all over the placewith that.
I'll listen to many things.
Rita Suzanne (21:11):
I'll listen to different things, just based on
topic, and then I'll just jumparound whatever I'm interested
in.
I don't necessarily.
I don't know that if Isubscribe too many.
I just will listen based on thetopic.
I think a lot of people do that.
When I first started, though, Iwas die hard on Amy Porterfield
and Pat Flynn for smart passiveincome, and I used to listen to
(21:35):
the Fizzle Show.
I don't even know if they'restill around, but I those were
the three that I would listen toon my way to work.
We're talking 10 years ago, soI those were the three that kind
of inspired me to actuallystart my business, because they
were always talking aboutmarketing and business and they
would talk about you know,websites, and I thought I can, I
(22:00):
could do this.
I didn't even know how to makea website at the and I thought I
can, I could do this.
I didn't even know how to makea website at the time I was.
I had to teach myself how to dothis, but I was like you know
what I'm, you know I'm techsavvy, I can do it.
I don't know what I wasthinking.
Nelin Krull (22:14):
I'm but.
I did it.
You can really learn on yourown.
I you know, like I learned howto build my website, I've
learned how to do payroll andaccounting and social media and
basically human resources Right.
Rita Suzanne (22:30):
It just it's just going to take us a little bit
longer to do it Right.
And even like building websitesfor other people, it took me a
little bit longer because youhave to understand the branding
in order to make it for somebodyelse.
You can't just jump in thereand say, ok, you know, there has
to be some aspects of who it'sfor and all of these things.
(22:53):
Okay.
So, as I mentioned before andas I always tell everybody, the
main reason why I started thispodcast was because I was
struggling with, like somepersonal trauma and I was
wondering how other moms wereable to do all of the things,
because I just could not do allof the things.
(23:16):
I mean I could barely do any ofthe things, all of the things.
I mean I could barely do any ofthe things.
So I love to know how you areable to like what are you doing
for yourself.
You know, as moms, we oftenneglect ourselves and so.
I want to know how are youtaking care of yourself?
What are you doing for you?
Nelin Krull (23:34):
So, yeah, that that's a really important
question to ask.
I think lots of moms feel thatway.
I definitely felt that way invarious points in my career,
particularly after my son wasfirst born and I had two kids.
I think that there are seasonsin life where it is just hard.
There was, you know, like rightafter my son was born.
(23:56):
There was no getting out of thefeeding schedule and all of
those things.
But outside of that, I thinkthat the number one thing that
women should really, really,really, really work hard on is
delegating tasks.
There is no reason why you haveto do it all Um, it's, it's.
(24:21):
You know, if you have a goodsupport network, which is key to
be able to delegate those tasks, um, it will make your load
much easier to bear.
And again, you then you get tostay in your kind of zone of
genius, um.
So I will say, um.
One thing that I've donerecently is um, I hired an
assistant um to manage some ofthe day-to-day clinic operations
so that I can work moreremotely, which allows me to go
(24:44):
for a walk in the middle of theday while listening to a podcast
, or turn on some yoga and dolike 15, 20 minutes of yoga
whenever I feel I need it.
Do my myofascial self-carewhenever I feel I need it.
Myofascial self-care whenever Ifeel I need it.
(25:05):
And you know, just like, getthat little bit extra work-life
balance by being able to havethe flexibility in my schedule
to sort of pause Okay, I need tohandle something to do with,
like a family issue and thencome back to work.
You and then come back to work.
Rita Suzanne (25:20):
I recently heard this analogy and I thought it
was so, just so, so brilliant,and it was basically that we
should work like the lion andnot the cow, and I don't know if
(25:41):
you've ever heard this before,but I thought that that was so
amazing because, um, essentially, and so I have to tell myself
don't be the cow, don't be thecow right, so the cow.
this has nothing to do withanything else, except the cow is
constantly grazing, right, it'sconstantly grazing the lion.
It doesn't graze it in a wait,it's waiting until it sees its
(26:02):
prey, and then it's saving itsenergy until it's ready to
expend its energy.
And that way then it has theenergy to pounce.
And so the way that would workis then, when it's time for you
to go, you have the energy to go, but the cow can't go because
it's constantly expending thatenergy grazing.
(26:25):
And so I thought that was sobrilliant, because a lot of
times, as women, we'reconstantly trying to do all the
things.
Everything, even by grazing, isslow.
Right, it's a slow paced thing,but it still is expending your
energy.
And so I and I thought tomyself like that is so profound,
(26:46):
like I can't even think of ananother way to put it except
don't be the cow and even if youthink about that analogy is
like how many blades of grassyou go through in a day.
Nelin Krull (26:58):
I'd say that's probably equal to how many
different thoughts andresponsibilities we're holding
onto in our heads every singleday.
You know from you know likeschool responsibilities for your
kids to literally the groceries, taking care of your house and
then work on top of that likethe mental load we carry is
(27:19):
intense.
Rita Suzanne (27:21):
Anything that you can delegate from that
perspective is huge just huge,and so I'm always telling people
like as soon as you can hire anassistant, that'll help you
grow fast, and so I you know,much faster.
And a lot of people areresistant to do that just
because of control issues or andor financial issues.
(27:42):
Oftentimes, though, it'scontrol like they don't want to
give up in the control of doingthings, and I get that, but it
will help you grow so muchfaster.
Plus, it'll take off so muchpressure from you.
So it's been such a pleasuregetting to know you.
Where can everyone find you?
Where are you online?
Nelin Krull (28:04):
Likewise, thank you .
You can find us atmyofascialcanadacom.
We're also on social media, onInstagram and Facebook, at
Myofascial Mississauga.
Rita Suzanne (28:16):
And on your website you have.
You shared a free gift with me.
Tell me about that really fast,because I want people to like
go and grab that as well.
Nelin Krull (28:24):
Yeah, of course.
So what I've shared with you isit's basically a two pager,
really simple, easy to followdocument of the types of
myofascial stretches that youcan do at home to get that
really deep, intense and longlasting release of the fascia in
your body.
So lots of really good wholebody techniques in there that
(28:46):
really anyone can benefit from,because we've all got
restrictions.
But specifically, this guideI've given you helps people to
learn how to use myofascial ball, and we have these myofascial
balls.
But you can get them at, likeyou know, a toy store, a kid's
store, dollar store, whatever,just basically an air filled
rubber ball, and you can use itto spot treat wherever you need,
(29:10):
or you can also use it to domore of a holistic whole body
technique.
So it gives you all the how toguidelines and then a visual
representation of where to putthe ball and what positions to
get in, and it's pretty much alldone on the floor.
So it's quite relaxing.
Rita Suzanne (29:27):
Nice, love it Well .
Thank you so much.
And just one more time.
Your website ismyofascialcanadacom.
Yes, all right, Perfect.
Thank you again for being aguest.
Thanks for having me.
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