Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Tietz.
Hi Erin, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story is one of personal healing. I was a dancer growing up. It was my passion and soul. I danced at private studios and for the Minnetonka Rettes, Dance Elite All Stars, Minnesota Gopher dance team, and the Minnesota Vikings. During those years, I began to experience chronic pain. It started with a hamstring pull in 8th grade and continued to progress to the point where I was in constant pain. I was perpetually overstretching my hamstrings but I kept going, as many do! After moving to NYC in 2002, I was performing with Broadway Dance Center and that is where I knew my dance career was over. I was no longer able to do the thing I loved most and my body was telling me to stop or else I would potentially hurt myself even more. I was devastated. At this point, from a place deep within myself, a part of me was changing. It never feels good to “give up” and even though I was choosing to protect myself, it still felt final.
For the following 10 years, I had lived in NYC and worked in out-patient physical therapy as a Medical Exercise Specialist. While there, I worked at Beth Israel Medical center for 7 years and in a private practice for 3 years where I specialized in post-op spine therapy. I had a unique approach to teaching movement and honed in on specializing in postural positioning, positional patterning, and deep core education. My motto became: Posture First, Core Second, Move Third.
Also during this time, I worked very closely with a client who lives with Multiple Sclerosis and I dove into learning as much as I could about the disease. When I moved back to MN, I continued working with private clients living with MS. All the while, I was still suffering with my own chronic pain from the scar tissue that had built up from hamstring strains. Yet and still, I didn’t allow myself to complain about it because, in my mind, others were struggling more than I was. A part of me started feeling deflated, even hopeless, and eventually all my efforts to also heal myself had failed. Even my doctors said that since I had scar tissue there was nothing more that could be done. So– I gave up, being devastated all over again.
Time passed and I saw an article in Oprah Magazine about resistance stretching. I was intrigued and wanted to add modalities to my practice, so I went to get certified. While there, I informed the teachers that I had built up scar tissue from a recurrent hamstring tear…
On day 1, my whole life changed. My instructor, Boni Crotzer, worked on me for 10 minutes. During that brief period of time, she was able to reach into a place where no needle or massage could ever reach. It felt like old duct tape being pulled off of my Ischial Tuberosity (butt bone). I was bawling– I knew this was profound! I stood up, bent over, and, to my own surprise, I had NO PAIN! That was 6 years ago and I am still pain free! For 10 long years I tried every modality possible to heal, and THIS did the trick. From then on, I’ve worked with fascia and scar tissue every moment of every day! I consider myself to be a forever student and, with fascia research very recently starting to emerge, I’m looking forward to being able to continue learning and growing, afterall, like the saying goes, “we grow through what we go through”: I am grateful for my years of pain because I am now able to relate to others in a deeper way and, based on my own experience, I am even more inspired to help them find a way out of their pain! On a more personal level, this experience completely changed my perspective: the sadness I was living with due to chronic pain has melted away and been replaced with hope and the motivation to continue helping others improve their quality of life!
We all face challenges, but, looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’d say it has been a bumpy road. After healing and starting to feel better, I dove in and began expanding my practice. My background is in health science and nutrition, not business and marketing! But, I learned along the way, as many entrepreneurs do. There have been many moments of frustration and anxiety, but there have also been some wonderful moments with other women solo-preneurs that I have gotten to know along the way. I believe in this work so very much that I have been taking steps forward to truly put myself out there. I am now more comfortable behind a camera and I even know how to create my own YouTube thumbnails (proud of myself that I even know what a thumbnail is)!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a fascia movement specialist, practitioner, and educator. That is a mouthful, I know! It is hard to have a specific title since I work in so many different avenues: In person, I work directly on clients yet I also teach virtual classes for one-on-one and small group sessions; I do workshops with young athletes and dancers; I shoot videos for YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok; and I create online courses that I currently sell through my website and, most recently, through a membership platform via Patreon.com. Whew! I am known for my work on creating two of the top selling courses on DailyOm.com and for providing a totally new perspective on movement. From my exposure on DailyOm, I have been fortunate to work with people all over the world. The testimonials I have received have blown my mind. It has been my dream to help others heal and knowing that it’s making a difference truly fills my heart. I am very proud of myself. I have stepped into the unknown and I push myself every day to learn more, give more, and reach more people. The success of my courses on DailyOm has completely changed my life and for that I am exceedingly grateful. The course has sold almost 100,000 times around the world! During the time of its production (which, by the way, I had no idea what I was doing when I started!) I had also hired wonderful web developers to build out a more professional website where I could also sell my courses through. Currently up on the website, I have an introductory course called, “The Five Day Fascia Fix”, and another more focused course called, “Fascia Fix: Neck Pain”. I believe what sets me apart is that I teach from a totally different setup. In other words, I teach how to safely execute fascia activations so that clients are set up with cues that make the work actually WORK without risking injury. I provide my clients with the tools they can use in their own life to; 1.) feel better, 2.) enhance their performance and, 3.) free themselves of aches and pains. I want this work to create a sturdy foundation for them to do the things they love to do, whether that is walking, hiking, golf, dance, or literally anything else! The uniqueness of what I do is all about fascia! No old school stretching here.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Sure! I was a professional dancer– a Minnesota Vikings Cheerleader! A few other interesting tidbits about myself:
1.) I worked with an Italian Countess–Countess Consuelo Crespi– who is one of the top 10 most fashionable women in the world!
2.) I lived in Madrid for a short period of time. While there, I sang back-up on an album with the Garrett Wall Band.
3.) I was born with an extra thumb on my left hand!
4.) I also dabble in the wine business. I worked for a few years at France 44 Wine and Spirits after moving back home from NY while I was building my practice. I still pour wine from time to time for various events.
5.) I forage for wild plants and make my own balms and plant medicine.
6.) I love to cook!
Pricing:
- The Five Day Fascia Fix Course: $32
- Patreon membership: either $20 or $30/month
- Fascia Fix Neck Pain Course: $39
- In-person session: $120
- Virtual session: $80
Contact Info:
- Email: fasciafixmn@gmail.com
- Website: www.fascia-fix.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/
fasciafixmn - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
fasciafixmn/ - Youtube: http://youtube.com/c/
ErinTietzFasciaFix - Other: https://www.patreon.com/
fasciafix
Image Credits
Krista Whiteman Photography
