It is another exciting moment for the Ballantrae-Musselman’s Lake Community. In the “new mall” is a very unique wellness and therapy place. It is the first in York Region to bring the Gyrotonic method, and one of the few in Ontario to combine the Gyrotonic method with physical therapy under one roof. Although new here, the event ties back to a local place – Cedar Valley.
pt’movement has recently opened in the new Ballantrae Gates plaza at Highway 48 and Aurora Rd. The goal of pt’movement is three part: treat, train and educate. “Many people are led to believe that when you are having muscle or joint pain, you can simply take a pill to feel better,” says the owner Valerie Rolf von den Baumen. “Research and studies have shown that movement is an effective approach to treating such pain. I’ve spent much of my career developing a toolbox of different movement methods designed to treat a vast array of health conditions.”
Valerie was working in the beautiful Russian city of Saint Petersburg when she was introduced to the Gyrotonic method for the first time. She recounts, “I began taking the course. I quickly felt that my spine didn’t make an arch, my curl was horrible, and I was constantly asking questions like, ‘Are we doing it this way or that way?’ ‘Are we inhaling or exhaling here?’ I was told many times to ‘Just move, your body will take this knowledge.’ I had never felt so disconnected with myself in my life. I was angry, frustrated, and mad, but this all changed after we finished a second week. I remember it well – I was putting on my sandals and I bent forward. Suddenly, I touched the floor with my palm without any effort, no warm-up, no stretches. I couldn’t do this after a one hour stretching class two weeks ago. How?” she asked.
Valerie completed a PhD in Physiotherapy and Sports Medicine at Saint Petersburg Medical University. After her immigration to Canada in 2005, Valerie further supplemented her education with a master’s degree in Physiotherapy from Queen’s University. She was living in Newmarket and looking for a location to open a practice. One day her nephew, who lives in Cedar Valley, suggested that she investigate the shiny new mall in Ballantrae. Valerie visited Ballantrae, fell in love and claimed it the new home of pt’movement.
The Office Manager at pt’movement is Laura McCullough. Laura grew up in Cedar Valley – her parents still live there. When introduced to the Gyrotonic method herself, she said “I would say that it takes me a lot to move freely. I tend to over think everything. There is often an ongoing dialogue in my head about what I should be doing, what others think about what I am doing, and if I’m doing things right.”
Laura recalls, “This experience happened to be at a time when I was under a lot of stress. I found the movements to be calming for me. As I continued, I realized only after that I had stopped thinking quite so much about the movement, and I had turned to ‘feeling’ the movements instead, I was already aware of the correction – it was also an experience of whole body learning. It was an experience of mental and physical strengthening, and the reason why I believe in its value so much.”
Beyond the Gyrotonic private sessions, pt’movement offers full physical therapy services and massage therapy. COVID has been a bit of a hindrance for developing their Wellness Centre fully. They had planned to have private personal training, group classes (Pilates/yoga) and self-care workshops, but in an effort to evolve, they have settled on private Pilates sessions online, as they have acquired one of the best Pilates instructors in York Region. “Every day, I feel grateful for the opportunity to treat my patients with the science of movement,” concludes Valerie. For more information, see ptmovement.ca.
