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Key Takeaways:

• Attempts to forcibly suppress tics backfire by creating inner civil war
• Establishing kind awareness of discomfort reduces its control 
• Outer storms ease as I cultivate stillness, integration within 

As someone who has struggled with constant, disruptive motor tics for over 20 years, I know how tempting it is to detach from these unwanted urges and view them as something alien, happening against my will. The flailing doesn't feel like me - I must be "possessed" by this affliction called Tourette's. 

But a comment on my YouTube channel recently gave me pause. A fellow ticcer gently challenged my insistence that these tics are not me. He reflected how when we lack bodily awareness, it's understandable to feel that disconnect. But with patience and compassion towards ourselves, we can come to recognize the tics as simply another expression of our being.

This perspective resonated with me deeply. Early on, the notion of claiming ownership of something so...

Key Takeaways:

• External distractions fragment your focus and worsen tics
• True focus lies in turning inward, not just concentrating outwardly
• Inner focus leads to self-awareness and empowers you to manage tics

As someone who has journeyed for over 20 years with Tourette’s syndrome, I’ve learned firsthand how cultivating inner focus transforms our health - physical, mental, and beyond. Like many young people today, I grew up in an age of endless digital stimulation - TV, computers, video games. My mind was constantly racing, thinking of the next thing to check or do. I could hyper-focus on screens for hours yet had no clue how to calm my own inner world.

Only through discovering mindfulness and meditation did I start to comprehend that our focus shapes our reality. When we narrowly laser in on external distraction, we energize the “monkey mind,” leaving no space for inner stillness. Getting sucked into the latest binge-worthy series may seem like good focus,...

Key Takeaways:

• Daily visualization of protective bubble reprograms neural pathways 
• Imagining safest sensations primes nervous system for real situations
• Even when overwhelmed, this inner sanctuary is always available 

As someone who's struggled with debilitating motor tics for over 20 years, I know firsthand how anxiety and lack of safety can exacerbate these disruptive urges. The more unsafe I've felt around others, the more my body has twitched and flailed uncontrollably. 

In my healing journey, I've learned the incredible power of visualization for reprogramming my deeply ingrained habits of fear and social awkwardness. By taking just a few minutes each morning to imagine a "safe bubble" around me, I've been able to dramatically reduce anxiety and ticcing.

Here's how this simple yet profound visualization practice works:

I find a quiet space to sit undisturbed, and close my eyes. I take a few deep breaths to calm my mind and body. Then I envision an invisible...

Key Takeaways:

• Healing tic disorders requires open exploration, not suppression
• Our tics are "wise soul messengers" guiding us back to wholeness
• Change comes through self-compassion and new actions

As someone who has intimately experienced and now guides others in healing tic disorders, I wanted to share some personal reflections. I recently had an illuminating conversation with a mother and daughter who spoke with profound grace about the daughter’s condition. Their loving openness and willingness to explore the inner roots behind outward ticks showed me how much hope exists on this path.

I highlighted how shame dangerously festers around tic disorders - preventing the space needed for healing. Yet suppression serves no one. For truly, our outer spasms manifest from unconscious inner control patterns rooted in avoiding difficult emotions. We don’t wake up and think “I will stop my feelings by flinching.” But subtle childhood conditioning leads our bodies...

Key Takeaways:

• Experimented extensively with magnesium supplements to no avail
• Desperately hoped nutrients alone could resolve such complex condition 
• Real healing required deep mental, emotional, and spiritual self-work

As someone with chronic motor tics, I'm always on the lookout for natural supplements that could help quiet these disruptive urges. In my desperation, I tried everything from vitamins to herbal remedies. One supplement I see mentioned a lot online for Tourette's is magnesium. But in my experience, magnesium for tics turned out to be a dead end.

I gave magnesium glycinate a solid try, taking the maximum recommended dosage for several months. I was hopeful, since magnesium plays roles in muscle and nerve functioning. But honestly? I saw zero reduction in my tics. If anything, they got worse due to the added stress of constantly tracking symptoms. 

While magnesium supplements may work for some, it did absolutely nothing for my particular case. My mistake...

Key Takeaways:

• Mindfulness exercises create oases of calm amid ticcing episodes  
• Returning to the breath builds capacity for equanimity in discomfort
• Regular practice reduces control tics have, though they still arise

As someone who has struggled with debilitating motor tics for over 20 years, I know firsthand how an anxious, overactive mind can drive these involuntary urges. When my thoughts are racing and my nerves are frayed, the ticks ramp up like a storm raging inside me. 

In my healing journey, I've learned just how powerful meditation can be for quieting the mind and body. Even short periods of conscious breathing create moments of stillness that offer refuge. 

I'd like to share a simple mindfulness exercise that has brought me back to tranquility during difficult ticcing episodes. 

Finding a comfortable seat, I close my eyes and start taking slow, full breaths. But not just shallow chest breathing - I direct each inhalation down into my belly....

Key Takeaways:

• Visualization reveals tics as exiled parts of self needing acceptance
• Listening to tics with compassion rather than resisting transforms them
• Self-compassion meditation can gradually reduce tic intensity

As someone who has struggled with debilitating motor tics for decades, I've tried just about every conventional treatment out there to no avail. Medications masked the symptoms but brought brutal side effects. Therapy helped me manage my feelings about the tics, but didn't stop them. I felt utterly powerless against the urges overtaking my body hundreds of times a day.

In desperation, I recently started experimenting with guided visualization and meditation specifically focused on connecting with the tics at their source. What I discovered astonished me.

Sitting still and tuning into my breath, I began asking inward questions like: "If this tic had a shape, what would it be?" "What color is it?" "If it had a voice, what would it say?" I let the answers flow...

Key Takeaways:

• Gently lean into urge to tic; find "edge" area where tension accumulates
• Breathe deeply into neck instead of tensing against sensations 
• Befriending discomfort this way eases intensity over time

For over 20 years, I've had an uncontrollable neck tic that has caused me great distress. Out of the blue, my neck starts violently jerking over and over, like I'm uncontrollably headbanging at a rock concert. It's distracting, painful, and isolating. I've tried desperately to stop it or hide it out of embarrassment, but these neck tics have a force of their own. 

Like many with Tourette's syndrome, I used to berate myself for these tics, as if I could willpower them away through frustration alone. But of course that only heightens the tension driving these impulses. I'm now learning the power of cultivating compassionate awareness of the tics rather than judging them. 

One mindfulness exercise that has been profoundly healing is to lean gently into the urge...

 Key Takeaways:

• Voluntarily leaning into blinking urge in an exaggerated way helps
• Then taking slow deep breaths while holding eye tic position  
• Makes me friend not enemy; repeated practice rewires response 

For over a decade, I've had an uncontrollable tic in my left eye that just won't quit. Out of nowhere, my eye starts rapid twitching and fluttering dozens of times a day. As you can imagine, it's distracting, disruptive, and downright maddening at times. I can't tell you how many strange looks I've gotten over the years from people wondering what the heck is wrong with me. 

Like many with motor tics, I often feel frustrated and judged when the tic acts up. It's an involuntary impulse I have no control over in the moment. When the ticging starts, it's like my eye has a mind of its own. I used to berate myself thinking "Why can't I just be normal and make this stop?" But the negative self-talk only makes the urge to tic even stronger. It's a vicious...

For many of us who Tic, it starts in the neck. 

There is a specific spot at the back of the neck where tightness begins - at the top of the spine. 

The sensations that run up the spine get 'stuck' at this point, and this causes discomfort.

If we don't deal with the feelings and sensations we may form - over time - a ticcing habit. 

I say 'habit' because yes it really IS a habit. Most people don't want to hear this. 

Tics are quite simply the control mechasim the body uses as an alternative expression to feeling what needs to felt. 

When we get out of the contolling mind and into the body, we learn to move the unexpressed emotions and energies that are creating the tic in the first place. 

At Motor Tic Mastery we use a varity of tools to support the process of releasing Tics, specifically Neck Twitching. These include but are not limited to:

1) Breathwork - by reconfiguring the way in which we breath, we can break free from old habits...