What Happened When Greg Showed Up For Surgery Already Regulated

What Happened When Greg Showed Up for Surgery Already Regulated

This is a story about a 70-year-old man, two knee replacements, and what happens when the nervous system is prepared before the table.

Greg has been my student for years. He is 70 years old, strong, curious, and one of the most committed people I have ever had the privilege of teaching. He also needed both of his knees replaced.

Before his first surgery, we worked together. Not on strength. Not on range of motion. On his nervous system.

Breath. Mindset. Sensory language. Spinal movement. Choice framing. The kind of preparation that most pre-surgical care doesn't have a protocol for — because until now, there hasn't been one.

The goal was simple: help Greg arrive at the surgical table regulated. Calm. Present. Ready to receive the work rather than brace against it.

In the surgical prep room, his wife Miriam was with him. She has practiced with me too. She began breathing with him — slowly, through the nose, long exhales. A nurse noticed. She joined in.

Three people breathing together in a pre-surgical suite.

At his first follow-up, his doctor was astounded at the minimal bruising.

His physical therapist was amazed at how quickly he was moving.

Within a year he was hiking.

He now does handstands in class.

Greg gave me full permission to share his story — because he wants other people to know this is possible. That the preparation matters as much as the procedure. That a regulated nervous system receives clinical intervention differently than a fearful one.

Think about it this way: imagine surgery without anesthesia. The patient feels everything. They brace, resist, and cannot fully receive what the surgeon is offering. Nervous system regulation is not anesthesia — but it is preparation. It is what helps a patient arrive open instead of armored.

Greg arrived open.

This is exactly what the BeWell Method™ was built to support — the layer of care that happens before rehabilitation begins, and continues long after discharge.

Not instead of physical therapy. Alongside it.

Regulation before rehabilitation.

Little by little. Again and again.

Kimberlea Smarr is a therapeutic movement specialist and the creator of the BeWell Method™ — a clinician-directed nervous system regulation protocol. Rooted in yoga. Built for clinical use.

Learn more at kimberlea-smarr.mykajabi.com/bewell-method-founding-member-1