For most of her life, Gaby never imagined that one day she’d find joy in lifting heavy weights. For years, her reality was the opposite: debilitating chronic pain, fatigue, and a body that felt more like a prison than a home.
Her journey from years of neuroplastic pain—often called TMS (Tension Myoneural Syndrome)—to building strength and confidence in the gym has been long, messy, and transformative. Today, she can honestly say she is free of chronic pain, and she’s stronger—physically and mentally—than ever.
This is her story.
Living with Pain That Doctors Couldn’t Explain
Gaby’s symptoms began when she was about 15. As a classical ballet dancer in Mexico, she thought the backaches, neck pain, and constant tiredness were “just part of the job.” But the pain worsened. Eventually, it spread to her feet, hands, and entire body.
Doctors ran tests but found nothing. Some shrugged, others suggested stress, and eventually she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. None of it helped. The pain became so unbearable that she had to quit dancing—the thing she loved most.
Looking back now, she often asks herself: How did I live with that for so many years? The answer was that she didn’t know another way. She was stuck in a cycle of stress, tension, and despair.
The Root Cause: Repressed Emotion and Tension
It wasn’t until much later that Gaby realized her body was holding on to years of unprocessed emotion.
She had left her country and family behind, struggled with infertility for a decade, and grew up in a strict Catholic environment where she learned to keep everything bottled up. Instead of grieving or releasing those feelings, she carried them in her body.
As a dancer, she was also conditioned to look perfect at all times. She held her breath through combinations, clenched her feet and muscles, and lived in a constant state of tension. Her nervous system thought she was in danger all the time—and pain was the way it tried to protect her.
Hitting Rock Bottom and Finding Hope
After 14–15 years of daily suffering, Gaby was crying almost every day. That’s when a friend gave her
The Mindbody Prescription by Dr. John Sarno. She read it in two nights. For the first time, she recognized herself on those pages.
It wasn’t an overnight cure, but it cracked the door open. From there, she found other resources—Nicole Sachs, Alan Gordon, the Curable app—and eventually Dan Buglio’s support group, which was life-changing.
What she learned was simple but powerful: the first step in healing chronic pain is getting rid of the fear. That wasn’t easy—it took consistency, patience, and a lot of inner work—but once she stopped being afraid of her pain, her nervous system began to calm.
Learning to Calm Her Body
Gaby committed to daily practices that retrained her nervous system and released years of tension:
* Breathing exercises + meditation: She practiced progressive muscle relaxation and learned how to breathe again after years of holding her breath as a dancer. She started telling her brain, “You’re safe. You’re okay.”
* Living in the present: She stopped worrying about a future that hadn’t happened yet. Anxiety only stole the peace she could have right now.
* Moving without fear: Even when it hurt,
