Dancers are built different. We know that. We've seen it in the studio, on stage, and in auditions. The pain tolerance is unmatched. The work ethic is relentless. The ability to smile through a pulled hamstring or a screaming lower back is practically a superpower. Even Kobe Bryant said it: dancers have the highest pain tolerance on the planet.
But here's the thing about superpowers—they don't come for free.
Because when you're trained to push through, to smile through, to "just get through the day," your body is listening. And it's keeping score.
In a recent episode of Inside the Space with the Millers, Krista and Cory sat down with longtime friend and somatic therapist Jenna Stewart to unpack something that every dancer, parent, and studio owner needs to hear: the body holds everything. And if you're not releasing it, it's not going anywhere.
Welcome to the uncomfortable, beautiful, necessary truth about healing, performance, and the business of you.
Jenna Stewart knows the dancer's body intimately—because she's lived in one. A scholarship dancer at the Performing Arts Center, she herniated L4, L5, and S1 early in her career. Doctors said surgery. She said no. Through myofascial release and a relentless refusal to let go of her dream, she found another way.
But the body keeps sending messages. Carpal tunnel in both hands. A mysterious neck pain that no doctor could diagnose. Epidurals. Nerve ablations. Waking up in tears, hoping the pain would disappear. It didn't.
Until she discovered the root cause wasn't physical at all.
It was psychosomatic.
And that's when somatic therapy entered her life—and changed everything.
Most of us outsource for answers. We go to doctors, therapists, specialists. We take pills, get injections, book treatments. We're looking for something outside of ourselves to fix what's broken.
But the body has a primal way of healing itself. Indigenous cultures chanted for healing. They danced for healing. That's not poetry—that's biology.
Emotion is stored in the tissue. Heartbreak at 16? Still there. The fear of not getting the job? Still there. The anxiety of walking into an audition, the pressure of a callback, the stress of running a company or raising a family or navigating a relationship where you're not speaking your truth? All of it. Compounding. Layering. Taking up real estate in the body until there's no room left.
And then the body sends a signal. A tight jaw. A knot in the shoulder. A grinding pain in the neck. A gut that's constantly in knots.
That's not a weakness. That's a message.
You've heard of myofascial release. You've probably even foam-rolled. But do you actually know what fascia is—and why it matters more than stretching?
Fascia is connective tissue. It's a web-like structure that surrounds every organ, every bone, every muscle. It holds you upright. It's full of fluid. And when it's dehydrated, nothing moves properly. Muscles can't slide and glide. Tendons can't function. The whole system locks up.
Hydration comes from water, yes. But it also comes from pressure. Myofascial release—through a roller, a ball, or intentional touch—pushes into that tissue like a sponge, allowing moisture and fluid to move freely. That's how bones and muscles find their range again. That's how healing begins.
But here's where it gets deeper.
If you've had an injury, or surgery, the fascia around that area gets dehydrated. And the emotion around that injury—the fear, the frustration, the grief—gets trapped right there with it. The body can't release one without releasing the other. That's why somatic therapy isn't just physical. It's emotional. It's neurological. It's whole.
Krista admitted something in the conversation that many of us can relate to: "I feel like I have a really hard time with my inhale. My exhale feels so amazing, but when I inhale, I feel like it stops."
Jenna's response was simple but profound: "When you inhale, your stomach is supposed to release. It needs to come out."
Most of us chest-breathe. It's survival breathing. It's just enough oxygen to get through the day. But it's not nourishing. It doesn't reset the nervous system. It doesn't signal safety to the brain.
Belly breathing—deep, intentional, diaphragmatic—is a technique. And like any technique, it has to be learned and practiced. One of Jenna's favorite exercises is the audible exhale: breathe in for six, hold for four, and release with a long, consistent tone—like a flat line of sound. It's not about sounding good. It's about vibration. It's about signaling to the vagus nerve that it's safe to calm down.
Humming. Singing. Crying. Even screaming in the car. These are somatic releases. They're not weakness. They're wisdom.
And the best part? You can do them anywhere. In the car after an audition. In the shower before a big day. Sitting in the parking lot before you walk into class. Breath is accessible. Breath is free. Breath is a tool that nobody can take from you.
Jenna introduced a concept that stopped us in our tracks: the Life Operating System.
Your phone has an operating system. Your laptop has one. It's how the system runs—efficiently or not. So why wouldn't your life have one?
She breaks it into three pillars: emotional, physical, and financial.
For each one, you need a baseline and boundaries. What will you tolerate? What won't you tolerate? How much sleep do you need to function? What's the minimum movement you require to feel like yourself? How do you let people speak to you? What's your financial floor?
Then, do an audit. A life audit. Every year—or anytime you feel stuck. Look at those three areas. What's working? What's not? What are you holding onto that's no longer serving you?
Because here's the thing about operating systems: they need updates. And if you've got no storage left, it's not because you're failing. It's because you haven't processed what you've taken on.
It's the digital equivalent of buying more cloud space instead of deleting what you don't need. But in the body, you can't buy more storage. You have to release.
Jenna was asked: "What's the number one warning sign that someone is headed toward burnout?"
Her answer: Sleep.
Sleep is how the body resets. If you're not sleeping—or you're not sleeping well—you're stacking today's stress on top of yesterday's. And the day before that. And the week before that. And soon, you're running on empty but you've forgotten what full even feels like.
Other signs: a jaw that aches, a knee that twinges, a shoulder that won't relax. These aren't random. They're not "just getting older." They're signals. Messages from the body saying: slow down. Pay attention. Something needs tending to.
And the intervention doesn't have to be dramatic. It can be five minutes of breath work before bed. It can be sitting down to eat—actually sitting, actually chewing, actually breathing. It can be a full-body pause of intentional rest. You don't need to upend your life. You just need to listen.
It's easy to overlook nutrition when you're busy. But Jenna made it clear: what you eat is how you fuel the business of you.
Dancers, especially, have complicated relationships with food. The 90s taught us fat-free everything. Restriction was the norm. But nourishment isn't about eating less. It's about eating what your body actually needs. Protein. Real ingredients. Food that makes you feel alive, not depleted.
And yes—you can have sourdough from the farmer's market. You can enjoy your meals. You can savor. Because when the body is nourished, everything changes. The brain works better. The nervous system calms down. The fascia hydrates. The healing begins.
Jenna left us with one final thought: "Our bodies are a business."
It doesn't matter if you're a dancer on tour, a CEO in a boardroom, or a parent juggling carpools. You are the CEO of your own vessel. And how you treat it determines your longevity, your joy, and your ability to keep showing up for the people and things you love.
Somatic therapy isn't just for the injured. It's for everyone. It's a practice. A daily practice of listening, releasing, and rebuilding. It's unique to you—your patterns, your wounds, your dreams.
And the good news? It's never too late to start.
If this conversation resonated with you—if you felt that familiar tug in your chest or that ache in your back that you've been ignoring—take it as a sign. Your body is asking for your attention. It's not your enemy. It's your partner.
You can find more from Jenna Stewart at JennaStewartCoaching.com and on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook as JennaStewartCoaching. Her work is changing lives—and it can change yours too.
At The Brea Space, we believe in training the whole dancer. Not just the technique, but the mindset. Not just the movement, but the healing that makes movement sustainable. This is the space where passion meets purpose—and where we get honest about the journey.
Now go breathe. And listen. Your body has been trying to tell you something all along.
Cory M. Miller is a creative director, filmmaker, entrepreneur and former professional skater based in Southern California. He is the co-founder of The Brea Space and creator of The Space TV, where he works alongside his wife, Krista Miller, developing and mentoring the next generation of artists.
His career has moved through professional action sports, Hollywood stunt work, filmmaking, photography and creative direction—experiences that now inform his approach to mentorship and artist development.
Cory co-hosts Inside the Space with the Millers with Krista, where they explore creativity, family, careers, personal growth and the realities behind building a life in the entertainment industry.
