Cyndi Otfinowski graduated with a BSc in Environmental and Conservation Sciences (1996) prior to starting her career path in physiotherapy. She enjoys being outside in nature, bird watching and walking her dog. 

In 2003, Cyndi graduated from University of Western Ontario with a BSc in Physical Therapy (with distinction). In her quest to learn more, Cyndi returned to school and obtained her Masters in Rehabilitation Science in 2015 from McGill University. Her Masters thesis was the “Interaction between depth of breathing and walking speed in individuals post-stroke”. The most significant finding was that increasing the depth of breathing while walking a comfortable speed, in individuals post-stroke, improved their walking speed.

 

Cyndi has worked in an acute care hospital, focused mostly on education after a heart attack or heart surgery; respiratory techniques to assist with airway clearance and assisting clients to improve their mobility. Cyndi is also honoured to be a assistant lab instructor for the University of Manitoba in the physiotherapy program for the Clinical Skills for Physical Therapy in Cardiorespiratory Conditions Course. 

 

Cyndi loves to learn. She has completed Levels 1 & 2 of the Bradcliff Method® . These are techniques to help people with breathing pattern disorders (common in athletes and in people with Long Covid), and Exercise-Induced Laryngeal Obstruction (aka Vocal chord dysfunction). She also recently received certification as a ‘Breathing Behaviour Analyst’ and is working towards her certification as a “certified respiratory educator” (courses completed but exam awaits!). She has completed courses in mindfulness for chronic pain and coaching for performance, and passed the french language exam of the Office Québecois de la langue française. Cyndi has completed 2 years of the Feldenkrais® Teacher Training program and can now teach ‘Awareness Through Movement ®’ lessons.

 

Cyndi’s main clinical interests are in helping people with breathing difficulties, chronic pain, balance and mobility challenges, and using health behaviour coaching to help people reach their health goals. Cyndi is motivated to help people improve their function through breathing exercises and task-specific exercises. She believes her 19 year physiotherapy career in hospital, teaching and research, as well as her personal experience, can help many people recover from injury or illness.

 

Cyndi’s own challenges after an injury in 2016, have encouraged her to explore many different types of treatment, to assist with chronic pain and recovery. The Goldilocks rule: not too much, not too little, but ‘just right’, has become her new philosophy of living.  She realizes that it is extremely important to be ‘aware’ of how she is moving more than accomplishing the movement itself, in order to determine what is pain-free and efficient movement. She hopes to share this journey with many of her patients to find the ‘just right’.