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The Yellow Brick Road For Healers

I have often observed in my own practice, that a similar applied technique can yield completely different results. One client walked away feeling almost “healed” and another, well the impact in that session was no greater than that of a fart in a tornado. So, throughout my journey I have have been searching for techniques that might bring greater results. A technique that may have nothing to do really with the tools from either of the two disciplines that I practice. Rolfing has specific ways to apply tools of the trade, and cranial work brings a whole completely different set of rules and tools. In cranial work we talk about field dynamics and the practitioner fulcrum from which all the work unfolds or streams forth. Rolfing requires a quality of attention because fascial envelopes move throughout the body and our touch must be able to discern far from the place of contact. Those who know very little about Rolfing miss the subtleties of her art form. Cranial work is often thought of as purely energetic and also miss the subtle awareness of the practitioner must embody. When I was first taught cranial approach from the Upledger Institute there really was no emphasis on practitioner fulcrums. It was essentially following the purported moves of the bones, and then “adjusting” them sequentially. The Biodynamic Cranial training changed most of that.

When I was just started to ‘wear the healer’s robes” at the Rolf Institute, I heard a story about Dr. Rolf who had been involved in a study conducted by Dr. Valerie Hunt at UC Davis in the 60’s or 70’s. I am not sure of the dates. Roselyn Bruyere, who is the famous healer intuitive, was asked to observe various healers perform their art during this study. Roselyn’s part was to observe the flow of energy from the hands and field of each participant. She said, that she had never observed anyone “run” so much energy out of their hands as Dr Rolf. Hearing this story while I was a newbie at the Institute, I intuitively understood their was much more going on in the work then just techniques that could border on harshness, especially since many of my teachers also practiced cranial and visceral work. [Read more…]

Stillness In Life, Life In Motion

Riding The Motion of The Wave

Ours is an esoteric work, and the seed that was planted in our garden of education as we grew up in this society, created a learning style of having to know and outcome. If you couldn’t regurgitate well, you were made to wear the dunce cap, metaphorically speaking. So, what would it be like to plant a seed in the healer’s garden of not having all the answers all of the time? Just witness the process? This becomes a way of allowing knowledge to unfold and move towards you. In the Cranial work that I have been guided by, I learn ever so slowly and quietly in the field of stillness. Then movement, a wave to reflect upon a pattern created by past events, begins to preach to me. I just watch, and allow the silent vocabulary to speak in the language of not needing to know or accomplish anything. I am there to hold a field safely with love. Technique is great, but mindset trumps. By playing in the “field” of not having to know, I embody stillness in life, life in motion as Dr. Becker taught. The body has a wisdom that knows more exquisitely how to heal its past injuries, then my ideas impressed upon it. It just yearns for a little help from its friend who can reflect the history by projecting/holding a fluid field from which it can then reflect upon. It has been offered that God took form to know Itself. That offering is the preeminent seed in my biodynamic garden.

I do think it is important to play with anatomy even though my memory of it fades constantly. I find myself having to refresh often at the well, anchoring me with a confidence when there appears to be no buoy in the sea of “HUH?”. I believe there is enormous benefit from knowing how the bones move on their axis that we palpate and envision. I have come to believe there must be a holographic imprint that permeates my field from the study of anatomy that facilitates a conversation with my client’s field. This conversation is most often silent, but some benefit occurs from voicing questions occasionally in that silent tongue of my mind, waiting patiently like a cat at the mouse hole for the answer. Often, but not always, and not in the conditioned amount of time of expectation, my energy projection comes bouncing back with a wave pattern for me to follow eagerly, yet tempered or I might be following apparitions of my own making. So let go, trust the tide and ride the wave. You will then have created a mesmerizing Wu Wei swing for consciousness to sit up, riding the wave on the motion of that bone, a stumbling dancer willing led by the ‘Witnessing Presence”.

Go Well,
Judah

Cranial Sacral Therapy’s Greatest Challenge

Having To Know Holds You Back!

Recently I sent out emails to my list and asked what were the two burning questions they would like to ask of me. One that is voiced often about Cranial Sacral therapy and Structural Integration is “how do I know if I am doing the technique correctly? Great question and certainly valid. I reply that every time a sculptor takes her hammer to the stone, the “finished” work of art isn’t evident in that one technique of hammer lifting stone. My answer to that question is, “what would it be like if you didn’t have to know the answer to….and just fill in the technique”. For instance, when I taught at massage schools over the course of my career, students would often approach me and ask me what was the most difficult aspect of the work. And I would answer, ” the suffering that was brought to the table and not being attached to the outcome of each session! ” In the beginning of my practice in the healing arts, I was often overcome with disillusionment when I wasn’t able to heal a client’s pain that was brought to the table. Of course we want everyone to leave feeling better than when they came in, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. If you have been on the Planet for 30 years, you can count in at around 250,000 hours of embodiment. When a pain pattern flops itself on your table, it may harbor seeds that have grown into full blown pain presentations, that had been planted at birth or in utero! So, to have and expectation that you will be able to solve a problem that has been incubating for years in a session or five for that matter, is a tall order amigas! In the beginning I used to take credit for all the victories, and succumbed mentally to all the “defeats.” Talk about seesawing emotions! As I matured on the path it was much easier to not take credit for anything and just detach from the results. That mindset allowed me not to be attached to the outcome and ushered in a deeper, intuitive conversation to unfold. I then began to notice an increase in positive outcomes with each session!

So, you buy a DVD that has been created by a teacher on a subject and you begin the process of assimilation and mastery. I am amazed how many students knock themselves off the path almost immediately by assuming that they were going to “get it” straight away. I fault our education system for that and not their own shortcomings. Any skill of any value takes time, often years, but the beauty is that miracles can unfold for those that just relax and allow the Divine energy to work through them. What is the single greatest tool to cultivate that to grow in your garden? Simple, just allow yourself “off the hook” by not having to know and just do the technique. If you are learning a basic cranial hold, and the teacher says, “ok just put your hands here and listen! Don’t go looking for anything, just follow the directions and wait for the system to show itself to you. It may take minutes or sessions to have an understanding what the teacher is trying to share with you. This approach is not about what you need, which is often the thought of fixing something and becoming the hero to that person. Dr. Sutherland practiced for 54 years after graduation from the osteopathic college in Missouri! Fifty four years! I think its ok not to be too concerned if you don’t own it right away. So, if you are learning a technique give yourself a break and create some space for wisdom to seep in like a drip irrigation system for your garden. Tend it slowly and with reverence and I promise you you will cultivate a beautiful practice.

[Read more…]

Multi-Disciplines in Massage Therapy

I began my teaching career in 1993 at the Utah College of Massage Therapy. If I had a magic wand and wanted to create a different approach to learning that centered around a more focused approach, I am sure the dark forces of mediocrity would have defeated me in my quest. I used to laugh when a student who graduated from the massage schools where I taught my craft of Rolfing and Cranial Sacral therapy, would show me their newly minted business cards adorned with a vast array of disciplines. Those massage disciplines would have been impossible to learn in even a rudimentary fashion given the amount of time that they were exposed to them. I know this might seem controversial even using the term rudimentary, but I stand my ground on the issue. The multi-discipline approach that is taught at most massage schools is taught in the hopes that a student will resonate with a particular discipline and after graduation pursue it with great fervor. Makes sense if the majority of students actually did that. I would say that most might expose themselves to a superficial level at most! Please forgive me if you don’t fall into this category.

I would change the paradigm if I were the leader of the free world of massage schools! I would expose students for a month of their 6-12 month journey to every discipline offered at the school. And then allow the student to pick one or two that they resonated with them. The teacher of course would have a great impact on their decision to study that craft. Upon their graduation, they would have a firm grasp of the two disciplines. Anatomy and kinesiology would also be mandatory and studied the entire time in conjunction with the two main approaches. Using the above mentioned course of action, I believe a massage therapist would have no trouble enrolling their clients in experiencing multi-disciplines when challenges are brought to their table that provided the best use of that discipline. Their confidence and skill levels would be sufficient when they graduated, because their knowledge of the disciplines would be relatively thorough for the present day length of massage schools. [Read more…]

Danger of Antibiotics

Becoming More Informed On Antibiotic Usage Can Be Life-Altering!

I totally support the use of antibiotics, just not in farming practices, except for the occasional emergency. But, the danger of antibiotic use exists. That being said, unless you have been living in the jungles of Papa New Guinea for the past 90 years or so, you know that the use of antibiotics has saved millions of lives! Heck, my grandfather, who I never had the pleasure of meeting, met his demise in the early 1930’s from septicemia after having an abscessed tooth pulled! The poor guy was ready to reap the rewards of a great fortune he had amassed at the ripe old age of 42 in the late 1920’s. Maybe he had bad karma or something like that, because what would have been a simple procedure today, killed the poor bastard! You are probably frighteningly aware of the lurking epidemic that will undoubtedly create a major culling of our species in the not too distant future. One needs to be aware of the dangers of antibiotics.

My job is simple really, I hope that my clients leave my office feeling better and in more control of their existence. So, I give exercises and supplement recommendations that oftentimes accelerates their journey back to the tennis courts, the roadways, the weight room, the playing fields and office chairs that are often their nemesis. I wanted to share with you some information that I believe is relevant for those of you who practice the healing arts. So, this article’s whole purpose isn’t about the value of antibiotics, but the dangers of some antibiotic usage. [Read more…]