Practice to Perfection

Its approaching the end of my 26th year of practice and all I can say is “where did the time go”! Plenty of it was spent hanging out riding the craniosacral wave and navigating the fascial web as Rolfer. It’s hard to believe how quickly my days have flown since the first days at the Rolf Institute.

Pain has been the motivating factor that brings most people to my table, and I have created a wonderful lifestyle helping to free people from their suffering. I have also learned how important it is for my clients to have exercises to keep their structure balanced, so that they can keep a fluid alignment. If they do the exercises at home, very often that is all that is needed for them to stay comfortable in their bodies, despite the unnatural conditions we are subjecting ourselves to on a daily basis. I am also taking a larger lead in recommending supplementation to assist my clients on their journey. Inflammation challenges the system constantly, and the associated pain that often accompanies unchecked inflammation, makes it difficult for us to be as effective with our manual skills, because of the patients inability to “hold” the work. I highly recommend that other therapists look upon inflammation as as source to be reckoned with in the repair mechanism that we stimulate. A well thought out, scientifically proven course of anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatories like fish oils and tocotrienols, turmeric, cardamom, as well nitric oxide precursors, all are valuable in bringing balance back into our patients bodies.

These days in order to create a well rounded practice, I believe the practitioner should be versed in a few aspects other than their manual skills in order to assist their client’s wellness journey. Recommending or teaching yoga asanas, tai chi routines, chi gung, diet and supplementation, all expand and balance our ability to help our clients move gracefully and as pain free as possible in the hustle and bustle of our daily existence. Just a simple breathing exercise that you can ask your clients to do when they are feeling overwhelmed, can bring fantastic and obvious changes when they are seeded as a necessary amendment to living in the rapidly moving energy field of the 21st century. Its incredible how taking even a one day break from technology, can bring a sense of refreshing calm to our clients, many who feel compressed by the time constraints that technology has brought upon us.

I find it humorous, when I reflect back on the bravado of those individuals who were so excited about the potential of technology that was being introduced in the late 19th and early 20th century. They espoused the rhetoric that primitive man worked around 27 hours a week to live on this planet, and that with technological advances, those of the modern world would have so much more free time to enjoy being human! Yikes! Its true trains are faster than horses, but on reflection, I think I would enjoy traveling in a saddle and my connection to nature on the back of a horse, more than flying commercial these days! Ouch! Of course getting to Hawaii from Virginia would require a totally different headspace. There is no question technology has brought a wealth of phenomenal attributes, but unfortunately most of us are working a lot more than the primitive tribesman who still inhabit this world. Well, forgive me for my ramblings. Its obvious that technology is accelerating and creating less than desirable outcomes upon our physical and mental health. Its our job as therapists to help our client/patients to deal with the acceleration of technology and its impact upon our lives, and how to find balance and quiet amidst the chaos!