of healing. These days, I am asked into hospitals to work on patients. It’s not officially prescribed treatment, and when they write it on the patient’s medical chart it is listed as “healing” (which must be terribly confusing for administrative staff!), but nonetheless it is recommended “therapy” by their physician. If one medical professional is to introduce me to another, they tend to introduce me under the banner of “complementary medicine”. You have to like that.
Back in the old days, in my role as an anatomical physiologist, I ultimately ended working primarily in rehabilitation. Although recently, whilst lecturing at a course, I told the students “I used to work in rehabilitation, and now I work in…well, rehabilitation.” My best description of an anatomical physiologist is a mechanical engineer for the human body. At the musculoskeletal level I would rebalance, reshape, and reintroduce function to the gross motor movement of a body. Various doctors and therapists would refer their patients to me for a more finely tuned approach to aid their recovery. I worked on all types of people, from the elite athletes to personally training everyday people to simply lose a few pounds, and all sorts in between. A fantastic job!
I was never actually taught any sort of methodical approach when assessing a client. When I earned my double degree it was tailored for me, so it wasn’t a standard physiotherapy or medical training. It turned out that was a huge asset, as I entered this profession unencumbered by any existing methodical paradigms.
When a client came to me, I would look at them from the perspective of how the human body can be, and what we needed to change in the client’s body in order for it to be as it should. I never doubted that any single body could recover from where it was. Even back then I would go right into the depths of research to create a plan, basically from the cellular level up, and orchestrate an environment for that body to repair itself. (Not dissimilar to what I do now, right?)
Be under no illusion, this was not easy work for the clients, but few ever complained. A gentleman came to me after having melanoma removed, with huge divots of flesh cut out of a major muscle group and barely able to walk due to the resulting overall weakness. Of course he was told there was no real hope of recovery, but he might be able to walk comfortably in time. Twelve weeks later he was able to play football with his son again, and we went for a three-kilometre run together.
Anyone who knows me will tell you that I have an in-built requirement for symmetry. It’s not an obsession, but is close to it. (I can hear friends scoffing as I write.) So I couldn’t resist, when rehabilitating someone, to rebalance them entirely. It wasn’t a conscious decision as such; to me, it just made sense that in order to maintain a working system, it needed to balance.
Usually when someone has a major illness or injury, the body naturally compensates in order to keep functioning. So I would find that a body had become hugely asymmetrical, musculoskeletally, as the client’s gait had altered, or even their breathing had been shallower, resulting from the effects of their general health situation. So part of their recovery plan was targeted at general overall strength and health. As such, a pleasant serendipity would take place, and they would look terrific.
The gentleman with history of melanoma told me, that on the day he played football with his twelve-year-old son, that when he removed his shirt, his very impressed son said, “Whoa! Dad! You’re ripped!” Translation: he looked great.
I had one lady who was forty-two years old tell me that she had never looked as good as she did recovering from a car accident! Her actual words were, “I didn’t look this good when I was fifteen!”
I won’t go into detail about how this affected the rest of their lives. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this had a dramatic alteration on their self-esteem, an essential personal shift.
When you are given a terminal health diagnosis, as I myself have had, a period of grief for the life you had closely follows. Whether it is “You have two weeks to live” or “You’ll never walk again”, you are forced to accept what feels like an unacceptable permanent change, one that alters everything within you. Your perspective of yourself and the life you have is dramatically changed. Your family, your friends, all the decisions you have made that have gotten you to that place; all this changes in view of this new perspective. And though it seems like the end, bizarrely, it’s a great starting point.
Things are not always what they seem.
It is no coincidence that just prior to a person finding their essential gift, or realizing their goals, or achieving their very best, it is often the case that they have recently undergone a major, personal, traumatic event in their life. Some of us need that slap in the face in order to see more clearly, I guess. Take me, for example. That altered perspective changes everything. Some of us need that huge amount of pressure behind us, to get us over the line.
Take the simple element of carbon. Put under enough pressure, it becomes a diamond.
And so, here I am, telling you that physical healing is within your grasp. And the physical healing is often the very least of it.
The human body is astonishing in its power to heal itself. Put in the right environment, the possibilities are beyond our understanding of what the body can do to repair itself. Beyond our understanding, however, does not mean it isn’t occurring.
My own clients have and continue to experience healings that appear incredible and sometimes impossible. I have seen an eighty-six-year-old woman grow more than two inches as her scoliosis-affected spine straightened out in a single session. I’ve seen a disabled child speak and say “Mum” for the very first time. A stroke victim once again is able to move his arm. A man with a broken foot walks out unaided by crutches. People walk in with cancerous tumours and leave without them. A woman suffering from drug-induced depression is able to smile and function again, never again knowing the panic attacks that had hospitalized her on a weekly basis.
This isn’t an occasional occurrence, either; it is happening every day. Can you even imagine what it’s like to wake up each morning, knowing that you will be present for such a moment? For such a healing! I tell you, you are going to love this.
There is medical evidence of these individuals’ ailments prior to walking into the room. And there is medical evidence of the incredible changes that occurred for these individuals after they had walked out of the room. What I cannot offer you is the medical, or even much scientific evidence of what occurred for each of these people whilst in the session itself. Rest assured, there is research underway, and as soon as we know, we’ll let you know!
Regardless, the healings occur.
What each client experiences however, during their sessions, for this I have thousands and thousands of pages of documentation, as each experience has been as unique as the individual themselves. And those same individuals were keen for you to hear about it. Throughout this book, you will be witness to many client sessions, as I was, so that you may do what I did: learn. Some of the names of the clients are changed, but, by request, most aren’t. To each of those clients, so generous in sharing their experiences, I say thank you.
Welcome to a new perspective on healing. My gift to you is to allow you this alternate perspective by delving into my own experience. After all, this book is really about you…and this extraordinary and truly beautiful gift is available to us all.
I can’t wait to see what you do with it!
The World Doesn’t Revolve Around You, You Know!
“If you’re going through Hell, keep going.” –Winston
