From a young age, I have had the gift of touch. I remember when I was around 12 years old, I used to massage my Mother’s head. When I was in college my dorm mates would ask me to give them back rubs. So in 1969 when my sister started doing massage for a living and I was one of her first clients, something clicked and I started massaging my children. One day about 8 years later I massaged the hands of a friend. He got so excited about what he experienced that he asked me to massage his whole body. That’s when it all started. I’d never given a full massage before and I didn’t have a table to do it on. I agreed and gave my first full body massage on a tumbling mat. It was awkward. He said he wanted another one and so I asked my partner, at the time, to help me make a massage table out of wood.
Even though my technique was crude, giving a massage felt very familiar. I sent out letters to friends and acquaintances asking if they’d like to experience a massage from me. It wasn’t long before people started coming and referring their friends. I was amazed. I said to myself that I’d give it 2 years to make up my mind whether or not I would continue in this profession. After 2 years I had a waiting list.
Massage has played a large part in my own journey to healing as well. I have experienced neck pain since childhood. As different massage therapies are developed and come to my attention, my body, mind and spirit continue to become healthier and more in tune. I love being able to share my experience with my clients. I can empathize with their pain
Even though my technique was crude, giving a massage felt very familiar. I sent out letters to friends and acquaintances asking if they’d like to experience a massage from me. It wasn’t long before people started coming and referring their friends. I was amazed. I said to myself that I’d give it 2 years to make up my mind whether or not I would continue in this profession. After 2 years I had a waiting list.
Massage has played a large part in my own journey to healing as well. I have experienced neck pain since childhood. As different massage therapies are developed and come to my attention, my body, mind and spirit continue to become healthier and more in tune. I love being able to share my experience with my clients. I can empathize with their pain
My Health Journey
I went through my life struggling with my physical, emotional and mental capabilities. I was diagnosed with a Torticollis (wry neck) at 8 months in 1940. The treatment my parents chose was surgery. The inner head of the sternocleidomastoid was clipped which got rid of the tight muscle but left my atlas and axis (the first two vertebrae at the top of the spine) less supported on the left side. Now-a-days this condition has the option of being treated with massage, chiropractic care, etc.
Now I know why over the years my body slowly moved into a scoliosis pattern, but I was never diagnosed with this condition.
Now I know why over the years my body slowly moved into a scoliosis pattern, but I was never diagnosed with this condition.
In 2009, my scoliosis was in full bloom, seen above.
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As long as I kept moving as a child the pain level in my body was minimal. I remember having to sit still was very uncomfortable. I was constantly getting into trouble at school and home for my restless behavior. When I was a teenager I started having back pain for the first time. The scoliosis was becoming more pronounced, but never enough to cause any concern by a person observing me.
I instinctively knew that I needed to have some physical activity in my life. Since it was difficult for me to do most sports, I discovered at an early age that I could swim without pain. As I moved into my adult life and became a mother, my swimming days became less and less and my neck and back became more painful.
The mental, emotional and neurological difficulties I experienced were:
Inability to focus, retain what I was studying in school and pay attention in class.
I instinctively knew that I needed to have some physical activity in my life. Since it was difficult for me to do most sports, I discovered at an early age that I could swim without pain. As I moved into my adult life and became a mother, my swimming days became less and less and my neck and back became more painful.
The mental, emotional and neurological difficulties I experienced were:
Inability to focus, retain what I was studying in school and pay attention in class.
- My brain hemispheres weren’t talking to each other.
- I’d lose my thoughts very easily, especially under pressure.
- I developed a mixed dominance.
- By the age of five I needed glasses.
- My cognitive understanding was limited and underdeveloped.
- I struggled in school.
- I had dyslexia.
- I lacked depth in my vision, which made it difficult for me to judge distances.
- I became accident prone.
- I never felt good enough, which my Mother reinforced whenever my behavior didn’t suit her.
- My self esteem was low.
- I had an eating disorder.
- I never saw myself as pretty or good looking.
- I started tripping over nothing.
- My memory became impaired.
- My food sensitivities worsened.
Healing Myself
When I started to do massage the pain in my neck and back got worse because of the long hours of working while standing and bending over the table. This led me to explore what I could do for myself so I could continue to help others with their physical challenges. Since the massage schools were getting started at the same time I started seeking out workshops that would help me learn more about the profession while receiving help for myself.
I was attracted to ways of working with energy. Touch For Health / Applied Kinesiology / Bio Kinesiology were the first workshops I took besides studying the basic Swedish Massage strokes from my sister and a friend. While practicing what I learned in TFH I had to learn the meridians that run up and down the body and what muscles and organs were on each meridian. This knowledge and skill turned out to be a big part of the table work I do.
In order to continue massagingI had to receive a massage on a weekly basis and so I started trading for services. Since I’m a kinesthetic learner this way of learning has been invaluable.
One day in the 80’s while I was in a workshop somebody took a look at my spine and said you have scoliosis . No-one had ever said that about my spine before. I remember as a teenager I was ridiculed for walking like an ape and I couldn’t figure out what my peers were talking about. As I flashed back to that memory I realized that my side curved spine was the cause of this posture and backaches.
Since then I’ve been on a mission to find out what caused this condition and how to reverse it. The chart below lists the courses I studied over the past 41 years. All of these learning situations have helped my personal conditions as well as my clients.
I was attracted to ways of working with energy. Touch For Health / Applied Kinesiology / Bio Kinesiology were the first workshops I took besides studying the basic Swedish Massage strokes from my sister and a friend. While practicing what I learned in TFH I had to learn the meridians that run up and down the body and what muscles and organs were on each meridian. This knowledge and skill turned out to be a big part of the table work I do.
In order to continue massagingI had to receive a massage on a weekly basis and so I started trading for services. Since I’m a kinesthetic learner this way of learning has been invaluable.
One day in the 80’s while I was in a workshop somebody took a look at my spine and said you have scoliosis . No-one had ever said that about my spine before. I remember as a teenager I was ridiculed for walking like an ape and I couldn’t figure out what my peers were talking about. As I flashed back to that memory I realized that my side curved spine was the cause of this posture and backaches.
Since then I’ve been on a mission to find out what caused this condition and how to reverse it. The chart below lists the courses I studied over the past 41 years. All of these learning situations have helped my personal conditions as well as my clients.
By 2011, after completing Bones for Life, my posture improved at a core level, and I no longer experienced the pain that had plagued me in my youth.
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Slowly aligning my body has been and still is an evolutionary process. As the different therapies are developed and come to my attention, my body, mind and spirit continue to become healthier and more in tune. I love being able to share my experience with my clients. I can empathize with their pain.
The symptoms mentioned earlier have lessened considerably, The cellular memory from the old patterns are rapidly disappearing also. Over the last two years more pain has reappeared which was confusing to me. I recently learned that the old body scars have been pulling my body out of alignment. Neural therapy along with body and movement integration has taken me one step further to less pain and more movement with ease. I have to keep reminding myself maintaining whole body, mind, emotional and spiritual health is a life long journey.
I've finally accepted the fact that my scoliosis condition is not going away. The key now is doing what I have to do to remain flexible. Being able to move from within the curve is a daily goal.
Photo of the Southern Pacific Coast on Costa Rica by Viana
The symptoms mentioned earlier have lessened considerably, The cellular memory from the old patterns are rapidly disappearing also. Over the last two years more pain has reappeared which was confusing to me. I recently learned that the old body scars have been pulling my body out of alignment. Neural therapy along with body and movement integration has taken me one step further to less pain and more movement with ease. I have to keep reminding myself maintaining whole body, mind, emotional and spiritual health is a life long journey.
I've finally accepted the fact that my scoliosis condition is not going away. The key now is doing what I have to do to remain flexible. Being able to move from within the curve is a daily goal.
Photo of the Southern Pacific Coast on Costa Rica by Viana