I was 38 years old before anyone touched me that I was not fighting or romancing. My first Chiropractor was also a Bodyworker. Cathy was amazing in what her touch opened up in me. At the time I was a daily, pack-a-day smoker of Marlboros, eating junk food and carrying around an undiagnosed parasite infection, had bleeding hemorrhoids, flat feet, suppressed chest and breathing, chronic migraine headaches, unrecognized grief and lost ambition for my life. I had lived at 38 addresses and had 37 different jobs. I was out of touch with myself.
Cathy’s work began awakening me. The magic, joy of living and ambition was there in me all along. I had just lost touch with it.
It is 1984, 2:00 in the afternoon in Southern California. Cathy’s office is inside her home in a modest part of Venice, California. On this day I am laying face-up on her bodywork table. I am dressed in a T-Shirt and shorts. She is in sweat pants and loose, blue blouse. The bodywork table is centered in the carpeted room. The room has some ocean cliffs artwork and anatomical charts on the pale green walls. There is some gentle new age music going in the background. The lights are dim. Her desk has her schedule and paperwork scattered about. She is sitting on a stool at the head of the table. She has already manipulated, adjusted my spine and I can feel the blood and nerves warming up my spine all the way to my head. I am incredibly relaxed and hyper-alert at the same time. She rests her hands across my forehead and begins to move her thumbs back and forth across my forehead right in between my eyebrows.
She says, “This is will begin to open up your Third Eye. It will only open after we get the energy going through your spine”.
She continues, “Opening your Third Eye is the beginning of appreciating the creativity that all people have. Even you. Did you ever wonder where all the things in our world came from? The Third Eye not only sees, it also receives creative guidance.”
Cathy’s adjustments, touch and wisdom were the beginning of a lifetime of emotion filled, awakening to health and vibrant well-being. I found my purpose. I began studying bodywork and consciously nourishing myself.
I first studied massage at the Institute for Psycho Structural Balancing. They also introduced Tai Chi and Yoga.
I then studied Hellerwork and Feldenkreis movement. Both of these are healthfully fun and awakening.
Then I went off to Chiropractic School. Included in the licensed Doctor of Chiropractic education is the concept of “Innate Intelligence”. This is the elusive obvious notion that there is a “life force” in every Human Being that provides heart beats, breathing, movement, thoughts, creativity and healthful daily habits. The adjustments and bodywork open the body for this force to flow. I schedule this work regularly for myself. I have been to over 100 teachers and practitioners of many different disciplines. I am much healthier now than I was at 38. None of those earlier symptoms are with me any more. I love my life and am looking forward to my next 72 years.
We’ll see how that goes. I’ll keep you posted.
