Approaches in Healing: A Book Review
Approaches in Healing: A Book Review
Approaches in Healing: A Book Review
In my passion and quest to continually find new and innovative, as well as tried-and-true approaches to self-healing, I found this gem.
Back Mechanic: The secrets to a healthy spine your doctor isn’t telling you. This is a step-by-step self-help approach offered by Stuart McGill, PhD, from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Dr. McGill has developed a layman’s approach to learning and healing through refining various fitness approaches over the past 30 years. This approach helps world-class athletes, Olympians, and everyday individuals move beyond managing their pain and find alternative solutions to facilitate healing without surgery. What spoke to me most is his approach is so congruent with the work of Moshe Feldenkrais, who dedicated his life to helping others develop newer, more efficient patterns than the hard-wired patterns conditioned into our nervous systems a long time ago.
“Very often, ‘what happens’ takes years to reveal itself. It takes courage to confront our actions, pull back the layers of trauma in our lives, and expose the raw truth of our past. But this is where healing begins.” – Oprah Winfrey
Doctors Feldenkrais and McGill intend that their students, who might consider themselves patients, awaken to what they are doing and revamp their conditioned, ‘no pain, no gain’ patterns into a discovery. How to assess what causes the pain, and once this strain pattern is recognized through a thorough assessment of what actually triggers any discomfort, to cease activating that pattern completely. Now, for many, this doesn’t mean forever. Still, any movements that actually begin to awaken the discomfort, continuing to push into this resistance, only create more resistance and irritation to tissues that are already under assault. As we say in the Feldenkrais world: “No pain, No gain, NO Brain!”
For those who prefer to work directly with a skilled practitioner, there are others, such as Feldenkrais and McGill practitioners, who are proficient in supporting individuals who need more coaching and mentoring to help guide them forward, from managing their pain to living pain-free. It’s possible for many; nothing is ever 100%. What is required is to learn and explore with awareness on a daily basis. Awakening to what actually created the deterioration of tissues through repetitive strain is actually the most productive way to heal oneself. It starts with curiosity, and you realize that often there’s fear about the loss of not being able to do what you want.
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life, and the procedure, the process is its own reward.” – Ameila Earhart
What I found most intriguing as I continued to read and reread through McGill’s explanations and step-by-step approach was how intuitive it was in relation to my Feldenkrais and fitness training. Learn how to discover more improved ways of acting simply by slowing down and comparing through sensations instead of being told what to do without testing the outcome. It’s more about listening quietly and moving outside your habitual way of acting, to find other ways to quiet the irritation of tissues and allow them to heal. You begin to improve as you move slowly, reducing the goal to push and do more. Instead, listen to the absence of distress in tissues that are healing, allowing them to heal so you can return to doing what you want.
Please don’t wait until you’ve past the tipping point, as many do before coming to Feldenkrais, having tried everything else to alleviate their discomfort, instead of learning how to help yourself achieve immediate improvements. For me, it wasn’t about back pain, but rather my curiosity about what’s out there that supports and helps others learn how to improve.
Reach out when you’re interested, as I can support you in this process, whether by exploring my fitness focus with Feldy Fitness or the McGill approach. It’s about learning and reducing what triggers, even a little. Begin to recognize that healing comes from soothing what ails you, rather than provoking it with rebound symptoms, as this is the opposite of self-healing. Awareness of what you are doing and how is what this self-healing is all about.
I hope I have earned the privilege of your time and attention this week. I invite you to join my mentoring ATM classes and experience the benefits for yourself after just one class or private session, as I’m known for facilitating positive results.
Warmest,
Peggi
