Lately I’ve had many clients say this to me on the table. Behind my face mask a grin forms, ear to ear. This is an opportunity for growth for both me and my clients and Its the moment I live for. Its comments like that that signal to me “we’re going to learn a lot here”. They continue to explain some strange sensation in their body they have had either on the table or off the table. Unfortunately these sensations are usually a result of some sort of physical or emotional trauma; something that shook the bedrock of our physical, emotional and/or spiritual beings. A car accident, a fall, the loss of a loved one, recovery from drug addiction, a mysterious pathology Dr’s can’t seem to figure out. This is my chance to assure them they are NOT crazy and that this is normal. Its an opportunity for me to take the knowledge I have of the human body and what lies beneath our skin and help demystify whats might be going on.

In school, when we learned about pathology I couldn’t help but be amazed what a window it offered into the function of our body. and understanding the “self”. When a body is working perfectly or efficiently its easy to take it for granted. Its like looking at a completed puzzle. Part of what makes a completed puzzle so fun is remembering how it was all in broken pieces in a box with no order. Its putting the pieces together that makes that complete image so rewarding. When one piece of the puzzle is missing we get to understand how the pieces all work together. Its one thing to experience that from an outsiders perspective, its a whole other journey to experience that within ourselves.

My job in many ways is not that different than teaching people how to complete a puzzle themselves. NOT doing the puzzle for them.

1) Look for the edge pieces equals creating a container for their problem. Their problem isn’t this infinite never-ending, boundless sphere of suffering. Rationalizing their experience of feeling crazy to the structures and functions of their body.

2) Picking up the rest of the pieces and trying to figure out how one connects to the other. Looking at the shape color and size is equal to examining the muscle’s tension, how that muscle connects to other muscles, organs and systems in their body.

3) Not getting caught up in the pieces whose place you can’t find. Putting the piece down and looking for the piece that does fit equals to pointing at diet, vitamin deficiencies, exercise, breathing habits and whatever else that helps connect more pieces together.

4) Searching for the right piece and having the faith that they’ll find it equals instilling hope that even though you cant fix the problem yet you’ll find the source eventually when you least expect it.

5) Even when you put all the pieces together you might be disappointed to find that one piece is missing and that it WILL show up some day. Maybe under a couch cushion, maybe even in your dogs bowel movements the next day. Its there. We just need to let our natural course of life reveal it to us.