LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Body Works: Thoughts on Holistic Wellness |
by Gregory Myers |
Ive had a long career devoted to my body. It all began as a young athlete, spending hours in the swimming pool, lap after lap, training my body to go farther and faster with each stroke. Swimming led to volleyball and gymnastics, which in turn led to dance, and I enjoyed twenty years of training, teaching, and performing before finding my way to massage school, and further investigations and discoveries of this miraculous body we call "human." My intent in this column is to shed some light about healing and wellness which I have been privileged to experience throughout the years. If there is one thing I have learned, its that this body of ours is an amazingly versatile entity. It is truly resilientand thankfully so! Id like to take some time to introduce some basic concepts of holistic well-being. In the following weeks, I shall spend some time focusing on particular issues to our community as well as share some thoughts on particular modalities (or approaches to wellness) such as qi gong, yoga, bodywork, reiki, and the like. In my role as a bodywork educator at the Baltimore School of Massage, and in my private lessons on Reiki, I stress that the purpose of holistic wellness lies in empowering the clients to seek and activate their own inner healer. There are a variety of techniques through which this is possible, but the most important issue is to bring this awareness to the client. One simple version of holistic wellness to investigate is known as the "Triad of Wellness." This triad consists of nutrition, activity, and stress-management. As Im not a nutrition expert, Ill leave the gist of that to others (but the terms "moderation" and "well-balanced" do seem appropriate!). Activity can consist of any physical activity that will promote either flexibility, cardiovascular fitness, or strength development. This doesnt mean you should devote your energy to becoming a world-class athlete, however, you should pay particular attention to exercising the body in a healthful manner. One key is to find activities which you enjoy. Believe me, its much easier sticking with something you like as opposed to an activity you feel you simply HAVE to do! By improving your flexibility, you will find more ease in your movements, less aches, more fluidity and greater ability. In developing your cardiovascular fitness (probably the MOST important of the three), you combat the effects of aging, improve longevity, and improve daily performance. To do so, you only need to pursue cardiovascular activity for a minimum of three times a week for thirty minutespretty simple when you think about it! Strength training will allow you to more fully pursue a variety of activities, and to go about your daily business with the ability to accomplish them. Simple things, such as lifting a child become much easier and less stressful. Stress managementwow, what a term, one hears it and begins thinking of work, simply because management is present! Joan Borysenko, the former director of the Body/Mind clinic of Deaconess Hospital at Harvard University, uses the term "stress hardiness." She points out that it is NOT bad to have stress in our lives; whats important is how we react to the stress! By alleviating the DIStress in our lives, we can become more productive, and actually use stress as a means for enhancing our lives. Stress is simply any occurrence which necessitates change. Getting out of bed each morning places a stress on the heart as we move from a horizontal position to a vertical one. To some individuals, this can be a challenging experienceto others it can be an invigorating one: What makes the difference? Read this next paragraph, then put the magazine down and try it. Close your eyes and place yourself in a comfortable position. You may lie down or sit. Now take a deep, cleansing breath and slowly let it out. Take another, and another. Each time you exhale, tell yourself you are letting go of tension, letting go of worry, letting go of anger, letting go of pain. Gently scan your body from head to toes, and any place in which you encounter some discomfort, imagine you are sending your breath to this place. As the breath enters, it softens the discomfort; on your exhale, imagine sending the discomfort out of your body. Take at least five minutes to just pause and check in with your own bodyand release any tension you find. Once youve gone through the entire body, imagine your whole self as glowing with an inner light. Feel your feet or your back in contact with the floor. Feel present. Gently open your eyes and bring yourself back to your environment. How do you feel? More relaxed? Softer? More present? Amazing, isnt it? Techniques of mindfulness, whether the simple sitting of meditation or the gentle poses of yoga, or the graceful movements of qi gong, all allow us to reconnect first to our own bodies, then to the universe itself. In making these connections, we contact and engage the inner healer, the deeper self (some may call it the spirit or soul) which intuitively knows how to set things right in our own bodies. In the west it may be techniques such as biofeedback, but the results are the same: lower heart and breath rates, reduction of stress-related chemicals in the blood stream, improved functioning of the digestive system and the immune system. Numerous ancient healing traditions have been practiced for centuries and even millennia! The Chinese systems of The Five Elements and The Eight Conditions, both based in the philosophy of Taoism as well as the Indian system known as Ayurveda, and the shamanic traditions found nearly universally in Indigenous Cultures have exhibited time and again the power of the Self to bring healing and nurturing to those who explore them. I myself have been exploring these avenues actively for the past several years. Following my fathers sudden death in 1995, my health took a turn for the worse. Weight gain was fast and furious, I developed chronic bronchitis (common among smokers, which I then was) which eventually developed into adult onset asthma. My asthma was also described as "exercise induced" asthma. After about a year of struggling with the ailments, I began acupuncture treatments. As a bodyworker, I am also a weekly receiver of some form of bodywork (I appreciate and benefit from the more widely known massage techniques as well as the more esoteric forms such as reiki and zero balancing). Slowly my conditions began to get better. Along the route, I had a few "set-backs" that holistic care providers refer to as "healing crises." These were actual moments (some lasted days) in which my asthma (in particular) would be rather severe. But as I continued the treatments, I got better. I now no longer use an inhaler, my weight is slowly (read appropriately) returning to a healthier level, and I havent felt better in a LONG time. Indeed, a month ago I had an actual epiphany following a zero balancing session. It occurred to me that I was truly "me" again, a feeling I had not had in about fifteen years! I was ecstatic, and felt truly full of life. In my practice as a Bodyworker, whether its doing sports massage, a relaxation massage, or reiki or some other energy work, I continually focus on meeting the needs of the client, while also helping them to empower themselves to release their inner healer. I dont heal my clientsthey do. I simply serve as a facilitator for a process, that ultimately is their own. But in taking this approach, my clients begin to better understand their own bodies, and the mysteries that lie within. Next time: "So, you want a massage?" Gregory Myers, LMT, NCTMB, Reiki Master has a practice in Rehoboth Beach. Greg may be reached at 302-226-3552. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 9, No. 7, June 18, 1999 |