Osteopathic Body-Coaching as a therapy for depression

Following is an email I wrote in response to a query about what Osteopathic Body-Coaching can offer from a person that suffers from severe depression.

Dear Sir / Madame,

You've asked recently for some more information about my work in relation to stress and depression and thus how body-coaching can help with matters of the mind. Before I try to describe to you my understanding of how the body can displace the mind, I would like to say that as far as I know there is still no consensus of what depression really is or what the physical or psychological cause is. There are good leads such as people with depression have shown abnormal levels of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine but there other explanations too, including genetic. I think depression can’t be narrowed down to a singular cause but is the result of many factors.

That being said I like to start with how I got interested into the body-mind link.

From the first days as an osteopath my patients, reported after their first visit improvement or complete disappearance of their physical ailments which were mainly neck, shoulder or lower back pains for which they had come to visit me. However many patients also reported improvement of cognitive functions and kept on saying things like, since your treatment: I can focus better, make better decisions and faster, I can concentrate more and feel less anxious when something goes wrong, I have the same amount of stress but I don't care as much, I have more time. 

My response was great but at the same time started to question this positive side effect. What also was given as feedback was that with people who had visited other osteopaths before coming to my practice, that they hadn't experienced that kind of a cognitive improvement. However, that can mean several things like maybe they weren't stressed then.

Still it seemed I was offering something different and I wanted to know why.

The first question I asked myself was what lesions do these patients have in common? Lesions are disorders of function and movement of the body, detected and assessed by careful palpation of the bone structures, joints and soft tissues. I was especially interested in cranial lesion patterns (The cranium is made of different bone structures: occiput, temporal bone, frontal bone, sphenoid etc). 

I reasoned that it was rather the interaction with cranial structures (cognition taking after all place in the head) what was making the main difference rather then the work for example on the knee or foot (osteopathy is a holistic approach). 

I went looking into patient records and did find that certain lesions were indeed nearly always present in various cases. 

The next step was that I explained to new patients - who hadn't mentioned their state of mind and by whom I found the lesion patterns - that people with a pattern like theirs often felt that they had difficulty concentrating, felt a bit lost, had difficulties focusing etc. Most did respond that they also felt like this. After the treatment they also reported improvement in their behavior, state of being. 

The treatment itself is performed with the person fully clothed lying on a massage table. I palpate the different parts of the cranium and the rest of the body in a specific manner, to feel if movement is normal or if there are lesions. Normal movement feels like a wave that goes rhythmically to and fro. This wave is felt but not visible by the eyes. Lesions on the other hand feel more like a palpable pulling into one direction more then another or no movement at all. 

When a lesion is found the hands are kept there and initiate the unwinding process, to reinstall rhythmic movement, ease and relaxation. The process - characterized by three phases: Engagement phase, Fulcrum (dynamic still point), disengagement phase - is carried out by the body itself the role of the osteopathic body-coach is to be there and to let the process unfold. 

These three phases is very similar to what one can find back in the breathing cycle: inspiration (tension of muscles), still point between inspiration and expiration, followed by expiration (relaxation). 

This unwinding process improves among other things the circulation of blood, lymph through the release of tensions. I do like to mention here that I do not exclude that this way of working probably also has an impact on the flow of energy in the Chinese meridian system and other energy centers. (I just don't know and thus do not want to exclude that there is far more going on then that I know or that science can prove.)

The question "Why does Osteopathic Body-Coaching have an impact on the mind?" is still to be answered. I don't have a conclusive answer but found some interesting leads in the book "Why zebras don't get ulcers" from Stanford University professor Robert. Sapolsky. 

In brief:

The stress (fight & Flight) response, build for acute alarm situations, triggers the release of many hormones including adrenaline and glucocorticoids. Glucocorticoids i.e. mobilizes energy, inhibits storage of energy and suppresses immune function.  Adrenaline, has an influence on i.e. blood pressure, heart rate, breath rate which are increased.  Adrenaline is also a vasoconstrictor in certain parts of the body (ex. digestive system) to have more blood supply to the area's of the body that are needed to act in the fight and flight response.

The stress response however, when chronically stimulated, can become more damaging then the stressor itself: heart disease, diabetes, ulcers, growth problems,...

In the brain chronic stress or the release of glucocorticoids will decrease glucose delivery to the hippocampus (Limbic system: emotion, memory,...) and cortex (neocortex and prefrontal cortex: cognitive region,...) to probably divert it to the more reflexive brain regions (reptilian brain: survival)

I've written to Dr Sapolsky asking if this decrease of glucose delivery was due to a vasoconstriction in parts of the brain. He responded that it was more likely to be a tightening of the blood brain barrier which results in less nutrients entering the extracellular space. Less nutrients in this space means less for the neurons to take up. Neurons are known for their high energy use so if there is lower supply there is also lower functioning and even atrophy can set in.

There is also evidence that prolonged exposure to stress or glucocorticoids can actually kill hippocampal neurons. This is seen in people with major depression where they have noted volume loss of the size of the hippocampus.

The next interesting bit of information is that the hippocampus is also one of the important negative feedback sites in the brain controlling glucocorticoid secretion. Damaged or dysfunctional hippocampal neurons dysregulates the negative feedback system for glucocorticoid secretion and thus there is no 'stop' in the production of it. So when the hippocampus is damaged more glucocorticoids are released which damages the hippocampus further and then even more glucocorticoids are being released, causing a degenerative cascade.

I have no prove of it yet but I believe that the osteopathic body-coaching approach has positive influence on stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system: promoting i.e. relaxation, vasodilation (in those parts of the body that had gone into vasoconstriction due to sympathetic stimulation) and the regulation of the blood brain barrier so that nutrients including glucose is again available in the limbic system and cortical regions of the brain (improves cognitive function). In other words it lowers / regulates the stress response or as I call it 'reasets' (yes with an a) meaning returning to the state of ease.

The feedback I have from my patients seem to point towards this effect although other reasons can not be excluded for why they felt less stressed or depressed and why their cognitive abilities improved.

How many osteopathic body-coaching sessions does one need? I don't know there are so many factors that play a role here. Most people that came to my practice actually came for physical problems so I guess their level of depression wasn't that high. However, left unattended this could have resulted in a more serious problem.

Is osteopathic body-coaching the miracle cure? No, I'm convinced that body-coaching has a place in health and wellbeing. However, if we keep being overstimulated physically, psychologically or create stress through anticipation (to worry ourselves sick) it will only offer short term relieve. This short term relieve however in the long term is not to be underestimated as it opens the gateways for new insights.

For people with PTSD or who are suffering from major depression osteopathic body-coaching should be offered along with psychotherapy or coaching but also with learning specific breathing exercises (from Mindfulness or the Heartmath institute) that are practiced several times a day.

I hope this answers your question but please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any other questions you like to ask.

Tom

info@biomotions.com

biomotions.com

Message to the people of Japan

I’ve been watching the news - while on holiday - of the natural disaster that struck your country. A catastrophe of a dimension that we haven’t seen for a long time. A catastrophe with implications that effect all life forms. 

Although I might be thousands of kilometers away I can feel the influence this calamaty has on me just through reading, listening, by absorbing the news. My mind tries to comprehend  what has happened and wonders what the implications might be in the future on all our lives. As an impact it will have, economically we are all interdependent so already looking from this angle changes will come our way. But there is more as microcosmos and macrocosmos are just a reflection of each other so will this inner shaking of the earth shake us all at the core of our being. I can feel already my body being much more in need of attention as it tries to absorb also on an unconscious level the impact of what happened. 

Japan might be more prone to these earthquakes - lying in the ring of fire - then we are in Belgium but disaster can strike anywhere. Unconsciously this disaster triggers in me questions about survival. Maybe questions is not the right word as my deeper unconscious self doesn’t think but acts on instinct and instinct is guided by my physiology and if one goes beyond the realm of matter by waves and frequencies. 

A quote from Albert Einstein comes to mind “The field is the sole governing agency of the particle.” The particle being matter, our physical body. It is but a quick link to the effects a natural disaster like in your country can have an impact on me directly. 

When the earthquake hit Haiti I already felt a big commotion within me and this was repeated after the floods in Australia and the quake in Christchurch, New Zealand. There have been many more that made me stand still, reflect and made me feel helpless.

Today I write to you as I don’t want to sit back anymore and be indifferent. As an osteopath and body-coach I have come to understand that major life changes, overload of input, emotions, trauma... have an enormous impact on our wellbeing. 

As human beings we have been gifted with a remarkable self healing mechanism. However the fine balance of this mechanism can become perturbed when we chronically challenge it or when it is over challenged, the latter being the case for you now in Japan. The threshold of this balance is unique for every person, but with a disaster of this kind where some of you have lost your whole family, your home, job, security,... I can’t imagine it leaves anybody untouched. 

In my body-coaching and osteopathy practice I see many people who have aches and pains, suffer from depression, burn-out etc just from trying to cope with daily life, work, relationships... The final straw is usually a big change like loss of a job, a loved one or a physical trauma. From that moment it is only downhill. 

Although these final straw moments are terrible and I don’t want to minimize them but what you are going through is of a level that well exceeds the stressors that most of my patients suffer. So therefore I can but predict - taking into account what I see on a daily basis - what this disaster can do to the human being.

Stress is the word used when our organism fails to respond to emotional or physical threats, whether actual or imagined. We experience the signs of stress on a cognitive, emotional, physical or behavioral level: Depression, moodiness, mindlessness, aches and pains, social withdrawal, procrastination, sleeping problems, short-temperedness, loss of focus, feeling of helplessness... 

All these and much more will set in with many of you in the aftermath of this natural disaster. In a time when you need to rebuild your life, when you need focus, insight, vision, you might have no access to those parts of the brain that are creating these due to the physiological stress response that has gone out of control, that has locked itself in a survival mode pattern and that thus runs you on automatic pilot. 

We experience this lock-down on a small scale when we touch something hot and we straightaway pull our hand back. This is a reflex mechanism and purely instinctive. We don’t think “oh that’s hot I need to pull my hand away” as it would be too late. The conscious mind is too slow in reacting to minimize the damage. The same reflex happens when we see a car speeding up in our direction we don’t think we act, we jump or start running fast to get out of the way. Luckily most of the times we go in and out of these survival mechanism moments. A big shock or trauma can impair this physiological stress response mechanism to return to it’s allostatic balance. When this system is compromised you don’t even know it. Slowly, but surely, the body will start showing signs of dis-ease: tiredness, being a bit more edgy, concentration problems, digestive problems... which can eventually lead to depression and burn-out.

However and this is the good news that I like to share with you. There are ways to help your body, your organism to cope better. I’m not saying that all problems will be gone. I’m not saying that there are miracle cures. Some people will need professional help and guidance. However we can do a lot ourselves. 

We can help ourselves by consciously partaking in our self-healing. We have lost this art but it’s time to bring it back.

The self-help tools I will share with you on this website are part of a 2 day workshop that I’ve started to give from the beginning of this year after having done some test runs late 2010. Most of these tools are not something I have come up with but that I have come across over the years and started to gather on my website so that people could take more control over their wellbeing after a treatment. It was my patients that asked what they could do to increase their resilience. It is also thanks to my patients feedback that I’m convinced that these tools work. It worked for them, it will work for you. These tools need  to be practiced on a daily basis but are not time consuming. These tools will give you access to your full potential and thus you will gain time when you apply them consistently.  These tools form part of what I call an elementary health care approach. Elementary as they go back to the basics of what being human is all about. Elementary as they are easy and straightforward. 

You are in need of all the help you can get. I might be just a man somewhere on this planet far away from the epicenter of this disaster but I feel with you and want to contribute and do my part to help. We are all one, we are a collective and it makes me uneasy not to do anything. Knowing, what I know from my experience as body-coach and osteopath about the stress response. From my personal research into solutions to bring back balance to an over challenged stress response. From seeing that a solution to bring back balance can be so easy to learn and apply. I know act.

I wanted already to react after the earthquake in Haiti. I didn’t because I wasn’t ready I didn’t have all the elements needed. It is only now that I can see clearly that although I might not have all the answers this information is what I can share with you. This can already make the difference for many of you.

I also recommend to the people of Haiti, Christchruch, Brisbane, war zones in fact to everyone start applying some if not all of these practices. You will see it will help you on many levels. It will help your wellbeing.

Consider this “80% of all illnesses are related to stress”, stress is the health problem number one our society faces today and that was already before this disaster struck. It is time that you and me, that we start taking measures to do something about this. it’s starts with information and that I’m giving you here. What I can’t do is to apply these tools for you. That you can only do for yourself as I only can do them for me. This is thus about you taking up the responsibility of your health again. To become the driver of your wellbeing and not the passenger and in a worst case scenario the victim of your own body that has displaced your mind. 

Spread the word. Spread the content of this website to all your friends and family. Start groups to share this information. Add exercises that you know that also offer help. 

Remember they need to be simple and straightforward they may not provoke more stress.  

Lets bring light on this planet, you, me, everyone, together as one big family that heals each other.

Be good to you.

Tom Meyers

The self-help tools you will find on the following website dedicated to people all around the world that have been affected by effects of stress and trauma: elementaryhealthcare.wordpress.com

Your health is your responsibility.

80% of all illnesses are related to stress. The World Health Organization declared professional stress as one of the biggest dangers of the 21^st century. In 2008 insurance companies spent 5,2 billion euro for the treatment of depression and this figure is rising yearly. 

Time for change! It is time for taking up the responsibility for our own health. This doesn’t mean that doctors and therapists shouldn’t be consulted anymore when it is necessary. Interaction with others is the basis of our society and part of that is seeking professional medical care when needed, going to the garage when our car is broken and going to the shops to get food. 

Taking up the responsibility for our own health means that we start implementing what we already know, instead of simply knowing it. For example, smoking is bad for you, we all know it and so do smokers. This is what I’m talking about: we know, but some are not taking the step to stop smoking. It is the same with drinking enough water, having regular exercise, eating healthy food etc. but the same counts for thoughts, positive thoughts do have a positive impact on us, negative thoughts take us down. The list is endless and different for each person.

Stress refers to the consequence of the failure of an organism to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats, whether actual or imagined. Stress is the consequence of inaction because if we were more active and implemented that what we know is good for us, then our organism would be far more resilient. 

We can help our bodies to cope better if we want to. We can lower stress levels easily. We can take the responsibility for our health into our own hands. It only needs a shift from an external solution driven mindset to an internal one. What can I do to improve my health? What can I implement into my daily practice to cope better? These internal questionings do not exclude the outside interaction. Who can I go and see to help me on my path to bring back balance in my body? Who can teach me tools that I can apply to improve my health?  

Did you know that a simple breathing exercise that does not take you more than 9 minutes (3 x 3 minutes) in a whole day can make a difference? 

So what’s your excuse? 

Tom Meyers

Osteopath & BioMotions^® Body-Coach

www.elementaryhealthcare.com

Elementary healthcare and training for the promotion of health from within

The Being in my Body

Today I received an email with the following message: “I’ve decided to develop my ‘being in my body’ - what can you suggest?”

A short sentence that can be answered with a few words (see below), but I think the person would like a bit more insight. Therefore I thought it an idea to write out my ideas - in more general terms to answer his request.  At the same time I want to include you, the readers of my blog, as I think the question is (really) one that concerns us all. We might phrase the question differently, but at the end of the day we’re feeling the need for change and this is what I think is the essence here.

Did you know that 80% of all illnesses are due to stress? You might think it has nothing to do with the initial question, yet I think it does. Stress is a consequence of a failing organism. Stress is a result of a body which is not coping with the demands we put on it. These demands can be emotional, physical, behavioural, energetic... 

Not coping can be translated physiologically as a continuous activation of the fight & flight mode (increasing sympathetic neuronal activity, adrenaline, cortisol, breath rate,...) which in turn lowers the immune system, has a negative impact on the parts of the brain that are regulating our emotions, memory, cognitive functions,... A continuously activated physiological stress response will detach us from our being, from being conscious, as all our regulatory system will go on 'automatic pilot'.

So, ‘being in the body’ requires a body that can cope with the demands put on it. This coping level can be achieved, but it requires a conscious effort of ourselves and I would go even further -  it requires a conscious effort of those around us, too. Like my body where a trillion cells are working together, so do we need to start working as a team. 

So how can we help ourselves? By implementing ‘down-time’ or in neuro-language, by increasing parasympathetic activity (relaxation) which must be followed by sympathetic activity  (activates) but (doesn’t ) this is not always the case  these days. 

This can be done by various means  for example, certain breathing exercises, reading a book, just taking a stroll (more suggestions: https://sites.google.com/site/biomotionsbodycoaching/self-help-tools). Going for a massage can do the trick but more so the BioMotions Body-Coaching approach as it works directly on the regulation of the physiological stress response. Seeking help is helping ourselves. One can also apply body-coaching or a massage to oneself - depending on the situation.

Helping oneself is going into partnership with the body and taking up the responsibility of our own wellbeing (as mentioned before this also includes seeking help from others) instead of leaving it to its own devices which we have the tendency to do. This is a conscious act and thus part of developing consciousness in general. Consciousness by applying precautionary measures that allow for the physiological stress response to regulate itself after activation and thus allowing the immune system to function normally, the limbic system (emotion and memory) and cortex to be fully engaged (chronic stress among other things creates vasoconstriction of the tiny blood vessels in these areas of the brain which decrease blood flow, which lower oxygen and glucose to be delivered to the cells thus we become less cognitive). 

A word about why others need to implemented in our wellbeing or why we need to help others. Downshifting is the term that is used when we are becoming more 'primitive' (eg in our behaviours, responses) as a result of chronic stress. When we’re downshifting we’re also becoming less cognitive. It can be even so bad that we become so unconscious that we don’t even realise we’re downshifting. Look around, at your colleagues, at work, the downshifters are those that suddenly make mistakes, are short tempered, look edgy, are overloaded (even though the workload hasn’t changed),... Most of them don’t even realise the trouble they are in, but it has an impact an all the people around them. This is the time when it is essential that others are involved to help. I would say don’t wait till it gets that far out of hand. We have to start helping each other as soon as we see that people are having  a difficult moment. Again there are many ways to do this and Body-Coaching is one such extremely efficient tool for this purpose. The great part about learning and applying body-coaching is that you learn also to detect these signs with yourself, you become more conscious and thus become closer to the being in the body. 

By helping others you help yourself.

This brings me to another aspect that isn’t to be underestimated in the quest to the development of being in the body.  This aspect relates to soulpurpose. What are you here for? What are your talents? What have you got the world to offer? Are you taking up your unique place in the universal matrix? I’m not a coach  who offers this kind of support  yet  if you feel the need for this then don’t hesitate to send me an email and I’ll see who I can recommend to you.

Another part of this aspect, however, is the personal Reconnection. To really take your place on the universal grid it requires that you have access to your full potential. This potential can be empowered by the activation of a dormant meridian system. Activation  of this system will also realign you with the Ley lines and the universal energy matrix. 

This is important in the quest to 'being in the body, as the being needs these new frequencies to evolve. Evolving in consciousness is becoming LIGHTer... 

The being in the body is not from the physical realm.  The being houses within a physical shell but that shell needs to have its frequency increased so that the being can shine and take its proper élan to help us becoming who we were meant to be. It is a process of ‘consciousness’ to becoming the lightbeing that we are.

So the process I can offer (out of the myriad of options) is twofold, the personal Reconnection and Body-Coaching sessions.  I would, however, recommend to add the 2 day workshop to the process. Working with the body-coaching tool will give you other  insight into your own consciousness process. And by helping others you help yourself.

I hope that answers the question.

PS next workshop is planned on 12 -13 February 2010. More info on 

https://sites.google.com/site/biomotionsbodycoaching/info-workshops

First Aid in times of stress and trauma

A plaster on a wound is first aid for injury. What first aid tool do you use in times of stress and trauma? I've asked around and not many people were able to give me an answer. Maybe no-one thought about putting it in the first aid box or first aid training. Maybe until now there weren't many tools that could be used for this purpose.

With more and more people suffering from the effects of stress and trauma isn't it time that we start to look into this?

I came to ask the question while doing my research on the BioMotions Body-Coaching approach that I've developed and teach. One day it dawned on me what I was teaching was just that. I was teaching people to become stress and trauma 'first aiders'. Since I've been looking at the BioMotions Body-Coaching method and viewing it in this light.

What does it mean First aid? In Wikipedia I found

First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by a non-expert person to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care past the first aid intervention. It generally consists of a series of simple and in some cases, potentially life-saving techniques that an individual can be trained to perform with minimal equipment.

When I look then at Body-Coaching, it:

• Facilitates Self healing mechanism ≃Provides care
• Can be learned by everyone also children ≃ no need to be an expert
• Is a series of facilitating micro-movements based on a single principle ≃ simple
• Is a tool that can provide help but when the condition is serious further professional help is required ≃ idem for first aid
• Works without external tools only your hands and attention are needed ≃ minimal equipment

I can only observe but let me know what you think?

Wouldn't you be interested to learn something that helps you but also others?

Times are changing and everything is speeding up. Stress is the result of our resources to be overstretched. We're not coping so well anymore but what if there is a solution? What if you could learn an easy to learn tool to help you your family, friends or that can be used in a professional environment.

Writing this I'm confronted with the idea can we all do it by ourselves? NO! Partly yes but don't we live in a society? Is our body not made of trillions of cells working as ONE. I think this is a key insight. We are one and we need to start helping others as we do ourselves only then shall we be able to evolve and thus cope better. But first we have to learn new tools...

Body-Coaching is one such tool. It helps us but also it brings us all together. It's an approach that will help us all be better in what we do as we will be empowered to thrive in the ever changing ever increasing moment.

More information on https://sites.google.com/site/biomotionsbodycoaching/

Next Workshops:

12 and 13 February (English) Brussels

5 and 6 March (French) Brussels

9 and 10 April (German) Vienna with a presentation on Friday the 8th

The BioMotions® Body Coaching Workshops

Body-Coaching is a form of Body-Psychotherapy that has proven its benefits in various well-being domains. Doctors, Psychologists, Coaches, Massage Therapists and alike who have implemented it are convinced of its importance within their practice.

The significance lies in its simplicity and at the same time its profound effect on psychological functioning. After a body-coaching session patients have reported an immediate feeling of deep relaxation, clarity of mind, return of focus and better grounding. Others reported to be able to think clearer, integrate information better, started seeing the picture better and more after just 5 to 10 minutes of receiving Body-Coaching.

Body-Coaching can be exercised as a stand alone approach but is designed so that you can implement it in your already existing practice. Body-Coaching goes out from the idea that you are already practicing some type of therapy and that you would like to take it to the next level to accommodate a new kind of demand that is requested by the problems of our society. Maybe you have noticed it too, the world is changing, we’re facing new challenges, we have to adapt ourself incessantly... but how is our body coping with this perpetual need for adjustment? How many people do you know that suffer from burn-out? Did you know as many people suffering from it a year ago?

Body-coaching offers you an easy to learn, and easy to implement approach so you are ready to help those who’s coping mechanism is challenged.

There are 2 levels of Body-Coaching and are given in 2 half-day (4hours) or in a 1 day (7 hours not including breaks) workshops.

Cost is 150€ (VAT incl.) for the two levels together.

Workshops are organized on a regular basis for more information please fill in the form which you can fin via this link: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dE5ycndYX21paXlYMmc0TlYwWEVDdEE6MQ

If you are a therapist and you would like to organize a workshop in your area please do not hesitate to write this as a comment on the form. I’m more then happy to help you to set it up.

How The Reconenction Changed my work

In my personal story with the Reconnection I describe how I got interested in this work. But what kind of impact has it had so far on my work as an osteopathic Body Coach. Well it is as Eric Pearl describes it is like having an upgrade done in your software. The upgrade has more capacity, is faster and you can do more with it at the same time. This new frequency does just that.

My - feeling, interacting, facilitating - hands now receive far more sensations then ever before. These sensations are also far intenser. When I worked on or above the body I always had the feeling my hands were resting on a cloud or on the surface of water. I sensed a tension field and interacted with that. This tension fields are still there but I feel them as coming through much stronger and the are heavier, weightier.

But not only I am feeling this, all my patients in the last weeks have commented on feeling more interactions within them and also reported light and an uncontrollable desire to smile. These reactions are felt a soon as I interact with the frequency. One even reported two clicks in his head like heavy switches that were pushed on.

These feelings and patient feedbacks started as soon as I had my personal reconnection done. However then I wasn’t aware of the exact use of the frequency. Now that I followed the course and that I’m applying the more specific approach I can feel that I stepped up another level.

I can’t explain why this is. I only know that it is real: I can feel it, patients are reporting new sensations and feelings of wellbeing that they hadn’t felt before.

I’m not trying to convince you but can only recommend that you try it. Start of with on or two Reconnective Healing sessions and feel and see for yourself and then you can decide if you want to upgrade to your next level of evolution. I know for sure one thing I don’t want to go back. Just like when I got my computer software upgraded to Snow Leopard (Mac) I’ve never looked back.

Life Change Units

Have you ever had the feeling that you’re body was holding you back in achieving your goals? I see frequently patients that although they do not voice it in this way when I bring this question up it strikes a chord. It resonates with how they have been feeling lately.

When I start working with them I can also feel it. The body feels dens and compressed immobilized.

I think that a possibly explanation is that our body is just saturated. Imagine what your body has to deal with on a daily - yearly basis and compare this how it was 50 to 100 years ago. Everything goes faster, we need to do more in a shorter period of time but do we allow ourselves to adjust? The life-changes we go through are sometimes so densely packed in a short period of time : changing country, home, job, making new friends...

Can you imagine that change even positive has an impact on your physical wellbeing? If you’re not convinced have a look on the following link where you’ll find the Holmes and Rahe social readjustment scale and count your LCU’s (Life Change Units). This scale is over a 1 year period.

http://www.cop.ufl.edu/safezone/doty/dotyhome/wellness/HolRah.htm

We haven’t learned to think about the body as a vehicle that needs time to adjust to change. We haven’t learned that our body is limited in what it can deal with. We never had to think about it change was something sporadic. But now we’ve well passed the threshold of what our physical body can cope with.

Business people that travel a lot have subconsciously understood this. They go frequently for a massage when they are on a business trip and from the perspective given here above I can only say that they are right to do so.

Bodywork helps the body to deal with the change process. Osteopathic Body-Coaching goes a step further it makes you light again and allows the normalisation of the biophysiological interferences (Body’s survival mode / Fight - Flight - Freeze mechanism that is over active when chronically over-stimulated) so that body and mind are again realigned and reconnect with each other.

So how are you feeling today? Are you still performing as well as you know you can or is something holding you back?

If you like more information how Osteopathic Body-Coaching can help you please send an email to info@biomotions.com or make an appointment on 0472 399 779 (Brussels, Belgium)

Unwinding the Matrix

BioMotions^®

Body-Coaching

Unwinding the Matrix

How do we feel when we’re healthy?

Free, light, aligned, connected... in body, mind and spirit.

BioMotions^® Body-Coaching (B^®B-C) is a healing¹ approach that unwinds the tangled body matrix to return to that feeling of freedom on a body, mind and spirit level.

The B^®B-C facilitator interacts with the movements of life that are forthcoming in the physical body and body field. He/she follows this flow actively without interfering until a point of equilibrium is reached. Equilibrium is attained when the physical body or body field is in a state of dynamic stillness. This balance point is where a metabolic and energetic change takes place, a moment where the body engages to “reset” & “reconnect” itself with the innate healing mechanism. The unwinding process or disengagement is the natural consequence that follows.

This procedure is repeated several times on different parts of the body and in the body field, wherever is required to return the body matrix to a maximum - as it allows - unwound state.

The body is the sole keeper and provider of health. B^®B-C does’t cure, the facilitator that uses the B^®B-C approach in his / her therapy work applies it to catalyze a process that needed a little push to realign itself with its inherent knowing.

B^®B-C is simple and as close to nature as you can get. You can compare it with breathing where there is an active participation of muscles during the breathing in phase. What follows is a dynamic stillness before the exhalation sets in. Exhalation itself is without effort a natural return and outcome of the inhalation phase.

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.”

Albert Einstein

B^®B-C increases the inherent healing mechanism and therefore offers a wide range of benefits. It can be used to promote recovery after an injury but also a part of a wellness program to keep you healthy¹.

B^®B-C is recommended to accompany all forms of therapy wellbeing techniques including psychotherapy and coaching. B^®B-C has proved to have a big influence on trauma related experiences that have triggered the Fight-Flight response (survival mode)².

For more information or upcoming workshops please visit the website: www.biomotions.com

¹ The root meaning of health is “wholeness.” The word comes from the same Anglo-Saxon root that gives us whole, hale, and holy. http://www.amibes.info/med_int/perfection.htm

² Read more about this topic on http://biomotions.blogspot.com/2009/02/does-our-body-need-coaching.html