“The unexamined life is not worth living” Socrates
Welcome to my website. I am working to hone my message, to explain more clearly what I do and why. I have been at this for a long time, and have come to realize that my work isn’t for everyone. I will explain my intentions and my focus, in order to help people looking for bodywork to understand how they can expect more than temporary relief. It is my hope to help people to improve the quality of their lives overall.
I think most of us would like to be happy in our lives. I would suggest to you that the only way to find real contentment is to bring a sense of peace to our bodies and our minds. This is only possible with focused attention and work on both. I don’t believe it is possible to experience peace of mind in a body that is racked with stress. Only by unwinding our stress patterns can we truly relax and be at peace. This is not a passive endeavor. It takes a willingness to challenge the status quo, which is always unsettling. It is a reluctantly acquired skill to push into our comfort zones. Despite the protests of our bodies/minds to this kind of discomfort, the payoff for embracing it is potentially very big. It means no less than feeling better over time rather than slowly feeling worse as we age.
I am convinced that we have the potential to live much better lives in terms of our physical health and longevity. It is a matter of using simple tools in various aspects of our lives to produce a dynamic which alters the “normal aging process”. This can potentially create momentum toward more vitality, which basically reverses what we think of as inevitable deterioration in our quality of life as we age. Good nutrition, and engaging in vigorous exercise and deep relaxation can create a beneficial synergy in the body. These various tools reinforce each other and wind back the clock, not literally, but functionally. This may sound too good to be true, but it’s not. You will, however, pay a price. It is a difficult path. None of these tools for change will make you comfortable all of the time, which is what our instincts tell us is good.
The comfort we instinctively seek eventually becomes a straight jacket. It leads to less and less functionality, and therefore less vitality. We need instead to expand our parameters. To push the envelope, despite all of our instincts to contract. Discomfort is an inevitable part of this process. The trick is to subject yourself to only tolerable amounts of it as you learn to embrace it. As time passes, you get better at it. It becomes less uncomfortable and more palatable, then almost pleasurable. I say “almost pleasurable” because when you are in it, if you are doing work which is challenging to the status quo, it is never fun. Neither the body or the mind likes to be pushed beyond what they are used to. The pleasure is derived from feeling better the rest of the time, and in changing the state you live in. Becoming addicted to feeling better becomes the motivation for pushing into your discomfort. This then feeds a beneficial feedback loop causing an opening up of your structure, engaging areas which are presently going dormant, and hopefully along with it bringing more vitality and more peace of mind.
I believe this process can allow us to remain vital throughout our lives. I can help with the relaxation and structural organization aspect of this formula through my bodywork, and share ideas about the rest. I certainly try to practice what I preach, and I love to talk about this process called life, and how to live it fully. Doing this work helps me understand more about human nature, about my own process, and to learn how to help people affect change in their lives similar to the change I’ve seen in mine.