Network Healing Centre

September 2007

Monday, September 10 – Office hours change, please see changes below.

Tuesday, September 25 – Gateway to Healing Introductory Workshop – 7:15PM - 8:15PM, please sign up at the front desk or email info@networkhealingcentre.com

Thursday, September 27 – (at 7:30PM) Special entrainment session with Crystal Singing Bowl music performed by Ottawa’s own Jeremy Sills.
Due to limited space capabilities, please sign up at the front desk.

DR. MICHAEL’S HOURS
As of September 10th

Monday 2:00PM – 7:00PM

Tuesday 7:30AM – 1:00PM
4:30PM – 7:00PM

Thursday 7:30AM – 10:30AM
2:00PM – 7:00PM

Friday 7:30AM – 1:00PM

WHAT? A complimentary introductory workshop which gives information about Network Spinal Analysis (N.S.A.) and what it can do for you.

FORMAT: The workshop will consist of a half hour talk about N.S.A. followed by a half hour demonstration of the work.

WHO? Everyone interested in learning more about N.S.A. and how to help release tension and promote wellness is encouraged to come. Everyone is welcome – Bring a friend!

WHEN? Tuesday, September 25, 2007 from 7:15PM to 8:15PM.

Dr. Michael and Jeremy Sills have teamed up to provide a special session to Network Healing Centre patients. Jeremy has a BA in music and leads New & Full Moon Evenings here in Ottawa every month. Jeremy has trained with Barclay MacMillan, Joy Gardner and Tom Kenyon. His mystical healing voice and musical talents are integrated with the bowls to provide an experience in healing music, voice, drumming and harmonic overtoning. ‘Elle’ Magazine recently featured a spotlight on this stress reducing technique stating, “the latest mind-body treatments turn to the ancient practice of sound healing....using singing bowls and vibrational therapy to break the stress cycle......Ethereal highs attained by striking or rubbing bowl rims have struck a chord with the general public, starting with the likes of Robin Wright Penn, Demi Moore and Mariel Hemingway.” Come and experience the combination of NSA and Crystal Singing Bowl music for yourself!
For further information of Jeremy’s music, you may visit his website, www.sacredsound.ca

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CranioSacral Therapy (also called CST, cranial osteopathy) is a method used by massage therapists, naturopaths, chiropractors and osteopaths, who manually apply a subtle movement of the body to bring the central nervous system into harmony and enhance self-repair. This therapy involves assessing and addressing the movement of the cerebrospinal fluid, which can be restricted by trauma to the body, such as through falls, accidents, trauma, and general nervous tension. By gently working with the whole body including the spine, the head and its cranial sutures, diaphragms, and fascia, the restrictions are eased, the movement of CSF through the spinal cord can be optimized, and misaligned bones may be restored to their proper position.

A typical CranioSacral therapy session is performed with the client fully-clothed, in a supine position, and usually lasts one hour. The therapist places their hands lightly on the patient’s body, tuning in to the patient by ‘listening; with their hands “with thinking fingers”. Patients often experience a sense of deep relaxation during and after the treatment session. With subsequent treatments this deep release of tension may extend into everyday life. CST addresses physical aches and pains, acute and chronic disease, emotional or psychological disturbances, or simply to develop health, well-being and vitality. Treatment can aid in almost any condition, raising vitality and improving the body’s capacity for self-repair.

CST is so gentle that it is particularly suited for the newborn, children and the elderly or anyone with chronic acute pain syndromes. CST (typically a ½ hr session) is often the treatment of choice for birth trauma, breastfeeding difficulties and related concerns for the newborn.

CST is covered by extended health insurance as a modality practiced by a regulated health practitioner.

Rosemary Brown-Tucker RMT has 14 years experience as a CST practitioner and is a teaching assistant with the Upledger Institute. She has extensive training in the field of somato-emotional, pediatric, and osteopathic techniques.

When I am working with people my goal is often to bring an internal awareness to an area. This internal attention is a felt sense, a direct experience. When I first received N.S.A. care it was as if I was imagining my spine as an outside observer. I had many ideas and judgments about how my spine should be. With increased N.S.A. care I now feel my spine from the inside with more of a felt sense. I have more of a relationship with my spine and interestingly with my emotion. At times with increased care my body and I are one - not separate.

We can use a few exercises to develop a felt sense. First we can hold up our right hand. Really, look at it. Note the color, the veins, the scars, the wrinkles, the size of your knuckles, our finger prints. This is the step toward a felt sense, however we are removed. We are not directly experiencing our hand.

Now read ahead and try this. Close your eyes, move your hand. Bring your awareness into your hand. Spend time feeling inside of your thumb, the forefinger, the middle finger, the ring finder, the little finger, the palm and the back of your hand.

This is a very different experience than looking at your hand. It is a felt sense, non-conceptual and lies within the experience itself. It is much easier to bring our awareness to a finger if the finger hurts.

Could this natural felt sense that happens when we hurt enhance the healing? Most researchers agree that pain is necessary to healing. However, do we need to wait until we hurt to develop internal awareness?

If we practice this long enough, we may notice emotional hurt, anger or sadness in our body. By staying in the body, in the felt sense of the emotion, we can hold the energy and drop the story, the concept or the drama. We do not need to get rid of the hurt, but allow the pain of the emotion to self liberate in its own time.

To develop a relaxed awareness, free of distraction or reactivity, we can place our right forearm into our left palm. Now keep tension in the right arm causing it to hover a little over the left. The right arm does not trust the left to hold it. Now push the right forearm into the left hand. Perhaps the right arm is amplifying the weight. Now relax and let your forearm relax in the left palm. This feeling of resting the forearm, neither hovering nor pushing down is like relaxed attention. Perhaps we respond to challenges by pulling away (hovering) or by leaning in and amplifying (pushing). Perhaps we could have relaxed attention. By relaxing into our body awareness – not ignoring our pain, not judging that we need fixing, we can have freedom from our same old patterns.

Perhaps it means running to the grocery store or grabbing your dry cleaning. Maybe it’s an hour in between dropping the kids off to soccer practice or basketball and picking them up to get them home to do homework. Or maybe you can squeeze in a quick phone call, pay a bill, wash the dishes, change the laundry AND prepare dinner all within those precious 60 minutes!

Whew, what is your mental state like right now? How does your body feel? Frazzled? Low energy? Unproductive? Irritable? Poor quality sleep? Headaches?

Despite all the responsibilities that we hold ourselves accountable for in our daily life there is often one responsibility that we shirk better than any other. That being our own selves. The responsibility of taking care of ourselves both mentally and physically. How can you possibly squeeze one more hour out of the day you ask in order to focus on yourself? Given that time you would probably sleep!

The answer does not stem from a question of time, but rather a question of quality of time. If you were able to take those 60 minutes and take a walk, do some yoga, go for a bike ride or even just sit and read your favorite book you might then be able to return to your commitments with a renewed sense of focus. Because you have given that time to yourself you are then able to give it back with even more energy.

The cycle can be vicious. With everything that needs to be done we wear ourselves out or become immune to our own needs. We either plow through our days just waiting to drop into bed or we just keep going and going until inevitably we become sick and HAVE to stop. When there is a moment of free time likely we feel too tired to even contemplate going the gym or stepping out the door to exercise our weary bones. We feel that that time should be spent resting which is undoubtedly true…but what if I told you that not only exercise but also massage can help to break this cycle of fatigue, irritably and sleepless nights?

Massage is often times considered a luxury but I believe it to be so much more than that in many respects. First of all it is time that we give to ourselves, a moment to stop and indulge in a little pleasure (although many of you might say otherwise with some of your treatments!) and to allow yourself to rejuvenate. As I mentioned before, by turning inward for even a small amount of time we can then refocus our energies outward with less bitterness and irritability. It can be a time to gather your thoughts and move forward with more efficiency, productivity and a sense of being grounded.

Secondly, it allows the nervous system to relax. This can be valuable in improving sleep, managing stress levels, reducing aches and pains, and performing daily functions with more ease.

Lastly, on a physiological level it increases blood flow and moves stagnant, toxic chemicals that can deplete energy and cause pain in the body. This in turn helps to boost the immune system and your defense system against infection. Have you ever noticed that the more tired you are the more you are susceptible to either colds or other illness? You may also notice that your pain tolerance decreases. With improved circulation and muscles that have fewer knots our body functions more efficiently which helps improve energy levels and decrease pain.

So lets review the benefits…less irritable (partners, co-workers and kids might be thankful for that!), reduced stress levels, fewer sick days, less pain (back, neck, shoulders in particular), better quality of sleep, more energy, improved productivity in daily functions and an increased awareness of your own self.

How much time does this take you ask? Funny, it can only take an hour for a massage that focuses on your specific needs and goals. Sixty minutes to stop, relax and then return to your day a little bit happier than an hour before. So the next time you don’t think that you have time to be responsible for yourself and have a massage or step out into the multitude of green space and paths that Ottawa has to offer consider how much time you are actually losing by continuing your cycle of fatigue and ultimately poor health habits. Stop and consider how it affects not only you but others around you then consider what an hour means to you.