Network Healing Centre
March 2009 Newsletter
(613) 725-0988
Luck of the Leprechauns
Do you feel lucky?
All clients of the Network Healing Centre
are invited to enter our Lucky Leprechaun draw.
Prizes include:
A complimentary CranioSacral Therapy session with Marian Sears-Carter, PT
A complimentary Massage Therapy session with Erin Whyte, RMT
Draw will take place on March 31, 2009.
Winners will be notified by telephone.
Ballots are available at the front desk.
Good luck!
Important Dates to Remember
Monday, March 30 - Network Spinal Analysis Workshop
Tuesday, March 31 – Last day to enter Lucky Leprechaun draw!
Sunday, April 19 – CranioSacral Introductory Class for Parents
CranioSacral Introductory Class for Parents
Rosemary Brown-Tucker is offering a CranioSacral Introductory Class for Parents on
Sunday, April 19, 2009.
Preregistration is required.
Please phone (613) 725-0988 or speak to Lisa or Mary at the front desk to register.
Please see the article below for details.
Date: Sunday, April 19, 2009
Time: 10 AM to 4 PM
Location: 389 Danforth Ave., Ottawa (The Network Healing Centre)
Cost: $100.00 per participant plus GST
Instructors: Rosemary Brown-Tucker, RMT
Marcia Bamber, PT
To Register: (613) 725-0988
The CranioSacral Introductory Class for Parents is being offered in response to parents who have expressed an interest in learning more about CranioSacral Therapy. You will acquire an understanding of the craniosacral system and experience its rhythm. This course will support your learning of simple, yet effective techniques to help your infants and children between CST appointments or to help them when they are distressed.
The material will be presented in a simple format: short lectures followed by a demo, then practice time, in pairs, on therapy tables. Both instructors will be available to enhance your learning and practice time.
There is no required reading or preparation; however, if you have not already done so, it would be helpful to your learning if you had experienced a CST session in advance of this class.
Please wear comfortable clothes and wear layers. There will be a one-hour lunch break. The Network Healing Centre is a smoke and scent-free environment.
Cranio-Sacral Therapy: A Journey
by Marian Sears-Carter, PT
As a Physiotherapist for the past 20 years, I have worked in many hospitals and busy clinics. Physiotherapists work to rehabilitate patients with cardiac, respiratory, neurological and musculo-skeletal problems. The most difficult patients to bring to full recovery are often the patients with multiple trauma caused by motor vehicle accidents and those with long-standing pain syndromes. These were the first patient populations I used Cranio-Sacral Therapy (CST) with.
I had long been disappointed with the outcome of treatment with motor vehicle accident victims who, although improved, often still had pain and disability after extensive periods of treatment by many health care professionals. Many were then categorized as "chronic pain" patients by their insurance companies and offered few options other than medication for their continuing symptoms.
I remember the first time I explained to one such patient that I was going to use this very gentle technique to treat her; that I would be working with the deep layers of connective tissue, mobilizing the bones of her head and pelvis and following the restrictions of movement in her body with only the lightest touch. Luckily, she was ready to try anything!
Her amazing recovery - after months with no improvement - surprised us both. After 6 sessions of CST, she was discharged from therapy in high spirits to return to her busy career and life. And I was hooked.
I have since continued to further my training in Cranio-Sacral Therapy and for the past 2 years have worked only with this technique. This gentle approach to the treatment of pain/dysfunction is also very beneficial to the body's internal environment even when pain does not exist. It maintains proper alignment of the bony frame, flexibility of the soft-tissues and maintains harmony in the neurological and emotional systems of the body.
My journey with Cranio-Sacral Therapy began when I received successful treatment for chronic back pain, progressed through my training in CST and presently rests in the satisfaction of being a practitioner who can deliver this therapy to others.
Philosophy of Care
by Erin Whyte, R.M.T.
When I was a student at Algonquin College we were given an assignment that asked us to determine our “Philosophy of Care”. In other words, we were to assemble a set of ideas or beliefs relating to a particular field or activity; a system of values by which we live. I recently came across my assignment and was grateful to have a gentle reminder of why I do what I do. With only some minor editing I thought I would share it with you.
There are three core values that I hope to bring to the massage therapy profession. First and foremost is integrity, followed closely by respect, and thirdly, a combination of acceptance and compassion.
Integrity to me is paramount, both in myself and in others. It conveys a message of honesty and respect; when both parties act with integrity, there is a healthy symbiotic relationship. When I treat people, I want them to feel that they are getting the most value for what they have paid for. I also want them to know that everything I do is in their best interests. Massage requires a very personal type of integrity because your service is your unique talent and directly reflects your business. It is your own hands that manipulate people’s soft tissue and your art (ultimately yourself) that is experienced by the client. A therapist wants her clients to appreciate the skill she is practicing on them while also getting the sense that the therapy is completely for their benefit.
Your integrity is maintained by the preservation of all other values that you hold. My integrity is my character and, as the framework of my moral beliefs, needs to be solid and unwavering.
Respect is an extension of integrity. It reflects the fact that I want to be respected by others for my choices and how I choose to live my life. I think it is of utmost importance for me to respect others in turn. Furthermore, I believe that self-respect is of great importance; people who do not treat themselves with respect cannot expect the respect of others. Self-respect and respect for others piggyback on the value of integrity of character.
Acceptance and compassion are two words that embody why I do what I do. Everyone needs to know that it is okay to feel the way that they do. Not only that, they need to be told, or for it to be innately understood, that it is acceptable to not always be strong or pulled together. A lot of people deal with issues on their own, when all they really want to do is share them with someone else—not as a burden, but rather as a way of releasing what they shouldn’t have to carry alone. While I do not seek to take on burdens, or even expect that my clients will share their challenges with me, I do want my clients to feel that they are in an environment where it is understood that they can freely be in whatever place in life they find themselves, and that I will accept them for who they are without judgment. The need to feel safe, not alone, and reassured that they will find themselves all right in whatever situation that they are facing needs to be inherent in the massage environment. It need not necessarily be done with words; touch alone can convey this message.
I have had some really amazing experiences with people that reaffirm this need both in me and in them. It’s a good feeling and it is what I hope to build my practice on. I hope to guide my practice by the three values of integrity, respect and compassion, and I hope that my clients experience all three during their sessions with me.
Views of Wellness
By Dr. Michael Tucker, DC
The National Wellness Institute defines wellness as "”… an active
process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a more successful
existence.”
There are some key words in this definition. Process means
that we never arrive at perfect wellness; we never arrive at a point where there
is no possibility of improvement. Aware means that we are by nature
continually seeking more information as to how we can improve. Choices
means that we have considered a variety of options and select those options that
are in our best interest. Success is determined by each individual, not
on "normal" statistical values and data.
Doctor Travis states: “Wellness is a choice - a decision you make
towards optimal health. Wellness is a way of life - a lifestyle you design to
achieve your highest potential for well being. Wellness is a process - a
developing awareness that there is no end point, but that health and happiness
are possible in each moment, here and now. Wellness is a positive acceptance of
oneself. Wellness is the interaction of the body, mind and spirit - the
appreciation that everything we do, think, feel, and believe has an impact on
our state of health.”
Arizona State University has a comprehensive definition: “Wellness
is an active, lifelong process of becoming aware of choices and making decisions
toward a more balanced and fulfilling life. Wellness involves choices about our
lives and our priorities that determine our lifestyles.”
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines wellness as "The
quality or state of being in good health especially as an actively sought goal."
An economist, Paul Zane Pilzer, says wellness is “not a fad or
trend, it's about a new and infinite need infusing itself into the way we ear,
exercise, sleep, work, save, age, and almost every other aspect of our lives...
The sickness business is reactive... The wellness business is proactive.”
Some of you have heard me
say “Wellness is about how you feel about how you feel.” This imparts a
perspective that wellness has something to do with being able to self observe.
Wellness is not about early detection. There is most definitely a
time and place for early detection; however, in my view, wellness is not to be
confused with early detection of cancer or hypertension or other medical
conditions, even though medical people and complementary practitioners are often
promoting early detection as "wellness" services.