Can you explain what a Biodynamic Osteopathic approach is?
Biodynamic Osteopathy is a unique clinical philosophy that recognizes the holistic nature of a person and the subtle movements of health in the fluids and tissues of the body as well as areas where subtle movements are restricted. The goal is to discover where in the deep and subtle layers of the body-mind-soul integration the flow of inner Health and Peace is restricted and to assist in "opening the gates" for Health to flow. The restricted areas then become portals to the inherent Health that resides within a person. The aim is to bring the body to its neutral point - a state where the autonomic nervous system is in balance - so that free of tensions its fluids and tissues are ready to react to therapeutic forces. A Biodynamic Osteopathic approach enables a person to reach a point where Body and Soul are more in unity and where then holistic healing at a deep level is possible. You might think of this as a "reset" aiming to untangle problem patterns. It is important to understand that this does not necessarily mean at all that a person with a chronic progressive disease or at the end of life will recover. Experiencing further disease progression and the actual end of life with Peace in one's soul and with as much comfort as possible is Healing in and of itself. Healing in these situations is not to be understood as recovery from illness. Death may be the Healing.
A Traditional, also sometimes called "Classical," Osteopathic Practitioner relies not on highly sophisticated medical tests and instruments, but solely on observation, intense listening, and the trained and developed sensitivity of the hands. This is coupled with gentle touch and intuition. The goal is to discover where in the deep and subtle layers of the body-mind-soul integration the flow of inner Health and Peace is restricted and to assist in "opening the gates" for Health to flow. In this sense Osteopathy at this level of practice is not about focusing on and treating a particular disease or a particular pain problem. The focus is shifted to a focus on the Health that is yet inherent within a person and enabling its maximum expression. As Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, the Revealer of Osteopathy, said, "To find health should be the object of the doctor. Anyone can find disease." In this sense this type of approach is not an alternative to conventional medicine but rather something that can be used to compliment conventional medicine.
Can you elaborate more on how this approach and therapy is beneficial for those in palliative and hospice care and at the end-of-life?
Change of course is the one constant we all experience. Some changes may accompany chronic and progressive disease processes where recovery, as we normally think of it, is not going to be possible. The person's reserve, so to speak, is progressively being depleted, sometimes rapidly as for those at the end-of-life.
When you read the wording regarding Health and Healing (as in the answer to the question above) it does not imply the reversal of a disease process or a return to a state prior to a serious illness. As long as one is alive - even up to the very last moments - there is, what we term from an Osteopathic perspective, Health and this Health is still flowing within the tissues and fluids. The overall impact of the potency of Health may be fading but it's still present and active. So the Osteopath tunes into this still living movement of Health enabling a person to surrender, Body & Soul, to this movement. It is an act of Grace allowing for a more peaceful accomodation to the changes that one is experiencing. Healing does not necessarily imply reversal. Dying can be an act of Healing. In conventional biomedicine the body is defined as the physiology of health. This is a very secular perspective. Health is rarely seen as an expression of a person's relationship to spirituality.
From this Biodynamic Osteopathic perspective Health is seen as unconditional and ever present. Health is not seen as the absence of a disease process or as being absent during the dying process. It may be difficult to comprehend this in the midst of the physiologic changes of disease and end-of-life death processes. Try to see that Health is that which cannot be diseased.
Who founded Osteopathy?
Dr. Andrew Taylor Still is often referred to as the "Founder" of Osteopathy but I believe it is more accurate to say that he was the "Revealer" of Osteopathy.
Dr. Still was trained in the 1850s under the tutelage of his father who was a physician and a Methodist minister-missionary but Still seriously questioned both God and the medicine of his day when several of his family members died from spinal menningitis. Devastated, he went on a search to discover and develop a new system of healing. In the end he came to a realization that, as he says, God was not a guessing God but a God of Truth. He came to believe that the body of man was God's drugstore and that it had in it the Wisdom necessary for Peace, Happiness and Health.
On June 22, 1874 in Baldwin, Kansas Dr. Still had an epiphany. He describes a prophetic vision where he was shot “not in the heart, but in the dome of reason.” In an instant, like a burst of sunshine, he relates, the whole Truth dawned upon his mind. He called this new science "Osteopathy." A very spiritual man, who overcame several life challenges, Dr. Still always lived very close to nature and he taught that Osteopathy is the expression of the natural world. Being a philosophy as well as a sacred science, it is a holistic form of hands-on medicine which recognizes that Spirit, Soul and Body are a whole. It supports the wholeness of the person, not sacrificing the whole to treat just a part.
Who might particularly benefit?
While my practice is limited to more end-of-life care, I find that in more general terms the Biodynamic Osteopathic principles and approach to finding "the Health" are ideally suited for individuals who are spiritually oriented and experiencing such things as:
- Serious disease conditions, including those having a terminal diagnosis or being in Palliative or Hospice Care and in the end-of-life care
- Emotional and psychological stress factors that are affecting health
- An inner sense of suffering
- An inner experience of shock
- Psychological
- Emotional
- Physical
- A sense of spiritual distress
What is the purpose of hands-on Biodynamic treatment?
The aim of a Biodynamic Cranial Approach to Healing is to bring the body to a neutral point, a state where the autonomic nervous system is in balance and a person can experience a sense of unity and harmony. Free of tensions and restrictions the body and its tissues are able to react to therapeutic influences and forces. This approach enables a person to reach a point where body, spirit and soul are in unity and where holistic healing is possible.
What are "hands-on" sessions like?
During hands-on sessions you will feel what may best be described as a light to medium touch and an embrace of various bodily areas as well as occasional massage movements. These areas may be anyplace from your head to your feet. You may feel my hands shifting as I palpate and flow with the deep rhythms within you. You may or may not experience subtle shifts in your body or in your awareness as well as sudden more noticeable and dramatic shifts and movements. None of this should be painful or alarming. It is simply the release and surrender of various stuck patterns. I may also use a vibrating instrument that is tuned to a harmonic vibration at various areas to aid in this process.
Do you take insurance? I do not take insurance or fill out insurance papers.
Do you make any special allowances for payments?
Yes. Allowances for modification of fees are possible. Please feel free to discuss your particular circumstances.
