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There is no One Size fits all Approach

There are many tools and techniques available to practitioners for promoting health. We have ultrasound, PEMF devices (pulsed electromagnetic frequency), machines to increase blood flow, reduce inflammation, build muscle, create traction and just about any other thing you can think of to manipulate the body. To address the muscles, skeletal structure and function of the body there are countless massage and manual therapy techniques, adjustments from chiropractors, acupuncture/pressure, and the list goes on. Every person and technique has its place to be sure. And different things work on different people. There is no one size fits all approach. That is why it is so important to take a holistic approach so we can meet the concerns of those we work with in a manner that will appeal to them while also achieving the desired outcomes. As health care providers, we must connect on a personal individualized level if we are going to move in the direction of true health and not just treat symptoms. My physical therapy mentor Rich Nyberg advises young therapists not just treat the diagnosis, but to get to know the person with the diagnosis. Each person is an individual, not a label, who will require a personalized approach. Gandhi said that a quack is someone who treats only symptoms without addressing the root.

Choosing a Healthcare Professional

It is of course of utmost important to choose to work with health care professionals that are experts in their field practicing the art of medicine in knowing the best approach guided by the wisdom of both book knowledge and experience. In addition to the clinical expertise it is essential to work with a provider that knows how to use their heart as much as their brain. And finding someone with the right balance is not as easy as it sounds. When I am searching for someone to treat me or my family I search for the most competent person to do the job to be sure, this means that they have great experience and have great reviews from those who have worked with them. However they may be the greatest technically for a job but if they don’t have great interpersonal skills with the ability to convert true concern, then there still feels like there is something missing. I have spent decades exploring the art and science of practicing with the synergy of a compassionate heart and discerning mind. Over the years I have considered how to best serve my patients. I reflect on this quite often. It would be unwise and unethical to not keep up with the latest standards of care. However the latests standards of care tend to forget about what I think puts the “care” in health care. The modern era has to a large extended limited practitioners quality time and care with clients and put the treatment approaches in hands of the insurance companies. This has all but ruined the ability to have enough time to connect deeply with those we care for. Once I started to feel that I was restricted in how I was seeing my patients I decided it was time to go into private practice so that I could have more quality time during treatment and spending the time connecting deeper using approaches that work. So here I am offering you what I know to be of value to those that take a personalized interest and stake in your own health.

Those I care for and educate tend to appreciate the body-mind-spirit as integrated and desire to feel empowered and inspired to embrace more energy, strength, flexibility, balance, and awareness. It is what I call a conscious approach to health.

Qualities of the Best Healers

Ultimately my mission is to help you help yourself. The form of how that comes about is different for each person I see. With each person I work there is a deep opportunity for profound growth guided by higher wisdom.  When I work and train with other high quality health care providers we recognize that it is not just “what” we are doing to help each other, it is “how” we are doing what we are doing that makes the difference. We understand that to truly show up in the best way for our family, community, colleagues, and patients we need to learn to center ourselves, live a balanced life, and allow  love and compassion to flow through our minds, hearts, hands, and words. In my experience the best healers (both health professionals and individuals alike) don’t dwell so much on what is broken or wrong, but where there is opportunity for healing, wholeness, and inspiration. They do not focus on fear but on hope. They are able to decipher the forest from the trees. They practice what they teach. There is an aura of radiant humble confidence that is characteristic of a servant healer of wisdom light and peace…no matter what their background, profession, or training. Those of us that are called upon to help uplift humanity in some way great or small do so with integrity in thought, words and  actions.

The Art of Healing Hands

In the Ayurvedic view of anatomy, there is an energetic connection between the heart and the hands. The hands and palms are considered an extension of the heart. In fact the heart (Hridayat) and the hands (Tala-hridayat) consist of the same root word. Ever since taking my first training in energy medicine as a teenager I have been compelled to use my hands with mindful compassion and healing intent in all that I do. It is such a wonderful gift to have been given a life that allows me to communicate and uplight daily for those I care for through my hands, as an extension of the heartfelt desire I have for their wellbeing. There are not many professions that use the tools of the hands to assist in the healing process. Promoting healing and wellbeing just through touch alone takes years of focused training and practice. Even those that are born with some gift, like a child born with innate musical ability, must cultivate and practice this gift into an artful skill.  Helping other practitioners cultivate the practice of marma and manual touch therapies is an honor. I am so grateful for the many teachers such as Rich Nyberg,  John Moon, Mark Halpern, Vasant Lad, Jennifer Johnson and my friends at Emory University, California College of Ayurveda, the Ayurvedic Institute and the Chopra Center who have selflessly passed on their knowledge of hands on healing techniques.

We are Multi-dimensional

In my practice of physical therapy and offering health solutions - I have decided to take a holistic approach. What this means is that I view human beings as more than just bone, muscle, and flesh. From my perspective, which is not the perspective of what is taught in medical schools, we are multi-dimensional beings. This means we have not only a physical body, which is interwoven and interconnected with the environment, but also a vast and complex mind, multiple senses, a spectrum of emotions, discerning intellect, potential to feel great joy, empathy, fear, and love, incredible ability to create while connecting to a vast inner world and external world simultaneously, and if we look…. a sense of Self with a deep yearning for life, longevity, peace, community, and purpose. To treat only the body would be to deny that we are so much more.

The Soul in Medicine

Although philosophizing on the idea of a soul is rarely discussed in medical school or outpatient clinics or patients, I believe that to disregard the whole person, including their deep personal desires,  significant memories, fears and aspirations, lifestyle, creative impulse, and what inspires them - is to deny their humanity. Modern medicine has done a good job of taking the soul out of the healing equation. However in my interactions with patients I hear a yearning for connection, meaning and deeper understanding of life and our place in it, especially as it relates to the healing process and all the mental challenges that come with aging and injuries. Most people are so busy with their day to day things, to - do lists, and survival needs it leaves little time for reflecting on the things that are truly important. Whether we acknowledge it or not we are all yearning for deeper connection, higher wisdom and guidance, and a restored relationship to not only those around us in community but the Spirit of Life.  To not invoke, let alone recognize the great Spirit that unites us all and gives us life is to miss the entire point of healing.

The True Goal of Healing

The word “to heal” shares its core root with the word “whole”… and “holy”. The things that interest me most in “healing” recognize and bring back a sense of holiness to the relationships we share with the One Spirit that we are all a part. Ultimately we are all wanting to return to our memory of wholeness. Which is to say our memory that although we appear to be aging in a body, at our core we are eternal, holy, one with all of life, completely interconnected, and on one journey together.  There are many who come to see me that have as their main goal to overcome pain or to heal a physical injury. I am happy to help and be of service but I must admit this goal of purely physical healing is a secondary goal for me, and often a welcome byproduct of the work we do together. The primary goal is to facilitate a sense of purpose, meaning, empowerment, inspiration and remembering of our true nature as an infinite multi-dimensional being with a grand appreciation of this magnificent life. The physical healing is often a welcome byproduct of taking care of addressing the core energy imbalances. Our main imbalance seems to be forgetting who we are as an extension of love. This shows up as increased muscle tension, fatigue, anger, chronic pain, anxiety, depression, inflammation, holding onto grievances, poor sleep, lack of forgiveness, slow healing, an increased sensitivity to pain, and perhaps most significantly feeling isolated/disconnected,. We limit our idea of who we are, and this mis-identification can relate to some of the main problems of our time…. Including an unhappy, unfulfilled life. To remember who we truly are - is to feel whole again.

The Rivers are Made to Flow

As health care professionals, some may consider us healers.  But we must not mistake ourselves for what we are not. We do not do the healing. We are facilitators of the force and source of healing energy that permeates through all of life. When working with both physical and energy therapies, ultimately we are helping to remove restrictions and blockages for life force (call it plasma or energy or prana or ki) to flow. In fact, life when seen through a certain lens is naturally and eternally whole and always flowing. The famous writer and professor Eknath Easwaran reminds us in his translation of the Rig Veda that  “God makes the rivers to flow. They tire not. Nor do they cease from flowing.” Our life can be viewed as a river on a sacred journey, taking many a winding twists and unpredictable turns. Eventually however the river re-unites with the Ocean of Joy. Remembering that our life can be seen as an eternal adventure. We are all sharing this journey together. We are all here to help lift each other up. We are all rivers flowing and the same water that flows through this river is the same water that flows through that river and the same that flows as the ocean. We are undeniably inter-connected. If we  forget our interconnection then we can feel the loneliness and misery of separation. We may feel blocked or restricted, yet there is always hope. We have been given so many ways to re-establish a connection with the rivers of life so we may feel them flow through our body and mind and spirit. We can remember we are on a journey after all. There are many paths - and one destination. On the level of the mind and spirit, healing is inevitable in my opinion as true healing takes place on the level beyond the body. The return to wholeness is a recognition and remembrance of our connection to all of life - a connection embodying Truth, love, joy and peace. If we only view ourselves as physical bodies and only care about “healing” the physical without embracing and listening to our deep desire and need for feeling the eternal joy and peace that exists within us at our hearts core as the river of life, then we are selling ourselves short. Remembering our deepest desire, our greatest desire, the driving force behind our hearts longing…..is what keeps us searching until that desire is fulfilled. It is a desire for  remembering and returning to wholeness, that includes physical healing, but is also so much more. 

My Desire for You

My desire is for all beings to be happy, to be healthy, to feel loved, to feel free, to create beauty, and celebrate the joys of life with friends and loved ones.

The offerings I make through consultations, events, workshops, courses, and any other works and interactions stem from this core philosophy and desire to uplift one another and to think, speak, and act with love, compassion and kindness in a perceptually dualistic world that can be tempting to forget who we are and express the opposite. If you are called to feel more connected and whole in your personal and/or professional practice I am here to help.

With love,

Geo