Time of Celebration
(Sep 1995)

What a joy it was to slow down this summer and take time for myself. It makes me appreciate life so much more. I made the decision this spring to do less and have more happen, so we’ll see how it goes.

The front cover of Issues has two pictures. This month one photo is of brother Bill balancing on the rock and checking out Mom, the photographer, while I make sure the root beer is cold so that we can celebrate. There are lots of bottles in the creek, so company must have been coming. The other photo is brother Mike hauling some water to our cabin, which was a fair trek. With no well inside the house, we all took turns hauling the pails of water from the nearby creek into the house so that we could heat it to wash the dishes and brush our teeth.

Having homesteaded in Rosswood as a child, I appreciate the many modern conveniences and indoor plumbing that I have now, for these time-saving devices allow me time to care for my soul. In creating a Holistic Healing Centre, I have had the privilege to meet many people who know how to nurture body and soul, and the joy of experiencing the many different types of bodywork that are becoming available here in the valley. I’ve spent many years visiting chiropractors and massage therapists to help release and relax my tight shoulder, and it is great to get some additional support.

Last year at our Holistic Health Fair, there were so many interesting bodyworkers to choose from that I couldn’t make up my mind and I decided to let the universe decide whom I would have a session with. I said to myself “Whoever isn’t booked at noon on Saturday will be the one I try.” It turned out to be Gary Schneider, a Rolfer who had just finished his training and was setting up his practice in Kamloops. I had heard that Rolfing was deep tissue bodywork that can hurt as the person is being restructured but after an hour on Gary’s table, I felt like a new person. My body tingled as the blood coursed through my veins in a way that I had never experienced. I felt alive and seemed to walk a little taller. Rolfing was not as painful as the burning sensation I get in my shoulders whenever I spend too much time sewing or typing. At moments, it was intense but I knew the deep bodywork was needed if I was to release my old holding patterns.

As the weekend drew to a close I asked Gary if he would return on a regular basis. He said that Rolfing consists of ten sessions in sequence and that he would travel to Penticton once a month if there were ten people who wanted sessions. I found it easy spreading the word and getting similar-minded people to sign up. Good bodyworkers are hard to find and treating myself to their gifts helps to nurture my soul. Bodywork is the one thing I have always spent my money on. As my Mom would say it is a ‘real treat,’ not a treatment.

I have just finished session number ten and have signed up for another set. I asked the universe to help me straighten up my posture and I thank my guides for their wise choice: I feel I am standing seventy percent straighter, which takes pressure off my internal organs and helps them to function better. My neck no longer creaks and my Yoga postures and stretches have been steadily improving. Was it a coincidence that the pose Margaret decided to have us do at my weekly Iyengar Yoga class in Kelowna was usually exactly suited to whatever Gary had just finished ungluing in me? Gary has magic in his fingers and he seems to know exactly where my body holds its glue. Yes, Rolfing is painful at times but so is giving birth. Each session helps me feel like a part of me is reborn.

In session number three as he worked the chest area just in front of my armpit, I suddenly felt like I was five years old. My free arm started fanning my face as I realized there was a pungent smell coming from my mouth that was making me gag. I knew instantly that it was the smell of the ether that they used to put me under when they removed my tonsils. As the smell faded and I recomposed myself, Gary found another spot and I burst into tears. I hadn’t felt any pain, I didn’t get a sense of why this was happening but the emotions were real and intense, and so I wept. For two weeks after that session it felt like I had cracked a rib. I rubbed the sore spot daily to ease the discomfort as the old glue released itself slowly.

The most painful sessions were the ones when Gary worked on my legs. He told me that emotions that haven’t been allowed to be expressed store themselves in the fascia or muscle sheaths. He calls them “glue.” When he works the muscle and the fascia, the glue gets disturbed and the emotions start to surface. Sometimes this occurs instantly as was the case in session number three, but usually it takes a bit of time to process the results. Recording my dreams has helped me keep track of the unconscious and internal changes that have been happening to me as my body straightens.

All the ouching has been well worth it. I am discovering new insights into ‘why I am the way I am.’ I am delighted to acknowledge the old programming and hurts and to let them go, for I do not wish to carry them around any more. This frees up the energy that it takes to hold these unexpressed messages inside and allows deeper healing to happen.

The knowingness that comes from within me is getting stronger and clearer as I learn to trust the signals my body is giving me. I now can choose to do things from my heart or from my head, depending on what is needed. I honor my logic and groundedness but many of my decisions are based on feelings that have been thought through, without necessarily having a logical sequence. Sometimes things just feel right.

Taking care of my soul includes meditation, singing, reading, walking in the hills, staring at the moon, hugging a tree and being here at the Centre to help another soul get started on their journey towards wholeness.

In closing I would like to share with you one verse of a ☛ Libby Roderick song. Listening to her music inspires me to be all that I can be as does the music of Judy Armstrong and Ann Mortifee.

The body is the temple of the spirit
The body is the window of the soul
If you listen loudly you will hear her
Whispering the truth that must be told
Whispering the truth that will make you whole
The body is the temple of the soul.

PS. If you would like to check out some of the local body