"A very nice woman had been experiencing good results with exercise and the eclectic mix of hands-on that I offer. After a few sessions of new stuff she asked 'what do I call this approach?' I told her it was an esoteric Chinese neuro-therapy ... Po-King" |
Q&A
How does your practice differ from more bodyworkers? Traditional massage and bodywork can be effective in the short-run relief of symptoms, but I seek sustained relief. I have also integrated a range of therapies and principles in my practice, giving me a lot of options for individualizing my approach with each client. Finally, central to my practice is making a patient aware of their habits; how they relate to aches or dysfunction and how to correct them Why do you need to see how I move to help me? In movement, we are all as different as snowflakes. How each of us walks, for instance, is even more individualized than a fingerprint — and a lot more complicated to understand. We each develop our own habits of movement, breathing and posture. Since everything in a body is interconnected, these habits are often the cause of problems. Careful observation lets me understand a person's individual asymmetry and habits and how they affect the shape of muscles and overall movement. This understanding can lead to more effective and accurate intervention. How do you decide what treatments are needed? I always start with a clients concerns — their specific complaints and expectations. Taking those factors into consideration, as well as a thorough assessment of what might be causing the problem, I develop individually tailored treatment to achieve both short and long-term results. I might offer hands-on therapy for immediate relief and also to help a client become aware of what a more ideal way of moving, sitting or standing might feel like. I employ a lot of techniques and simple apparatus, including gym balls, balance boards and the more complex Gyrotonic® apparatus, and all my patients go home with simple exercises to practice. I was born with a crooked spine. Can you help me? There are some conditions that you can't change, short of surgery (and not always then). These are things you may have been born with or are the results of disease, accidents or strokes. But there are other problems that result from these structural pathologies that can be addressed and/or managed. That's what we focus on. Because everything is connected, your muscles have found movements, postures and other ways of compensating for your spine. What we do is to understand if these habits are causing other problems — and then we work to change them. Professor Vladimer Janda stated that the only thing that is ever truly cured…is a ham. Do I have to practice at home? Yes. My goal is to make sure you don't have to see me for very long — or any other practitioner for the same condition. That's a bad habit. So I help you become aware of what's causing your problems and, equally important, what you can do for yourself to deal with them long-term. Practice — as any musician knows — is essential. Nobody else can do it for you. There is no substitute for history. But you will find the exercises I teach you, when done properly and consistently, can often offer almost immediate results and are well worth being made into a daily (or at least weekly) habit. That's a good habit. How long does treatment last? If you want to maintain whatever balance of movement we manage to achieve, self-treatment (ie regular practice of self-awareness and exercises) should last most of your life, like brushing your teeth. The number of times you need to see me can vary from one time to a dozen or more. A lot of that depends on what you want — and how involved you are in your treatment. |