I was reading an article on blogging, and the author suggested that one should have a slogan that summarizes who they are and what they do. I pondered this for some time. What image would I like to convey? I thought about the image of the coach.
There are times when members of my practice would like to see me as a mechanic. They would like to come in for treatment in the same way that one drops their car off at the mechanic. I have even had a patient try and check their texts on their smart phone while lying face down on the table! Just let them know when I’m done and their body is ready, and they will pick it up. Unfortunately, wellness care does not work that way. We need to be involved in our own care, participating in it. I am not here to fix my patients, but to help them fix themselves!
I like the word empowering. My goal is to empower the patient to correct themselves- to give them tools and help them develop strategies to promote growth and change. Our bodies, with their amazing nervous systems at work, are designed to be self healing and self regulating. We don’t have to think about when to blink, or swallow, or to activate platelets to form a scab on an open cut. Our body can take care of itself. The problem occurs when we get tension patterns in our body which become the “new normal” for us.
With Network Care, it is like holding a mirror up to you, so that you can see what you have been doing unconsciously. “Look at this tension- you don’t have your purse on your shoulder right now, yet you are carrying your shoulder muscles as if it is still there!” ” Do you feel that mid back tightness? You have been holding your head forward at the computer and your muscles are still storing that stress.” “That clenching in your stomach can let go now, you are no longer under that stress at work!” Your body knows how to release stress if you can find it. When you put down a bag of groceries you will automatically shake your hand to let it go. You will even do it unconsciously, while talking to someone else, because your body knows what to do. Our problem is we get so used to tension patterns that we don’t “see” them anymore.
We will heal ourselves when we connect to the underlying tension patterns that we have learned to ignore. As Donald Epstein (the developer of Network Spinal Analysis) is fond of saying: “You’ve got to feel it to heal it!” My job, as you health and wellness “coach,” is to help you identify and develop your body’s innate, natural abilities to heal.
So here it is, my new slogan: EMPOWERING SELF HEALING THROUGH SELF CONNECTION. What do you think?
If you would like to read more from Dr. Ivey, we have a limited time offer. You may receive his new EBook, FREE of charge: “Handbook 2 Health: 7 Habits to a Happier, Healthier (and better looking) YOU.” by emailing WellnessFamilyCare@gmail.com . You will also receive monthly updates and wellness tips. Your email address will NOT be shared with any other organizations.
You may also develop your ‘self healing through self connection’ by doing Somato Respiratory Integration at home. See the website to sign up for the upcoming workshop in November.
If you want to know more about Network Care, look around our web site, and set up an appointment at our office to have your spine checked!