the body is and does matter
I became a professional bodyworker 10 years ago, but my interest in understanding the body was set in motion when I was 13 and diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Learning to sensitize myself to the physical cues of high and low blood sugar and experimenting with food and insulin intake became crucial for maintaining some kind of balance in my body. My need for metabolic balance requires that I consider how I feel, physically, emotionally, what’s going on between those ears of mine etc. and then try and keep it all in check since our bodies do a lot of biochemical chatting throughout the day! Behind all this rush of activity though, I keep revisiting something much more fundamental about the human condition in general and this too has shaped why I love the work I do. I grew up in Memphis and went to Catholic schools and didn’t discover Eastern thought until college. When I was a freshman I took a class on Buddhist thought, got truly fascinated and hooked. I focused my formal study on that tradition, culminating in a semester abroad in Bodh Gaya, India. Speculation about the nature of this human existence, our physical selves and life in general synchronized so beautifully during class time and while silent on the cushion. Over the years I have continued to investigate and learn and attempt to practice some form of acceptance of life in flux. My practice of bodywork with clients has continued to shed more light on this reality and informed me on how better to live within it.
The body is and does matter and I learn so much by discovering ways to care for the body and treat the patterns of stress and dysfunction that we all exhibit. The Buddha is attributed with saying,
Within this very body… I do declare, you are the world, the origin of the world, the ceasing of the world, and the path that leads to the cessation thereof.
If there is even a sliver of truth (which I clearly think there is!) then I am blessed to have the training and desire to make folks more aware and curious about their human form!
