But, were you really relaxed?
I just read an interesting fact….
… regarding shiatsu.
(Remember shiatsu? Some of you might remember and have even experienced that form of bodywork I had been practicing for the last 15 years.)
Well, according to Wikipedia, and contrary to what hundreds of clients have testified to, there is “weak evidence (to) suggest it might help people feel more relaxed.”*
Huh.
Granted, I’m no scientist, but I’m not sure what ‘evidence’ could possibly qualify a person’s experience of anything.
(So, if you’ve ever made this outrageous claim, you might want to get a fact-checker to confirm. :)
But seriously - while this was but a small sample of the marginalized treatment given to not just shiatsu, the more worrisome aspect for me are the seeds of distrust being sown by major information sources such as this one regarding alternative and holistic medicine practices.
(For example, the inclusion of shiatsu in Wiki’s categories of pseudo-science, fringe medicine and conspiracy theories…)
But, then again, who knows?
Maybe what I do is quackery.
And, though I know there are unsavory people out there who take advantage of those desperate for relief and healing, it’s never been my intention to mislead or harm people.
And … while I understand concepts like ‘qi’ and meridians (both of which Wiki states do not exist) can be difficult to grasp and ‘prove’ through scientific methods as we employ them, I’ve relied on several millennia of observations and experiences of thousands of practitioners before me as a foundation to build an ethical and effective practice upon.
I’m not suggesting science doesn’t matter - how that comes to bear here is a topic for another day.
Furthermore, this is not just about legitimizing myself, shiatsu or any other practice.
This is about you, and your trust in your own experience.
One of the more insidious effects embedded within this categorization of holistic health modalities as ‘fringe medicine’ and psuedo-science is the subtle message that YOU are not to be trusted to discern the facts for yourself.
Neither is your experience with positive outcomes to be trusted - in fact, it’s dismissed as wishful thinking, or the placebo effect (which, really, should be an amazing confirmation as to the power of the mind to heal!).
Also, that you are NOT capable of doing the research when given too many options to consider, and therefore, might hurt yourself with wrong information (as if the holistic healing field corners the market on that) unless it’s curated for you.
Do you feel safer?
My intention here is not to bash.
If you hadn’t noticed, the core message of my practice, of embodygrace, has long been to encourage you to listen to and trust your body. Trust your gut. Trust your experience.
I know it’s hard. I’m only now just reaallly getting what that looks like.
Even after all these years, I still find myself shamefully outsourcing my truth to others who seemed more … expert.
Or, at least more convincing by their loudness. Even when my heart/gut/whatever was telling me something wasn’t quite right, not in alignment, I mistrusted the message, because that’s what I’ve been taught to do.
And my body and life force has been suffering as a result.
Of course, we can misread.
We can misinterpret, project, and be just plain wrong. We can build the wrong team, follow the wrong hunches, allow influences in that don’t have our best interests at heart.
There are no guarantees in ANY field. And to err is human.
But, in a truly holistic spirit, owning the lessons discovered by the successes, as well as the mistakes, are part of the healing journey.
We learn to listen better, and to feel more deeply when we are fully involved, and when are robbed of the opportunity to choose and to explore for ourselves, we are robbed of the opportunity to grow in many ways beyond just the resolution of a health issue.
I encourage, no, I implore you to practice bringing your own knowing, or at least your questions, to the table.
Balance what you hear and read with what you can feel and know through your senses … especially at a time when we are inundated with so much ‘information’ by ‘authoritative sources’.
And, get comfortable asking the question: Does this make sense? To me? (And that includes everything I’m writing here…)
Specifically, practice honing in on your awareness of WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!
Eco-psychologist Michael J. Cohen (Michael who? See below…) refers to the GTT - the “Greatest Trustable Truth” - which can be understood through the example of the very self-evident and indisputable fact that you are reading these words right now, and feeling/thinking something in response.
Can someone really prove otherwise?
(Click below for a list of not just five, but 54 senses and sensitivities - any of which are operating in the present moment.
Recommended activity: take the list outside and see how many you can identify at work within you!
Meet Michael J Cohen, Ph.D., Ed.D …
“There is a whole stability, a life raft, a planet that’s backing up what you’re doing, and it’s a logic and a reason and a way of knowing which we keep searching for.”
— m.j.c
