This story has been shared with my clients for the last 5-6 years but somehow it has taken me forever to put down on paper for you all to read. The reason: vulnerability. Mostly because I know Doug will read it and he was the first person that I ever felt knew the real me… before I even knew who that was. And sharing this story with him and living with the fear that he might not even remember me makes me feel like a child wanting to impress their parent; extremely vulnerable. But a few deep breaths to calm my nervous system and having lived through all the ups and downs that life brings us (with all the lessons that are attached to it) have brought me to this very moment.
Let’s begin.
For as far back as I can remember, I wanted to help people, make them feel better. It was like a calling. I just never knew the right path to take to get to a place where I can actually help others and fill my life and soul’s purpose. I’ve worked in a lot of different industries: pharmacy, accounting firm, pediatric clinic, physiotherapy clinic, etc. I helped others in all the positions I had but never to my liking.
It took 2 university degrees, a multitude of jobs, countless arguments along the way with my father explaining I would never be rich and that I was ok with that, a whole bunch of ups and downs along the way, and about 4 or 5 concussions to get where I am today. Let me explain.
After my 1st degree in Kinesiology, I knew I didn’t want to train people for a living. Went on to do another degree in Athletic Therapy and worked with a multitude of sports teams on and off field. After a few years of following teams around, I realized I couldn’t ever have a personal life and build a family if I continued down that path. As well as being a woman in a world of men is very draining. So I turned to the clinical aspect of treating injuries. I might be an Athletic Therapist but, to this day, the vast majority of my clientele are people who aren’t athletes but who have tried everything else: I am their last resort. That was frustrating at first, but I have come to accept and embrace it as I have enough confidence in my skills that I know I can help.
I was good at what I did but was getting frustrated that people would come back with similar issues a few months down the road. It never made sense to me that after having fixed something, as we were taught in school, the same thing would arise again or even something more severe would show up. Think recurrent ankle sprains or hamstring strains followed by a complete tear of the ligaments or muscles respectively. There had to be something I was MISSING.
On my personal side, since the age of 12 when I started to develop a double scoliosis (never needed surgery for it), I’ve had tons of back and neck pain. Often would wake up not being able to lift my own head. I knew I shouldn’t feel like a 90-year-old woman at the age of 30 but there I was. Never had a major physical injury but back pain? Check. Neck pain? Check. Knee pain? Check. Hip pain? Check…you get it. Saw a long list of physios, osteos, chiros, acupuncturists, etc. they all seemed to be sure of themselves and how they would heal me at 1st but after 3 appointments, they would convince me that things would never change. I believed them (they were the professionals, right?) and expected the rest of my life to only go down from there. I also battled some anxiety but mostly depression for a good part of my adult life (and probably for my entire life without realizing it). Antidepressants helped for a bit, but I was having way too many side effects to make me want to continue down that route. Therapy worked wonders, dealt with so much: fear of abandonment, lack of self-love and self-worth, meaninglessness, etc. but yet I’d still go through some dark times. I would process what was happening in my head and there wasn’t anything tangible left to deal with, so what was it? There had to be something I was MISSING with all these physical and mental struggles. Also had a bunch of concussions throughout my life, the last one having had me off of work for 18 months and with residual symptoms of headaches, dizziness, memory issues, balance issues, etc. as well as reduced neck rotation for 2 ½ years. Again, I was told those were things I would have to live the rest of my life with. Fun!
Enough of my backstory and onto the good stuff!
To keep an Athletic Therapy certification, you need to take continuing education courses. So, in September 2015, 2 ½ years post-concussion, I decided to take this course called “Be Activated by Douglas Heel”. No idea why I took it, seriously! Cost way more than I could afford and barely gave me any credits for my continuing education quota but when the Universe leads you to something, you follow. The theory was too simple to wrap my head around. In school, we were taught that the body was super complex and we had textbooks after textbooks with the reasons injuries happen and the general ways to treat them. And here was this surfer from South Africa telling me that the body only cares about surviving and that the breath and the psoas were the cause of ALL non-contact injuries and that by just pressing on a few spots everything would get better? This guy must be nuts! We then proceeded to apply the techniques on each other and after crying for almost 4 days in front of complete strangers, having a multitude of old symptoms of my past reappear and disappear again, just like that EVERYTHING that was ever wrong with me just disappeared. I’m not kidding! No more back, neck, hip, you-name-it pain. No more symptoms of my concussion. Not. A. Single. ONE. (and I’ve hit my head many times since then and nothing!) No more anxiety or depression. Yes, I’ve bad days once in a while where I feel a little down or have some aches or pains but I just apply the techniques on myself and BOOM, I’m back at to my wonderful and amazing self. I became a completely new person. I felt the youngest I’d ever felt and was completely in love with the person in the mirror. Doug and this work have ignited my soul into shining it’s brightest light and have brought out the real me: a confident, full of life, caring person that actually finally loves herself!
Since this technique completely healed me (something I was told by so many health professionals would never happen), this is the only treatment I now give to my clients. Doesn’t matter if you come with a sore back or a pulled hamstring or pain in your wrist. Everyone gets the same treatment with all different but amazing results.
I finally found the answer to all my professional and personal struggles, finally FOUND WHAT WAS MISSING. The power to heal and to be your true self is within you if you know where to look.
I still don’t have the need to be rich because as long as I get to make people harness the true power within them, then I am richer than you think.