What to Expect from a BodyTalk SessionThis article was adapted from a talk given by a Senior BodyTalk practitioner Allison Bachmeier. If you have a load of dishes to put through or you just made a fresh cup of coffee and don’t want to invest the mental energy to read, then you can listen to her audio by clicking the button below.
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Priority vs. Problem
Firstly, BodyTalk takes a much different approach than the traditional healthcare system. Namely, we do not diagnose and we do not prescribe. Instead, we focus on what your body indicates as the priority. This is different from treating problems. Everyone has problems, but we are not interested in treating all of your problems - we are interested in treating what is the priority.
To understand this approach a little better, let’s use the example of a common headache symptom. Imagine a thousand different people visit their doctor because of a headache. Now, consider what would be the standard diagnosis to remedy the headaches - acetaminophen or an anti-inflammatory for a said number of days, for example. There are hundreds of causes for headaches, not the least of which is stress. Consider how many causes of stress we have in our day to day lives - THOUSANDS! So, now we have hundreds of thousands of possible reasons for why these headaches have presented. This begs the question, why would we be treating everybody with the same prescription when the causes for the headaches are so individualized?
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What to Expect |
By contrast, if a thousand people walk into a BodyTalker's clinic, what they receive is something completely unique because we as Practitioners are working with an individualized approach. We focus on what is at the root of your specific set of systems and that's going to be different for everybody, every single time. This would be true of any other symptom that is showing up in the body (e.g. aches, pains, emotional highs/lows, etc.).
Another example would be a client that comes in with a concern about a liver issue. Most other health modalities are going to either medicate or treat the liver (i.e.detox the liver) - something along those lines. What happens if you detox someone's liver, but they are constipated? The toxins that were in the liver are no longer isolated to that location, but are now everywhere and have no way of exiting the body due to constipation.
In a Bodytalk session, the priority that your body needs to address first may be with issues with the colon. The entire session maybe teaching the colon how to eliminate, release, and let go - literally and metaphorically. This is whole health care, the physiology of the body and the mind, so if we teach the large intestine how to let go of literal “crap” we are also teaching the rest of the body of how to let go as well.
Another example would be a client that comes in with a concern about a liver issue. Most other health modalities are going to either medicate or treat the liver (i.e.detox the liver) - something along those lines. What happens if you detox someone's liver, but they are constipated? The toxins that were in the liver are no longer isolated to that location, but are now everywhere and have no way of exiting the body due to constipation.
In a Bodytalk session, the priority that your body needs to address first may be with issues with the colon. The entire session maybe teaching the colon how to eliminate, release, and let go - literally and metaphorically. This is whole health care, the physiology of the body and the mind, so if we teach the large intestine how to let go of literal “crap” we are also teaching the rest of the body of how to let go as well.
Dealing with Roots
BodyTalk gets down to the priority, to the root of why a particular issue is present. We don’t simply treat clients with a band-aid approach, which just masks the systems, but rather, we treat the issue from the root level. |
Think about removing a dandelion . To remove it, do you pick the leaf, the head or the root of the dandelion? Some roots are more complicated in structure than others. You know those dandelions that you pull them out in one go and you know that it's not coming back and then there are other times you are struggling to remove it because there are a lot of roots here, you might have to dig at it a view times.
This metaphor goes with a Bodytalk session - everyone is really different. All the dandelions look the same on the top (all the headaches look similar) but what is below the service can vary. Sometimes that can be addressed in one session, or more session are required depending on the depth and branches of the roots.
This metaphor goes with a Bodytalk session - everyone is really different. All the dandelions look the same on the top (all the headaches look similar) but what is below the service can vary. Sometimes that can be addressed in one session, or more session are required depending on the depth and branches of the roots.
In a session, the practitioner might say things that don't make a lot of sense to the client. This is because Bodytalk doesn't just work on the conscious level, it primarily works at the subconscious level. Think of the iceberg as our psyche - the top 10% is above the water and then there is 90% of the iceberg below the water. The 10% is our conscience mind - this is the things that you are aware of. The 90% is our sub-conscience mind that is submerged below the water line - you can’t see it, but it's giving rise to your conflict. There are actually very few modalities that work really well with the subconscious level.
Drawing from a Range of Modalities
Another advantage of Bodytalk is that it works with the whole consciousness of the person. This is why it is often referred to as consciousness based medicine - whole health care. To address the whole consciousness, Bodytalk draws from a variety of different sources, including Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine etc. There is a lot of wisdom that we tap into, and we use all the systems of healthcare and we use them simultaneously.
This also why what the practitioner says may not make sense, because we are working with other systems in medicine besides just the western based approach. Let’s look at the example of the liver again. In traditional Chinese medicine, the liver and the eyes are very interconnected. When we treat the liver, the priority might be to treat the eyes (or vice versa) even though conventional, western medicine says there is no connection there. This approach can also be illustrated with the connection between the kidneys and the knees. It might not sound very logical that the priority to treat your knee issue is accomplished by addressing your kidneys. Practitioners are going to be working in ways that don’t always make sense to the client, because our approach goes against the model of traditional medicine. The various traditions that we draw from are based on something much older than that.
This also why what the practitioner says may not make sense, because we are working with other systems in medicine besides just the western based approach. Let’s look at the example of the liver again. In traditional Chinese medicine, the liver and the eyes are very interconnected. When we treat the liver, the priority might be to treat the eyes (or vice versa) even though conventional, western medicine says there is no connection there. This approach can also be illustrated with the connection between the kidneys and the knees. It might not sound very logical that the priority to treat your knee issue is accomplished by addressing your kidneys. Practitioners are going to be working in ways that don’t always make sense to the client, because our approach goes against the model of traditional medicine. The various traditions that we draw from are based on something much older than that.
The Practice of Tapping Head and Heart
Once we figure what's at the root of your specific issue, we then go ahead and address it with a variety of techniques that invoke a simple, light touch as well as tapping over the head and the heart.
When we tap over the head, this is like pressing the fix it button - we are telling the brain wake up and make the changes. Then, we tap over the heart which is like pressing the “save” button.
When we tap over the head, this is like pressing the fix it button - we are telling the brain wake up and make the changes. Then, we tap over the heart which is like pressing the “save” button.
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Think about what the heart does on a physical level - your heart pumps blood to every one of those 30 plus trillion cells in your body and, on an energetic level, your heart is the boss in terms of having a very strong energy field. In physics, it would be called the electromagnetic field (EMF) and the heart’s EMF is 60 to 100 times stronger than any other energy field in your body. The heart’s energy field is strong, it can actually be measured from up to 17 feet away.
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Therefore, tapping over the heart is like sending a memo to everyone in your office to relay that “This is our new way of working, the new way we need to communicate and be in sync together”. Furthermore, when we are addressing the heart’s field, we are actually addressing all the body’s energies. Just like it circulates blood, the heart also circulates energies, meaning things like our attitudes, our personalities, and our belief systems (in fact, all the underlying belief systems that held for any particular issue are held here).
Ready to give it a try? |
This article was adapted from a talk given by BodyTalk practitioner Allison Bachmeier. If you have a load of dishes to put through or you would just made a fresh cup of coffee and don’t want to invest the mental energy to read, then you can listen to her audio by clicking the link below.