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Sessions are typically 55-75 minutes, although you should leave 90 minutes for the first session, as I will ask some intake questions, and answer any questions you may have.
This work is almost completely painless and it is completely non-invasive. It can, however, cause a traumatic recall and/or release that some people may find very emotional. My philosophy is not to re-traumatize my clients, and when a trauma response arises, we stop, back off, and wait for the storm to pass. We don't try to exaggerate it or bull our way through it. If I need to touch a sensitive area, like the groin, or tailbone, I always ask for permission first, and I always accede to my client's wishes. My goal is to provide a very safe, respectful and relaxed environment for us to work in together - because my work, at its best, fully involves you, your perceptions, your feedback, and your trust. Without a modicum of trust, there is no healing, and I work very hard to earn that trust. Sessions are done fully-clothed except for shoes and socks. Please wear sweatpants, tee shirts, leotards, yoga clothes, etc. Smooth, thinner clothing without ribs, and without many thick seams, appliques, or textures is best, so that I can palpate effectively. No jeans, corduroy, etc., if possible please. Your part in the co-creative process: It's OK if you fall asleep, many clients do. But if you are awake, the most useful thing you can do is track your body's responses (and your emotional ones), and give me feedback. Sometimes a completely different part of the body will call your attention to it as chi begins to flow more easily, and it is always good to know what's going on, no matter how far the area is from where we're working. |
Some people leave a session very energized, some leave it utterly exhausted. This often but not always correlates to how much nervous system debility or damage there is, how much chaotic energy there is to discharge, and it doesn't last forever. My first 10 sessions as an Ortho-Bionomy client left me very weak and tired for a day, thereafter, I've never felt that way since. Also be aware that there can be a "follow on" period to a session, usually from 24-72 hours, wherein more changes and realignments may occur. Sometimes it all happens on the table, sometimes it happens a day or two later, and once in a while, just as in massage and structural work like Rolfing, sometimes a client experiences a 'healing crisis', where things get worse for a little while, before they get better. They're rare, but they do happen, and they often teach me a lot about what's going on beneath the surface.
I do not believe that any one practitioner or any one modality is a one-size-fits-all solution for all clients and all maladies. I do believe, however, that you do need to give my work, any practitioner's work, a little time before you evaluate its efficacy. it's also true that the more long-standing a problem is, the longer it usually takes to shift things. I recommend 3-5 sessions to determine if a problem can be helped. Sometimes, with something simple like a rib that's out or a sprain, only one session is needed. And some clients are long-standing, coming in for regular tune-ups, or for slower work, like postural correction, which can take months or years to accomplish, especially with something congenital, like Scoliosis. In terms of frequency, in cases of a severe injury (disk herniation, etc.) I will occasionally recommend more than one session a week, but a normal interval is once a week to once every 2-3 weeks; your body needs time to integrate the changes we've effected before moving on to the next step. |