A couple days before I hit Portland, OR, I sent a Facebook message to my cousin Eric's girlfriend, Jocelyn, whom I had never yet met nor spoken to. Jocelyn, originally from Ontario, has been living in Portland for the past few years pursuing studies to become a licensed chiropractor. When I messaged her, Jocelyn was kind enough to not only suggest places I could park overnight in the city, but to invite me to use her apartment as a home base while I was in the city.
Had an awesome time getting to know the Jocelyn, cooking and eating together, wandering around quaint neighborhoods and shopping areas, sitting in coffee shops, and having great discussions about life.
Alternative health practices is something that I find fascinating, due to my own health conditions, and we talked a lot about the mind-body-spirit connection, food, energy, and healing. I have always considered chiropractic to be something that is part-way between mainstream health practices and holistic alternatives, spanning the gap, neither one nor the other. My experience with chiropractors has been varied - some were helpful, some didn't seem to be very effective; most were very clinical and anatomy-based, a few incorporated some energetic work and drew on the power of the mind to initiate healing. I tend to resonate more with the philosophy of cranial-sacral therapy, which is based on gently coaxing the body to heal itself rather than snap it into submission. So I was somewhat surprised to find that Jocelyn and I were much on the same page about how the body heals, how energy is an important part of it, and how little we know. I was intrigued by Jocelyn's accounts about her experiences with feeling healing energy in some therapist's hands and not in others. She explained how she has had to teach herself to be grounded when she works on others, so that she doesn't become drained. I found Jocelyn to be a fantastic listener who respects where people are at and what they bring to the table - working with them to facilitate their healing. I am so glad she chose this profession, and know she will bring healing to others' lives.
Before I left, Jocelyn set me up for my hours of driving by giving me a gua sha treatment. Here is a description of Gua Sha by Jamie Starkey, LAc (www.doctoroz.com):.
Had an awesome time getting to know the Jocelyn, cooking and eating together, wandering around quaint neighborhoods and shopping areas, sitting in coffee shops, and having great discussions about life.
Alternative health practices is something that I find fascinating, due to my own health conditions, and we talked a lot about the mind-body-spirit connection, food, energy, and healing. I have always considered chiropractic to be something that is part-way between mainstream health practices and holistic alternatives, spanning the gap, neither one nor the other. My experience with chiropractors has been varied - some were helpful, some didn't seem to be very effective; most were very clinical and anatomy-based, a few incorporated some energetic work and drew on the power of the mind to initiate healing. I tend to resonate more with the philosophy of cranial-sacral therapy, which is based on gently coaxing the body to heal itself rather than snap it into submission. So I was somewhat surprised to find that Jocelyn and I were much on the same page about how the body heals, how energy is an important part of it, and how little we know. I was intrigued by Jocelyn's accounts about her experiences with feeling healing energy in some therapist's hands and not in others. She explained how she has had to teach herself to be grounded when she works on others, so that she doesn't become drained. I found Jocelyn to be a fantastic listener who respects where people are at and what they bring to the table - working with them to facilitate their healing. I am so glad she chose this profession, and know she will bring healing to others' lives.
Before I left, Jocelyn set me up for my hours of driving by giving me a gua sha treatment. Here is a description of Gua Sha by Jamie Starkey, LAc (www.doctoroz.com):.
Gua sha is an ancient healing technique used by many clinicians of TCM. In this procedure, a lubricating medium, such as massage oil, is applied to the skin of the area to be treated. A smooth-edged instrument is used by the acupuncturist to apply short or long strokes on the skin, typically in the area of pain or on the back parallel to the spine. This stroking motion creates raised redness (petechiae) or bruising (ecchymosis).
Pain, both acute and chronic, is the most common indication for gua sha. In the TCM tradition, pain is oftentimes caused by the stagnation of blood in the local area of discomfort. The guiding principle behind gua sha is that this technique has the ability to break up stagnation, to promote the smooth flow of blood in the area, thereby relieving pain
Apparently the areas that get the reddest are the ones that need it most. Jocelyn was careful to check in with me, making sure the pressure wasn't too painful. It hurt, but in a good way. Pain in my lower neck did seem to improve a bit after that, though it's always hard to tell
Read: "Traditional Chinese Scraping Treatment Put to the Test" - South China Morning Post
Read: "Traditional Chinese Scraping Treatment Put to the Test" - South China Morning Post
I also got a Rocktape application at 7 in the morning, before heading out for 5 hours of driving.
Rocktape is a special kind of tape known as kinesiology tape. First used by acupuncturists and chiropractors in Japan, today it is used around the world to treat injuries and improve sports performance. When RockTape is produced, a bias is woven into the fabric so it stretches in one direction and not the other. This lifts the skin away from the soft tissue underneath, letting more blood move into injured areas to speed up healing.
It felt really good - I left it on for 5 days of driving before needing to rip it off (ouch).