THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES! REVIEW
By PAM ELSTUB
And what memories there were for us all. My impression is that we get better at it every time; the venue, the speakers, the themes - but most of all (to paraphrase Leonard Sachs) OURSELVES. Don't we have a terrific bunch of people in our CGI? Over a weekend like this, it seems that each of us reveal talents so mind-blowingly amazing that - well, move over Paul McKenna - we really should be given our own TV show! We had the perfect mixture of workshops and lectures, given by an assortment of ACPEM members and external speakers, in which we had ample opportunity to explore, and put into practice, our experience of body memory.
Richard Harries initiated proceedings on Friday by leading a discussion on the subject of "Body Memory - Weird or Mad?" Whenever I hear him talk, I am always of the impression that public speaking cannot get any better than this; there are few who can express ideas concisely and enthral an audience, but in a gentle persuasive way without any frills or theatrics. He helped us explore the phenomenon of trauma and its encapsulation into the tissues, with reference to Wilder Penfield and his studies in the 1920's of the limbic areas of the brain, Peter Levine ("Walking The Tiger"), Upledger and many more. A handout explored changes in personality in some people who receive organ transplants, leading to speculation that the organ itself has tissue memories of the donor's experiences. (Slightly disconcerting for me - I didn't know Mike before he was 21!). We were also informed about a New Scientist article entitled: "Water's Quantum Secret", which explores the way in which water "records" energetic imprints, the principle central to homeopathy.
On Saturday, the first session was with Jack Angelo: "Remembering Wholeness; a Subtle Energetic Perspective". He led a varied programme which included some practical work. The workshop got off to a good start when Jack misinterpreted us, (jocularly?) as "academics". Much laughter. Jack reminded us that basically we are all spiritual beings that temporarily reside within a physical body. When pathology in the body occurs, it is only after the alarm has been raised energetically through the different levels of the field, and been ignored. Healing must begin at the highest possible level to become complete.
During the practical, we scanned each other's energy field with particular emphasis on the chakras, attempting to exclude the "healing mode" from our hands. It was surprising how difficult this was - old habits die hard. The importance of the therapeutic atmosphere one brings to treatment was emphasised; "energy hygiene" was one of the many useful terms Jack used.
Session 2 on Saturday was led by John Waterson from the Chiron Centre. Presented in lecture format, his subject matter was based on Body Psychotherapy and its energetic underpinnings. John explored the phenomenon of energetic and emotional blocks with reference to the example of a baby attempting to attract the attention of its mother, but being ignored. The baby's emotional reaction escalates with each ignored attempt, until it reaches an unbearable point where the child's mind starts to block the energy state of upset before it discharges - "I didn't want it anyway". The blocked energy causes a physical contraction of tissues which eventually, if repeated enough, results in altered body posture and body use. Body Psychotherapy addresses such contraction, assisting the person to discharge the trapped energy under safe conditions.
The late afternoon slot can be a difficult one energetically for both speaker and audience. "Where's my tea and biscuits?" fights with "I'd quite like a nap right now, thank you!". Our next guest effectively banished all thoughts of brain-fog. I must confess that my attitude was a little biased towards Melvyn Foey, as I was responsible for his presence at the conference. He practices a form of energy therapy little known in this country called Network Chiropractic. In the past Mike and I were under his care for two years and benefited tremendously. Melvyn talked about some of the esoteric aspects of energy medicine and the role of past life memories in trauma resolution. His treatment emphasis was (naturally for a therapy related to chiropractic) focused on spinal tension, but always from an awareness of the emotional energetics within and surrounding the individual. During his later demonstration of the techniques, there was wide spread fascination as Melvyn's hands seem to dance, bounce and weave into the field of the person on the couch. Unfortunately, at present one has to be a Chiropractor before training in this speciality, but there is ongoing work to open the course up to other professionals. I have the feeling that there would be several takers from ACPEM on the strength of the positive reaction to Melvyn's input. Since the conference I have heard from one member who has chosen to experience Network care, with greatly positive results.
Sunday's programme was no less fascinating, starting with "Myofascial Release: From Fixer to Facilitator". We had a whole morning to experience the input of Stuart Robinson, a physiotherapist with a special interest in the fascial system and the body/mind/energetic relationship. (I am hoping he has subsequently joined ACPEM -I do hope he will). We explored, by means of rating out of 10 on intensity, our positive and negative thoughts about ourselves, related to our different roles in the myofascial structure in pairs. I had an opportunity to work with someone of extraordinary skill and sensitivity (yes, you know who you are), and it seemed that the atmosphere in the whole room reflected the delicacy and love emanating from this person's hands. I wonder how many CIG's see everyone hugging at the end of a workshop at their conferences?
To round up the conference's
educational content, our own Vivien Nichols and Ann Childs led a review of
the current research into the theme of body memory, quirkily entitled "Is
there any proof out there?".
