BodyTalk for animals aims to unlock body’s power to heal
1/24/2009 - 1/25/09
Abandoned in Las Cruces, emaciated and with hair so matted she had to be shaved, Molly entered Gwyneth Welch’s life in September, taking her place with the Santa Fe resident’s other collie, Socks.
Like many rescue animals, Molly came with issues, both physical and emotional. So when Welch brought her to a demonstration on AnimalTalk — the pet version of BodyTalk, a health system that aims to boost the body’s ability to heal itself — Welch was open to help.
She wasn’t disappointed.
“It was so powerful,” Welch said. “It was amazing. She seems so happy now, so settled.”
Molly, a collie with boundless energy, is a dog that seems to provide a perfect balance for Welch, who for years has struggled with chronic fatigue. Welch says she only recently felt well enough to have dogs, starting with Socks, who was also adopted from Southwest Collie Rescue.
Canines, perhaps more than any animals, are keyed in to their owners, said Laura Hames, the BodyTalk practitioner who offered demonstrations and sessions on the healing technique for both humans and animals last week. Canines want work, she told a group gathered at Zoe & Guido’s Pet Boutique, and they crave the discipline offered by their human companions.
“Part of their job is to support their owners,” she said. “If the owner has an imbalance, they will try to take that on and support that.”
Life’s stresses, however, sometimes block the body’s ability to communicate fully. BodyTalk, developed by a physician who combined Western and Eastern theories for an integrated health system, helps open up those energy channels.
“Animals have stress too,” Hames said. “But if we can get all those parts of the body to communicate fully, then the body can heal itself.”
A BodyTalk practitioner uses muscle testing and protocol chart to navigate through possible problems or blockages. The muscle testing — one of several techniques practitioners use — establishes the body’s permission for the process and then the direction for treatment.
Unlike traditional health systems, practitioners aren’t seeking to find what’s wrong with the body, Hames said. “We’re asking the body what it wants to improve.”
Those initial improvements — proper hydration, deep breathing, relaxation — can then help the body on its path to healing. The same system is used on animals, although practitioners generally do the muscle testing on the animal’s owner or themselves.
“You may want to start working with the animals, but you may not be able to until you first get a link with the owner,” Hames said. “It depends upon what comes up.”
Once it’s determined what the body wants to address, awareness or attention is brought to that specific area by gentle tapping on the head and then on the sternum. Some animals enjoy the tapping, Hames said, while others shy away from it.
“It’s all awareness,” Hames said. “So long as you have the focus on the animal, you can tap out on the owner as a surrogate for the pet.”
The idea of energy movement might seem far-fetched, but consider the power of prayer, she told the group. Twenty people praying for someone’s health from different parts of the globe can help that person heal more quickly.
“It’s a little bit out there, but there is something that resonates,” she said. “Our brains might say, ‘That’s silly,’ but then there’s something inside of us that goes, ‘Yeah, I feel that.’ “
One dog in particular during the demonstration seemed to enjoy the session. Hames said she felt a significant shift while working with Morgan, Alice Lee’s longtime service dog. The golden retriever is about to be retired, Lee said, and is struggling with a possible new role.
Lee, after the session, said she thought Hames was excellent at intuiting issues surrounding people and their dogs. “I thought she was right on about me and Morgan,” Lee said. “The main thing we need to work on now is grief. I know that is true for me and for Morgan? I don’t know. He has such presence for in the moment living; I’m not sure if we are projecting those feelings of grief onto him.”
But Lee said the experience was positive enough that she’d try it again with Morgan. And it’s helped her to focus on better preparing him for his transition into retirement. The demonstration also brought back the idea that she, too, should be open to new possibilities.
“The whole thing was pretty Santa Fe,” Lee said, “but I found out last summer that part of my life goal is to heal myself and get in touch more with my intuitive side. I’m remaining open to all sorts of alternative practices.”
Hames, a New York City resident, plans to return to Santa Fe, possibly in February. She also hopes to organize a retreat on the technique in May.
Those interested in more information about health system can e-mail Hames at laurahames@me.com or visit the BodyTalk Web site at www.bodytalksystem.com.
