Getting in tune with the body’s language New Mexican 1.9.09

 

BodyTalk practitioner coming to S.F. to demonstrate human anatomy’s ability to heal itself

Ben Swan | The New Mexican

1/9/2009 - 1/10/09

 

Laura Hames is used to miracles. 

As a BodyTalk practitioner, the New York City resident says she has witnessed countless people heal themselves. And while she might not call it a miracle, she does consider the simple noninvasive energy technique and its results amazing. 

“I’m a practitioner,” the longtime dancer said. “I’m not a healer. What I do is help that person’s body to do its own healing. That’s the paradigm shift: when people realize their own body is doing the work.” 

Developed in the 1990s by John Veltheim, an Australian chiropractor, acupuncturist and longtime martial-arts instructor, the therapy combines elements of Eastern and Western theories. Practitioners use a simple muscle-testing technique as a form of biofeedback to identify underlying issues. 

The goal is to stimulate the body’s ability to communicate and heal itself. 

Hames will give a demonstration on the technique and offer private sessions from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday in the Sun Room of the Santa Fe Soul Health and Healing Center, 2905 Rodeo Park Drive E., Building 3. Admission is $10. Hames will also offer a session on the Franklin Method, a technique that uses imagery to improve coordination, strength, flexibility and performance. The session is from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday in the same room. Cost is $30. 

While BodyTalk and the Franklin Method are separate techniques, they complement each other, Hames said. “They are both about creating body awareness,” she said. 

A separate BodyTalk demonstration for animals will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 17 at Zoe & Guido’s Pet Boutique, 1441-C Paseo de Peralta. 

Hames discovered BodyTalk several years ago when a friend and Rockettes performer suffered a spinal stress fracture and could no longer dance. The friend stumbled upon a practitioner, and after one session, the spasms were gone. 

“She said, ‘You’ll never believe what happened,’ ” Hames recalled. ” ‘(The practitioner) pulled my wrist, patted my head, and I was fine.’ “ 

Hames, who had training in Pilates, Reiki and a strong interest in other alternative therapies, was intrigued. Two months later, she became a certified BodyTalk practitioner. 

“My whole life changed,” she said. “And especially the way I look at my body. It’s really about understanding how the body is interconnected.” 

The body heals itself all the time, Hames said — like when a cut heals. But certain factors — environmental, physical or emotional — can create blocks in a body’s own inner communication. BodyTalk helps to open up those forms of cellular communication and reinvigorate healing. 

The practitioner, using muscle testing, guides the person with the help of a chart to determine the body’s priority issue. The attention to what’s on the verge of improving as opposed to what’s negative is an appealing aspect of the therapy, she said. 

Attention or focus is then given to those areas, and the practitioner gently taps the client’s head and sternum to re-establish balance. The tap on the heart helps hold the memory, Hames said. “It’s hard to get your head around it until you’ve seen it or have had a session,” she said. “But it’s amazing.” 

One client, her skeptical brother, was diagnosed with bladder cancer several years ago and had the tumor removed. The cancer came back, and in the meantime, Hames had become a BodyTalk practitioner. He reluctantly allowed her to treat him before he returned to the hospital. 

When he went in for treatment, however, the tumor was gone. 

“It’s been 2 1/2 years, and the cancer hasn’t come back,” Hames said. “That was profound and amazing to witness.” 

Those kind of miracles do happen, she said, but most sessions are much more subtle. The client often must tackle other issues before profound healing can begin. 

The ultimate miracle, however, is when the client recognizes his or her own body’s ability to heal. “There is a strong, grounded aspect to this,” Hames said. “Reiki and other healing techniques, I see them as tools, and they are very good. But BodyTalk is the whole toolbox.” 

Those interest in contacting Hames may e-mail her at laurahames@me.com