Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/68173
THE MIND-BODY LINK "The medical model says we're basically a bag of biochemicals, but we know there are various dimensions to who we are." David Simon LOOLWA KHAZZOOM: In your own words, what is Free to Love, Free to Heal about? DAVID SIMON: The book is about authentic healing. My experience as a physician, for over three decades, has been that in most interactions between a patient and a doctor, we barely have enough time to address the symptoms that bring patients to us in the first place. When we create more safety, time, and space, we come to see that underlying almost every problem facing a patient is a story. If we access that story, reveal that story, and realize that we can start writing a new chapter for that story, genuine healing and transformation begin. LK: I liked how, in your book, you write that the reason we say "feelings" is because we "feel" emotions physically in our body; emotions live there. I also liked how you talked about various methods for cleansing the emotional state. Please talk about why we need to do the cleansing on many different levels—physical, spiritual, communal, etc. How does each piece contribute to the experience of health and well-being? DS: We are multidimensional beings. The medical model says we're basically a bag of biochemicals, but we know there are various dimensions to who we are. We have environments; we have relationships; we have jobs; we have physical bodies; we have emotional bodies; we have psychologies; we have spirits. Traditionally, going back thousands of years, healers were comfortable addressing these various levels of a person's life. This book is going back to the roots of healing, the roots of medicine—exploring the level of multidimensionality where a person is struggling, seeing how we can facilitate greater integration between all the parts of that individual. 66 massage & bodywork march/april 2010 LK: In your book, you discuss the multidimensional root of illness and the multidimensional path to healing that illness. Do you feel that there is a place where it would be appropriate for a practitioner to take the initiative and say, "It seems that what is going on really needs more of a Western medical diagnosis and more aggressive treatment," or, "It seems that it might be useful for you to explore the possibility of some psychotherapy, so that you can get the emotions out," or something to that effect. Do you feel that it is appropriate and/ or useful for the massage therapist to initiate this conversation? If so, what do you recommend as the way to go about doing it? DS: Clearly if clients are having emotional experiences in massage, it is appropriate for practitioners to say, "Maybe you're carrying some residue, some emotional pain from the past, and maybe in addition to getting this bodywork, it might be useful to look at that." I think if massage therapists are going to approach the matter in this way, they need to already have an established relationship with practitioners in other fields—such as counselors with a holistic mind-body perspective. Once that referral network is established, it makes complete sense to say, in a very invitational and compassionate way, "It seems that through massage, we're accessing some emotional pain. If you're interested, a friend of mine is a therapist who is holistically oriented. Maybe a session with her can help you get some greater clarity in that area." In addition to having that relationship established, I also advise first receiving guidance and coaching from that therapist, regarding how to broach the subject. You don't want to open up something and not be there to help process it.