Conference is over, tourist days are over too. I missed final dinner with friends; guess I was a few minutes late. This left me time to get a few more bits out of my system before I begin packing.

What I noticed: many people who have come to an integrative medicine conference have little interest in integrating…and I’m not sure I do myself. I came expecting little, but believing I’d connect with two or three people who would be important to me, and I think I did…Jo Steenkamp, psychotherapist from South Africa, makes more sense than anyone I’ve talked to for a long time. Have I ever explained that my definition of genius is someone who thinks like me? His S.H.I.P. model can be viewed on his website, www.ship.org.za. Second, Markus Nagel, osteo from Germany, who has made me think I can also learn to incorporate some of Fascial Distortion Model into my work. Several others also made a great impression on me, and I hope I made an impression on several others.

And, isn’t it interesting how many of us see the world through our lens only? Here we are at an integrative conference, touting our tool as the best and only. One fellow who presented his model lives in a strangely bad body, even though he prescribes many exercises for his clients. One movement specialist talked so much that I itched to be moving. One doctor watched a film where death and the doctor battle over a woman and admitted he believed we had to battle even when it’s time for someone to leave. One doctor explained to me that his integrative program didn’t have any bodywork because bodyworkers don’t work well with a team, so he hasn’t found one. Too many of us seem to see our tool as the way to get everyone well.

I’m guilty to some extent…I’m not greatly interested in working in a team with such doctors, or such bodywork/exercise workers who don’t do their own work. I am interested in learning all I can to improve my skills for the people who I do touch. And I do plan to continue touching! This has been a juice bar of new ideas, both good and bad. Gratitude for all.

Another full day! Opening session with Micaela Bercovitch, who presented an excellent Spanish animated film about an old woman ready to die and go meet her husband. Just as Death takes her hand, she’s jerked back into this life by the doctor who ‘saved her life’. The struggle between Death and the medical profession was comical, but profound, raising the question: At what point does life saving become destructive? She works with palliative care, and showed another moving end-of-life piece.

Many presentations today were devoted to acupuncture for specialized problems, and to cancer treatments. These were less interesting to me, but I found much to create new questions for me. For example, when Dr Abossolo from France presented findings about the enhanced healing of shoulder surgeries through use of lasers, I, and many other alternative folks, wondered why he wasn’t using the lasers before the surgery?

In Body-Electronics: A Scientific Based Concept for Integrative Medicine, Dr Ori Wolff demonstrated scientifically what we left field folks have known for years about healing…but he’s demonstrated it, so now it’s real to another community! Favorite quotes here from Wolff: “I disagree that integrative medicine isn’t science based.” And from Albert St Giorgi: “Life is only an electron looking for a resting place.” I love that one! Then Dr Tolu Oyelowo from Minneapolis,DC, presented a case study of treatment of neck pain/migraines. Thank goodness someone is finally presenting a hands-on approach! I praised her for bringing touch to the conference…there seems to be a dearth of that.

An interesting paper read by a Lithuanian medical administrator, citing how they began using Oriental medicine when under Russian control, and how they’re now expanding their use of CAM. I was moved to present her with my Meet Your Body book, which may just help them take another step in learning to get people well. Her quote of the day from Bondewek (?): Knowledge of other people’s beliefs and ways of thinking must be used to build bridges”. To which I say “Amen”.

When we finally got to movement therapies this afternoon I was a bit disappointed, possibly because it’s such old hat stuff for me. We featured an Alexander technician, a Feldenkreis practitioner, and a woman who has modified Touch for Health into her own work. They were followed by a Czech health administrator citing her research that in Czech Republic, while there’s a decline among doctors in the belief that CAM is placebo, there’s also a decline in its recommendation by them. Interesting, that.

The afternoon got better yet! Mel Litman cited lots of research showing how nutrition indeed does contribute to positive outcomes in cancer cases; Natalie Keren talked about and showed slides of treatments using leeches! It seems that not only has she good outcomes, but the patient even reports a mild euphoria from the treatments. The final speaker for me was Osteo Markus Nagel, speaking on and introducing Fascial Distortion Model. If you’ve followed me you know my interest in this work; he’s promised to get me in touch with US training, so I’ll have more to say about that later.

Oh, and one wonderful surprise for me…when I browsed the book table from some local supplier, there were both my books, which were also selling! So that was a nice ego boost.

So in all a wonderful experience. I’m beginning to think I’d like to return in two years and present a few challenges of my own. I feel honored and blessed to have had the opportunity to interact with such interesting and stimulating people; my work will change and my life has changed.

My mind is full! Plenary speakers were great: first, a Dr Doron Garfinkel, whose mission is to get all health professionals working together on treatment plans so as to not duplicate, obfuscate and overdose treatments of drugs in patients. His example: a 91 year old man who became healthy when all 18 medications were stopped. Second speaker Rick Steele talked about the economic impossibility of keeping on the current medical track that both encourages people to allow others to take care of them, and asks the healthy few to support this system. And third, The Upstream Model of Integrative Medicine with Yafir Kaufman asked us all to consider that instead of starting at the bottom to chase symptoms, we could climb the chain past pain, through mental illness or trauma, and into the search for meaning/purpose/spiritual well-being that must come for true health to reside. An inspiring morning.

After morning break the sessions got a little more specific to personal agendas: people presenting their particular model of health and inviting others to have a look and taste. Whilst some didn’t appeal to me at all, others presented gems: “Every thought, idea, emotion or belief has a neurochemical consequence…” from Dr Rupali Jeswal(India); Dr Jo Steenkamp(South Africa): “Trauma is good stuck energy, waiting to be released…”; PhD Yael Sne (Israel): “We can use personal coaching to bring clients to feelings of success…”; Colleen Cordes, PhD (US): “In the new medical model we don’t use words like depression and anxiety, or refer clients to counselors; we give them personal introductions to Behavioral Health Providers to help them manage their stressors”; Sergio Shanayta (Brazil): “If we can teach the poor of Brazil to respect and relearn the grandmother wisdom of plants, we can change the health of the country…”. Fascinating stuff!

I’m also finding new colleagues: Michigan State, Northeastern Iowa, Devon,England, Denmark, Minneapolis, and Tucson. What a blessing to be here!

I’m in Jerusalem, ready to attend day one of sessions of Second International Integrative Medicine conference. Judging by the program which I received last night on registration, and the people I met last evening at the dinner/mixer, I think it will be a fascinating time. I’m particularly interested in seeing the fellow discussing Fascial Distortion Model, which is something I’ve been experimenting with over the last few months. Amazing how the right things appear in the right time! The inventor of the model is dead; I had been wondering who to contact to find out more about where the work is now.

Other presentations: Laughing yoga. Natural menopause treatments. Electrical stimulations for healing. Alexander technique. Natural diabetes treatments. Spirituality and medicine. Ethics. It should be a full two days…

I’ll be attending the international Integrative Medicine Conference in Jerusalem from May 13–15. I fly out of London on Saturday for the three days, then have bought a couple of days of tourist visits also. During the conference my poster “The Heart’s Hourglass: Survive, or Thrive?” will also be on display, so I’m hoping to connect with interesting practitioners across disciplines, tune into some good workshops/presentations and come home (eventually) ready to work! Updates to follow.

Diet, exercise, and stress management counseling may be the key to managing diabetes and helping patients feel optimistic about their disease, confirms a new study at Bastyr Center for Natural Health in Kenmore, Wash.

Researchers compared two groups: One group of 369 adults with type 2 diabetes received conventional treatment of stress management, dietary supplements, and prescription medication. The second group of 40 adults received complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) on top of the standard care provided by their doctors.
After six months, researchers compared the two groups and their treatments. Those who bundled CAM with conventional care had lower blood-sugar levels, better eating and exercise habits, improved mood, and a stronger sense of control over their condition.

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American health care providers are themselves seeking out complementary and alternative therapies when dealing with their own health problems. In 2007, 83% of American health care workers used complementary or alternative medicine, as compared with 63% of the general population (Health Serv Res 2012; 47: 211-27). They were also two times more likely to seek out practitioner-based complementary or alternative therapy and three times more likely to self-administer such therapy.

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I’m today re-reading, and actually working with the stretches of, a book by Pete Egoscue called Pain Free (Bantam Books, NY, 1998). I highly recommend it. One of the things I like is his contention that health is all about movement, and as most of us have quit moving, we’ve also lost our ability to be healthy. So he challenges us to learn to use our bodies and individual muscles correctly again.

After opening chapters he begins with the feet to work the way up the body, another point of agreement between us. His E-cises are tough but good! He doesn’t try to fix knees at knees, but begins with feet and ankles. He likewise works to change hips from feet and ankles…therefore, if you really concentrate on the foot and ankle chapters, I think you’ll see some really good results in feet and legs, but also knees, hips, backs, shoulders and necks. It should be available at your local bookstore, or on amazon. Buy it!

People with chronic neck pain in the York area are being offered the chance to take part in a major clinical trial into the effectiveness of Alexander Technique lessons and acupuncture sessions.
Run by the University of York and funded by a grant of £720,000 from Arthritis Research UK, the ATLAS trial will look at the effectiveness of the techniques in alleviating neck pain compared with normal GP care.

York GP practices are contacting patients who have previously seen their GP with chronic neck pain, inviting them to take part in the study.

The year-long study which is run by the Complementary Medicine Research Group in the University’s Department of Health Sciences in conjunction with the York Trials Unit, will recruit up to 500 patients in York, Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester.

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An interesting article by Kim Ingleby about what and how…well written.

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