My Education, Experience, and Orientation as a practitioner
I was born by and for my first six years lived by the ocean in three different locales, then from age six to 21 years old I lived in mid-Missouri, after which I moved to Washington state to attend college in 1979. I am a 1983 graduate of The Evergreen State College, where I engaged Interdisciplinary Studies in education, psychology, philosophy, natural sciences, and cultural anthropology, and earned a B.A. While a student, I had a work-study position as an athletic trainer, working with student athletes and their injuries — primarily with the men’s and women’s soccer teams.
After college I pursued a career in the field of Outdoor Experiential Education, and was a field Instructor for several programs using the Outward Bound model as therapy for adjudicated teenagers. After I’d had enough of that, I worked for the Minnesota/Voyageurs; Northwest; and Colorado Outward Bound Schools as a Field Instructor.
My interest in the healing arts began with something very personal, in that I had fractured my spine as a teenager which required major orthopedic surgery and a hospital stay of two weeks. I came out of that very invasive surgery involving much tissue dissection and bone grafts, with unrelenting chronic pain. Over some years this suffering catalyzed an interest in exploring alternatives to conventional western allopathic biomedicine (i.e., treatment oriented around the use of pharmaceutical drugs and surgery), which then eventually led to a serious interest in becoming a practitioner of “alternative” medicine as my life’s work, the study and practice of which has been a very interesting, engaging, challenging, and passionate path now spanning 38 years of licensed practice, since 1988.
My initial training began with Joyce Hawkes, Ph.D.(Biophysics) in 1986, in Seattle, which was an exploration of healing traditions in Eastern and Western cultures. She called her work “Cell-Level Healing” (See the books, Cell Level Healing; and Resonace, by Joyce Hawkes) and my last training with her was in 2015. This foundation, of which a modern term would be, “energy medicine” (and it could be argued that both acupuncture and biodynamic osteopathy, discussed farther below, are also forms of “energy medicine” although I do not use the term to describe my work), and while it doesn’t reflect the entirety of my approach, this foundation remains influential to me in a number of ways, not the least being the simple appreciation that humans have relied on each other for help with their suffering for as long as humanity has existed. All forms of medicine/healing have deep historical and cultural roots.
After further study in anatomy and physiology, and passing the Washington State board exams, In 1988 I was licensed in Washington to practice as an LMT, and then maintained a private practice in Seattle for the next ten years doing bodywork, which also included several years of practice at two Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine clinics, primarily providing post -orthopedic surgery rehabilitation treatment. My own experience with receiving orthopedic spinal surgery (and years later, knee surgery) has given me rapport with others who have had it as well.
My ongoing education during that particular era began with trainings in Structural Integration from several perspectives (all derivations of “Rolfing”, and Ida Rolf got her stuff from Osteopaths); Hanna Somatics (which is similar to Feldenkrais); and also trainings in various traditional Osteopathic modalities such as myofascial release; muscle-energy technique; strain-counterstrain; and craniosacral therapy.
I began learning craniosacral treatment in 1991 in Seattle with a 60-hour basic course taught by Michael Lipelt DDS (who was trained by Viola Frymann DO at the Sutherland Cranial Teaching Foundation). I also studied craniosacral therapy in 1992 with Dani Riggs in Bellingham, WA, who included perspectives from depth psychology, and in 1993 studied craniosacral treatment in Seattle with Bruno Ducoux, DO (a French osteopath, trained at the European School of Osteopathy); and then later in 1997 and 1998 I also studied craniosacral treatment through basic courses with the Upledger Institute and the Milne Institute, as well as at the Canadian College of Osteopathy in 2013/14.
Personal instruction and ongoing mentoring from several osteopathic physicians (primarily Dr. Paul Lee, DO) in actual clinical settings began in 2001 and have continued to the present time.
Most if not all courses are focused on learning techniques, and did not really teach me to how to actually think osteopathically, which in my opinion really can’t be learned in a classroom setting such as weekend-type group courses/trainings where the participant watches techniques demonstrated by the instructor and then the participants practice the techniques on their classmates — for me, that came later during osteopathic clinical preceptorships and with mentoring by DO’s, involving hand to hand training and supervision in their clinics with real patients with real problems, and ironically, through myself receiving/experiencing and reflecting on many, many treatments over the years from very experienced traditional osteopathic physicians/DO’s.
During this time I also developed an interest in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine.
To that end, in 1994 I returned to The Evergreen State College and the University of Washington to focus study on pre-med subjects (physical and organic chemistry, microbiology, histology, and biochemistry), as well as studying shiatsu (a Japanese form of bodywork that involves attending to blockages in the channels/meridians just as acupuncture does) with Yasuo Mori in Seattle, all in preparation to attend the Seattle Institute of Oriental Medicine (SIOM), from which I graduated in 1998 from their 4000-hour clinically-oriented program, earning a Masters degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MAcOM). This school has been renamed the Seattle Institute of East-Asian Medicine, and now awards the doctorate degree for the same program I completed — the accreditation for a doctoral degree did not exist in the US at that time — except for New Mexico, which was doing their own thing that did not involve a National Accreditation Board.
I chose to study at SIOM because of my already established interest in osteopathy, as this new school was co-founded and directed by Dan Bensky, DO., a very skilled traditional osteopathic physician who came to osteopathy after studying acupuncture/Chinese medicine in Macau, and whose own practice integrated traditional osteopathy and acupuncture. I was treated by him on one occasion after a head injury before becoming a student, and was so impressed and intrigued and befuddled that I felt compelled to study with him. So, Dr Bensky was my inspiration for the eventual combining of acupuncture and traditional osteopathy, which has become my orientation as well. It was from him as one of my teachers at SIOM where I was introduced (1995) to using osteopathic palpation/sensing methods to not only assess objectively where in someone’s body the area they were struggling the most — which is not always the same location that a patient complains about — but also very importantly, to guide where and how one might use acupuncture (as opposed to ‘cookbook’ point prescriptions), and also importantly, to have a clear way of understandingif the acupuncture treatment was being successful or not in stimulating a healing response from the patient by way of assessing their body’s actual response to the treatment, utilizing palpation and sensing. This is a critical thing, because despite what it looks like, acupuncture is not just ‘sticking needles in people’ — one uses the needles to get a response from the body, and whatever that response is determines the success of the actual treatment — so to be able to assess and monitor qualitative things about that response — primarily, in this particular way of treatment, a return of vitality to the tissues — is really important.
In terms of learning acupuncture and herbal medicine I was very fortunate to attend a school where the educational emphasis was on experiential learning through clinical preceptorships with experienced practitioners with many viewpoints and from diverse parts of the world. Fully half of the 4000-hour program was devoted to actual clinical preceptorships — so, not only did I train with doctors from China, but also several from Japan as well as physicians from England, Germany, Australia and the U.S., all who reflected their own unique approaches. As students, we were encouraged to take these exposures to different viewpoints and approaches to acupuncture and herbal medicine and discover what kinds of models/approaches interested us the most, as springboard for further independent study in the future.
After graduation from SIOM in 1998 I decided that the next step in my path of being a practitioner would be a deep immersion into learning more about traditional Osteopathy — as well as continuing to explore through my own clinic how the addition of acupuncture to osteopathic treatment might enhance both approaches. I use the term “traditional” osteopathy to mean osteopathy as it was originally (thus the term “traditional”) conceived, taught, and practiced. A traditional osteopath is one who thinks osteopathically, and diagnoses and treats with their hands. This really is a rare thing anymore.
So, learning two different but actually very similar and complementary ways of thinking about health and disease — one from the East and one from the West — and combining them into one integrated therapeutic approach became my overarching aim, which continues to this day.
In 1998 I moved to Moab, Utah, and began a private practice here. I have made regular trips to Seattle over the years to continue study with Dan Bensky, DO with trainings relating to using osteopathic palpation/sensing to guide acupuncture treatment (at courses now called, “Engaging Vitality”). Ongoing professional development since then has also included courses through the Barral Institute (visceral “listening” skills and visceral manipulation); a year of study of osteopathy at the Canadian College of Osteopathy (founded/directed by Philippe Druelle, DO); and two years of study of traditional and biodynamic osteopathy with Steven Weiss, DO.
However, the most significant learning opportunity I have had in all that time was an ongoing private clinical preceptorship/mentorship with Paul Lee, DO beginning in 2001 that originally spanned seven years and included ~2000 hours observing and assisting him with treatment of patients at his osteopathic clinic in Durango, CO., which also included two years of bi-monthly visits to a pediatric clinic in Durango to treat babies and children with osteopathic manipulation — mostly those who had been injured during the birth process. As well, several other traditional osteopathic physicians have generously allowed me to observe and assist them treating patients in their clinics over the years, most notably, Maria Coffman, DO; Larry Bader DO; and Robert Trafeli, DO.
This quote explains this traditional way of learning well:
“Since its inception, Osteopathy has been passed on through the oral tradition, rather than the written word. True students of Osteopathy, still to this day, must learn Osteopathy in the same way that their elders did; by sitting in offices of more experienced Osteopathic physicians and by watching and participating in clinical treatments over many years.” – James Jealous, DO
While continuing to explore the integration of acupuncture and traditional osteopathy, a particular focus for me over the last 20 years has been learning and practicing what is called the Biodynamic model of osteopathy. This very unique approach to diagnosis and treatment seeks to understand and support the intention of the inherent Life forces that pervade all nature, that both create and sustain/maintain and repair/heal all life — in this case, at work dynamically in a human life, including the metabolic activities collectively known in biological science as homeostasis. An appreciation of how the body grows and develops embryologically from a single cell to an adult comprised of +/- 50 trillion cells, as well as naturally self-regulates/maintains and self-heals/repairs itself throughout life via these inherent biodynamic life forces is fundamental to that. Some of that study and practice in my case is exploring how acupuncture might skilfully augment (or not) this particular approach, which differs from a typical osteopathic treatment utilizing biomechanical or functional methodologies — this means developing skill in practicing the biodynamic approach purely on its own sometimes, and sometimes utilizing the addition of acupuncture in various ways (including a non-puncturing style of acupuncture utilizing teishin ‘needles’ which is primarily a Japanese approach) to see how the body responds to that — in my experience, usually very well. In any case, no matter what, learning and practicing how to not disturb nature at work is a big deal with treatment of this kind.
I was introduced to the Biodynamic model/approach of Osteopathy through my time with Paul Lee DO mentioned above, beginning in 2001 (who studied biodynamic osteopathy with James Jealous DO); and also studied further with Charles Ridley in California in 2006; and with Steven Weiss DO from 2007-2009 in Santa Fe NM; then also in 2013 in New Hampshire, at a Biobasics course with teaching faculty (all U.S. DO’s) for James Jealous DO with his Biodynamics of Osteopathy program. The biodynamic model of osteopathy has grown out of earlier biomechanical and functional models of working with the body, (which have been part of my educational development as well), specifically what was formally refered to as Osteopathy in the Cranial Field by it’s inceptor, William Sutherland, and now, Biodynamic Osteopathy is now considered the very esoteric end of Osteopathy, even though it is closely aligned with the thinking of Osteopathy’s founder, A. T. Still.
However, the most profound teaching in this realm for me has been through my own direct perception/observation of and contact/cooperation with the natural biodynamic forces of Life — of creation, self-regulation/maintenance, and self-healing/repair, the invisible, creative and sustaining forces of nature and beyond that are interfaced with in treatment of this type.
In East-Asian medicine, this life force is simply referred to as qi (pronounced “chee”) a word that is translated as “the vital life-force energy” or “the energy of life”; and shen, which in Chinese is translated as “supernatural”, or “spirit”, which in Biodynamic osteopathy would be called the Health, or the Breath of Life, or the Tide — the invisible, spiritual/supernatural, animating source of Life which ultimately is a mystery beyond our knowing with the intellect, but we can percieve/sense it, and communicate and cooperate with it.
Joseph Campbell said that, “‘God’ is the name for the blanket that we put over the Mystery to give it form”. We are talking here about the ultimate source of Life, which is ultimately a mystery to us. All the Sciences are organized efforts to understand various aspects of Nature using tools of inquiry that we have invented, and any true-blue scientist in any discipline will humbly admit that we are still learning, and the more we learn the more we realize that we don’t know. Beyond the Manmade artificial world and the Natural world there is the Supernatural world, and here is where the real mystery lies, which is beyond scientific inquiries. Getting comfortable with realizing that we interface with Wisdom and Intelligence from another Mind that the human intellect pales in comparison to and cannot even begin to grasp the scope of is a real part of the Biodynamic model — ultimately, it is deeply spiritual work.
One another level, one could say that this Biodynamic model of osteopathy is exactly what acupuncture is all about also, and has been for thousands of years, i.e., understanding the intention of and skillfully supporting the invisible, pervading, creative and sustaining life forces of nature. Here you can see how both osteopathy and east-asian medicine are thinking alike.
Along these lines, osteopath Robert Fulford DO, who was versed in east-asian medical science explained this very well in English:
“The human body is composed of complex interflowing streams of moving energy. When these energy streams become blocked or constricted we lose the physical, emotional, and mental fluidity potentially available to us. If the blockage lasts long enough, the result is pain, discomfort, illness, and distress.”
“The mysterious Vital Force could be spoken of as the Universal Power, or Intelligence. … Everything sick is out of the rhythm of the Mysterious Vital Force…”
Our body is made to self-regulate and self-heal, but physical trauma (i.e., injuries new and old, including surgeries), illnesses and diseases, and mental/emotional stress and/or shock can cause restrictions in the body in various ways that will impinge on the free flow of vitality/qi/life force as well as blood and lymph fluids and the state of the living, elastic protoplasmic fluid matrix (which is biodynamics is called the fluid-body), all of which are key to the body’s ability to self-regulate and self-heal, which then leads to a host of symptomatic issues, such as chronic pain and/or other structural and functional issues such as disease — in a word: suffering.
Successful treatment begins with understanding and addressing cause rather than just addressing symptoms, and skillfully interfacing with and enlisting the Intelligence and Wisdom of the natural, inherent biodynamic forces that create and sustain all of Nature including our human lives. Importantly, and in contrast to the way modern Western bio-medicine is practiced, this way of supporting Health and engendering healing is both gentle/non-invasive and potent.
I mentioned above that one of the most significant ways I have learned over the last 30+ years is from receiving hundreds of osteopathic treatments from experienced traditionally-oriented, “ten-fingered” DO’s — i.e. those who think osteopathically and who diagnose and treat with their hands rather than treating symptoms with drugs and surgery — who rely on engaging nature’s Intelligence and Wisdom and power/potency to help their patients. Therefore I have deep gratitude to those doctors who have not only helped me resolve my own chronic pain and additional physical traumas I have accumulated from an active lifestyle and maintain health through the years, but have also helped me understand how osteopathy is practiced in a clinical setting. I can’t imagine how I would have learned to help others in need without this very important kind of experiential learning that just cannot be learned in weekend workshops. This gratitude also applies to those DO’s who continue to serve as mentors for me, as being mentored by those more experienced is a very important part of my growth and development as a practitioner.
