I’ve never underestimated the power of an adjustment to change the trajectory of my health and life. ⁣⁣

I’ve personally relied on receiving and providing all kinds of adjustments as a major fixture in my life. ⁣

As I sit down to write this holiday newsletter, we’re culminating the celebration of Chanukah. It has me thinking how the two relate; but first allow me a quick moment to share the highlights of what Chanukah is.

Chanukah is a holiday in the celebration of a miracle: the miracle of light.

I grew up fortunate to have both sets of grandparents in my life.

My father's parents were Holocaust survivors from Poland and Romania. My mother's parents were from Tunisia; my mother was raised in France and didn’t know she was Jewish until she was 12 years old. 

I grew up living close to my father's parents, and as a kid I noticed the tattoos on my grandparent's forearms ... the kind they didn’t choose. 

It’s common sense to me how our life as a whole, can and does affect our health, whether we realize it or not.

From the career we have, to the spouse we choose; from the environment we live in to those we surround ourselves with; everything in our life affects our physical and emotional health.

In a previous post, I wrote about the possibility that it is us that betray our bodies, rather than the converse.

Having said that, I want to bring that premise home by drawing your attention to a very powerful documentary called Ordinary Men: The “Forgotten Holocaust” on Netflix.

There’s a specific example in the film where the betrayal of our bodies is very evident.

Over the years I’ve heard people mentioning how their bodies have betrayed them for one reason or another.

⁣⁣For some, it’s chronic back pain, stomach issues, weight gain, cancer, the list goes on, but they’ve all felt betrayed. ⁣⁣

And although I can understand most of their feelings, I’ve often felt that it’s not our bodies that have betrayed us…

For those who don’t know, the Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. A few of them are my teachers in the therapeutic style of bodywork that we do.

Interpreting & understanding why our bodies are having to deal with the issues within is not easy.

I never realized the first year of marriage was a big deal until my mentor reminded me of it. ⁣

He said most marriages fail in the first year because the honeymoon phase wears off & you start to see who you really have as a partner. You’ll also start to see all the issues you should have included together in your vows (most people don’t learn this during their courting phase & certainly not their engagement process).⁣

For those of you who saw my last post about my Maori teacher coming to LA with some of her fellow healers, here’s more info.

These sessions are for men & women. Also, my teacher, Ata has developed a specialization in working with women who struggle with a myriad of female issues, including past trauma & fertility, although her practice & those joining her is not limited to this.

For those who don’t know, Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. A few of them are my teachers in the therapeutic style of bodywork that we do.

Interpreting and understanding why our bodies are having to deal with the issues within is not easy. If the body is a communication center that harnesses all kinds of messages for us to connect with, this bodywork is the vehicle to help us make that connection easier.

Hope might be good to have in one’s life, although, it’s not powerful to utilize as a strategy to accomplish things.

Anytime I hear myself or someone say, “I HOPE … happens,” I’ve been trained to be suspicious about it.

It signifies fear and doubt that something won’t happen, and the person is being passive in their approach.

Trauma is not something we should try to get rid of, but something we must learn to alchemize & turn into our greatest gift. It’s quite common for people to want to erase or forget painful memories, experiences, and traumas of their past. But what we soon find out, is that the harder we work to erase something from our psyche, the more securely the memory will stay in place.

Science has never proven this, however through my own observation and personal experience, having a child-like spirit within us is a powerful contributor/elixir to good health.

Don’t ask me to test this hypothesis or back it up with references. It just seems evident.

I never considered not having a family, not even once throughout my entire life. And yet, here Lindsay & I are, consciously not having kids, and not feeling like we’re missing out.

For the last 20 years, I was recreating myself and my work. I was healing my own personal issues and traumas, and developing new skills in my craft. While doing all of this, I was clear…

Despite what we might not like to think, we can’t solve an emotional issue with a physical solution, regardless of what it is.

For instance: We may have a coach to help us reach our fitness or financial goals, but this doesn’t mean they’re helping us heal or transform our emotional self.

I know from experience, both my own & working with clients over the years, that our unhealed traumas continue to live within us, long after the events have passed.

Traumas of our past live and breathe within our nervous systems because of the fear & shame we’ve attached to them.

Not sure you read my posts on social media or email newsletters; however, if you do, thank you, and here’s why I write them.

I mostly practice my writing purely as a skill I’m constantly developing and in finding my writing voice within it. I know aspects of it, but I haven’t totally locked into it yet.

The last three eyears have been challenging, yet amazing, as I’ve had to stare down some feral animals in the form of my emotional make-up.

We’re all presented with lessons and signs that we either follow or ignore, and that’s certainly been the case for me.

If we’re going to move past our limitations, push through our fears, illuminate our issues, heal our past trauma, soothe our body pain, challenge what we think is the truth & go where we didn’t know was possible, we must develop trust with our coaches. ⁣

When I was around 29, I found myself in a self-help seminar at the pestering of a friend. He professed it would bestow many benefits onto me.

He wasn’t totally wrong. As it turned out, soon after that seminar, I serendipitously met my first teacher, who helped shape the work that I do today.