I grew up with the autoimmune disorder Chron’s disease. It was a rollercoaster of happy times and painful times, in and out of hospitals, trying different foods and approaches to relieve the intense pain I would experience. I remember being very young in the emergency room, not understanding why the doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. I eventually identified myself as a sensitive kid who was slightly different from her friends. I had assumed that I was born with a disorder and this would be the rest of my life. When I was 22 years old, I had been on prednisone for 3 years and was told I wouldn’t be able to come off it, I would not be able to have children and be riddled with side effects by 40. 

I was a stubborn child who pushed through the pain and never stopped looking for answers. I respected my doctors but became acutely aware that their help would not give me a long, healthy life. When I first went away to school, I engrossed myself in learning all about the body. It seemed like a natural fit to enroll in a kinesiology program, and even more so in alignment with me to upgrade to become a massage therapist. While in my first year away from home, my mom asked me if I would take a course in massage and help her with headaches. I found a school near my existing school and signed up for a 10-week program on the basics of a full-body massage. From the first night of class, I was hooked; it felt like picking up an instrument that I had played before but couldn’t remember ever playing. In my 3rd or 4th class, the instructor asked, “Have you ever done this before?” clearly seeing the talent in me that I had no awareness of. “Nope,” I replied, focusing on the session. “Really, she said, you are picking this up extremely fast.” It seemed so natural to me as I replied, “Seems pretty easy to me.” She chuckled at my young arrogance and said, “It’s not that easy.” 

It was 1993 in Toronto, Ontario, at Sutherland Chan School and Teaching Clinic when I first discovered my passion for hands-on healing. I finished my Kinesiology program and immediately began the RMT 3400 hr program. My health was still touch and go, but I was determined to heal myself no matter what it took. With the help of a metabolic physician, I was able to stop the prednisone medication and begin the process of changing my diet. My mom had taken me to an alternative doctor when I was 14, who suggested I not eat soy, milk or beef, but it wasn’t until I was 30 that I became strict with my diet. I gave up alcohol, gluten, milk, soy and red meat for 8 years. I could feel my body healing, but if I came in contact with gluten and soy,  it would take weeks to balance my body back. I was able to add milk and red meat back into my diet, but soy and gluten were a hard stop, no. I was ok with this new life as I felt well most days and had 2 healthy children and a thriving massage practice. 

I dove into everything pain relief from the day after graduation in 1997. It was like I couldn’t fill my brain with enough information to keep me satisfied. My clinic grew quickly into a multidisciplinary pain clinic. I became proficient in Low-Level Laser, Osteopathic approaches, Matrix Repatterning, Grastin, Ultrasound and Athletic Taping. My curiosity for spiritual healing led me to take my Reiki Master. This is when things got “weird” for me.

 I participated in a class with a friend, my mom, and other curious people. I was the only regulated practitioner in the room, feeling like a fish out of water. The other participants could feel the heat, see colours, and know they were engaged in their newfound technique. I, on the other hand, could feel nothing! The instructor told me to concentrate, “On what?? I thought. I quickly became bored and decided to do my own thing. I sat my hands on my friend’s leg and just did what felt natural. As I tuned into her leg, I went on an adventure with what I could feel inside her leg. She lifted her head and said with curiosity, “What are you doing? I can feel you in my leg”. I had no idea what was happening, so I just brushed it off and said, Oh, I’m not sure. 

We switched partners and practiced a little more. When it came time for me to give it another go, I placed my hands on my mom’s head. I could feel my hands inside her head as though they were actually there. I began assessing the bones, sinus cavities, and inflammation. I approached it like a child touching something for the first time; no stress or worry, just open-minded curiosity. Until my mom looked up at me and said, “I can feel you inside my head!” At this point, I took a step back and asked my instructor what was happening. “Just concentrate, dear,” the lovely lady replied. I knew at that moment I would be on my own in the pursuit of expanding my healing hands. 

I continued learning every manual technique I could to help my clients, expanding my practice after receiving my Diploma in Manual Osteopathy. I enjoyed meditating and tapping into my intuition, but was a little lazy; I heavily relied on my lucid dreams. It never failed me. I knew my hands and treatment style were a little different but it would be years before I realized just how much. 

It was just after I turned 40 that the universe had a different plan for me! The doctors were right that I would die around 40, but they had no idea that I would not stay dead and live to talk about my out-of-body experience and how to heal my inner child and finally… my soul…