When I’m in a session with her, I’ll tell her about the week’s events. As
I recount an upsetting phone call, or a memory of my dad that’s making
me sad, she’ll press a point on my neck or my back or my foot, and I
can feel both the ache and the sadness start to melt away. As an osteopath,
she understands that a pain in the back is rarely just a pain in the
back—it may also be a dysfunction in the ovary or the gut, the thyroid
or the liver. And, perhaps more important, she understands that the pain
almost always connects to the heart. She’s taught me that fear can kick
into your muscles and body, and that those are the moments when you
need musculoskeletal support, the ice, and the strapping most—along
with a cleansing cry on the table, followed by a good belly laugh.