THE UNIFICATION OF ELIZABETH BEESON, LIFE AND ORTHO-BIONOMY
One of the basic tenets upon which we have built the foundation of this work is that everything affects everything else. We believe that the body is unified and a natural extension of that is the belief that life itself is unified. My story is a living example of that unity. Ortho-Bionomy happened into my life at the ripe young age of forty. I had lived a privileged life of relative comfort; I had a successful marriage, and had just about raised three children. For me life was good and I had determined that the universe was a wise and friendly place. I had spent most of my youth adventuring into consciousness, exploring the planet, and serving loved ones. I had looked deeply and openly into the face of life with all of its paradoxical mystery, jousted with windmills, and came out smiling. My sister-in-law, Mary, was just beginning her massage therapy program and she needed some faces to practice with. She called and asked if I would be game. Of course I jumped at the chance. Life was good and besides I had never had a facial or any other form of bodywork before. What I experienced with that facial changed me profoundly. I was moved on many levels and simply in awe of the beauty and delicacy of a simple touch. I thanked Mary and launched myself into the world of human contact and interaction. I always had a flare for the dramatic and with great conviction convinced myself that everything, every event, in my life had prepared me for this moment. As fate would have it, my very next experience with this new world of touch was with Ortho-Bionomy. I had stumbled upon a class with Christina Montes De Oca in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The line on the flyer that stated, “No previous bodywork experience necessary” caught my eye and I thought, “This is the class for me!” I breezed in without any clue where my thorax was and completely free from any preconceived ideas about what to expect. I truly could not have imagined what happened next. Christina had asked if I would like to be on the table for purposes of demonstration. I thought this would probably be a good idea if, for no other reason, I might find out where my thorax was! She gently lifted my arm, it felt warm and supported, and then out of nowhere came a rush of sensation throughout my body. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. I was riding along on a wave of neural stimulation. It was soft and natural, not scary at all, and I could monitor and observe the experience as it was happening. I knew I could stop it if I chose to do that, but why would I want to stop it? I had never experienced myself in such a way before. My whole being was alive, awake, and buzzing. My body started to move slowly and spontaneously. It was like I was dancing life and each movement and motion had meaning and context. I ended in a fetal position and everything became very still and quiet. In that quietness came the information connected to the movement. The thought came that the discomfort I was experiencing in my shoulder for most of my life had first occurred during birth and that this had become the place where I would “store” or place physical discomfort in my body. I remained amazed in the stillness of this realization. I did not want to move. I just wanted to remain in the quiet. I stayed there in the fetal posture for a few minutes and then my body very gently began to move again on its own. I flowed along the wave and became aware that I was “re-birthing”. This time the birth was performed “correctly”, as it should have been, as it was intended to be done. I felt my shoulder relax completely with the movement and I experienced a joy and freedom and a sense of comfort and acknowledgement. I felt at home in my body. I knew that I could trust myself. I knew that the universe that I had recognized as wise and friendly was not just a place outside my self that I could look upon and play with but also a space within my own being. I knew that there were stories and conversations, relationships, and possibilities that lay hidden awaiting recognition. The discovery of Ortho-Bionomy has enriched my life beyond words. Each new encounter with the work continues to surprise me. It is a never-ending mystery story called “Life” and there is no other work that speaks the language of “Life” to me with such clarity and wisdom.