Balance Bodyworks Integrated Therapy

12/28/2023

If I could boil the Gillespie Approach trainings down to one word, it would be “listening.”
The main focus is to open to the skill of listening to the fascial system over the three or six days and practice the work upon leaving the trainings. Everyone has a brain and fascia and is almost certainly sitting with unresolved traumas.
This skill is dependent on letting go of the ego and being present for the patient. Stop thinking and just feel. Your mindset is that I am with you now to facilitate your healing. I need to be totally involved with the process, but not attached to the outcome. This is a critical aspect when working with family members.
The fascial web is holding all of its traumas back to conception. As we hold the body, we are listening for that layer of strain that it wants to release now. We are allowing the body to tell us its story as it journeys through space and time.
By helping to free the web, we are opening the craniosacral fascial system. When this system starts to function better, good things happen. Over time you will become more comfortable and confident where this listening skill becomes a professional part of your consciousness.
The beauty of the work is that it represents authentic healing with no drugs, surgery, technology, manipulation, or supplements. You are completely trusting that the body knows best how to heal itself.
The work is especially effective with newborns and infants, who are solely dealing with the effects of their fetal, labor, and delivery traumas. In a perfect world the work needs to happen on the first day of life.
Let’s clear the slate of the traumatic birth effects and allow every human being to be the best s(he) can be.

11/15/2023

For everyone else who is wondering-what is Fascia… well🤔
Fascia is the scaffolding and the glue like connective tissue web that holds up and makes up the body, connecting everything and it’s much more than that…. much like Wi-Fi it is the communication network in our bodies sending and receiving information, sound , light, frequency, energy, emotions, and cellular nutrition/hydration. Within the microtubules of the Fascial system flows our consciousness, the father of Osteopathy doctor Andrew Taylor Still, in the 1800’s said “the soul of our body lays in the fascia”

Let us learn how to listen to this incredible wisdom in our bodies.

05/26/2023

I am blessed to have met, been taught by, and continue carrying on the vision of Dr Barry Gillespie. Here are his thoughts today;
"As Holly and Kim travel around America with the 6-day training, I am hearing great things from moms who are excited for what is happening to their babies.
Hearing words like “magic”, I want to take some of the mystery out of the work and give a short explanation rooted in science.
The full-body fascial web has the property of remembering all of its physical and emotional traumas from conception. When we hold a baby, we are listening to the web talk to us.
We allow the infant to do what it has to do to free itself. Most babies have many layers of trauma that need to be released.
Over a series of visits as the strain is disappearing, the baby is becoming happier and the fussiness issues abate.
The great aspect of working with a newborn is that all of their trauma is from those 40-weeks. In my mind if that can be cleared, that human being is off to a great start in life.
What I was hoping for in the 70s is happening now. I want to thank everyone for the great support of our work."

04/19/2023

Similar patient visits are happening globally every day. My hope is that someday everyone will "get it."

A five-year-old presented as a toe-walker. He also has focus, concentration, and speech issues. His occupational therapist said he was "too tight" and referred him to me.

Mom pushed for five hours in natural childbirth, and doctors needed to break his clavicle during the delivery due to shoulder dystocia. Since he could not latch, mom used a ni**le shield for months. He had gas, digestive issues, and was an archer.

He presented clinically with a zero-second brain cycle. His fascial web was still holding the arching and toe-walking strains from fetal trauma. What happens during those 40 weeks can matter healthwise.

This distress is all needless. We now understand the cause of the problem and how therapy can help with correction at birth. A child and family do not have to suffer for five years or even a lifetime.

I am assuming that if a therapist had seen him minutes after birth, those fresh wounds creating fascial strain could have released before leaving the hospital. Now five years later, his body has compensated and adapted where more visits are needed to help clear the layers of his traumatic onion.

I am hoping the day will come when these stories are history. I believe that Gillespie Approach Training for infants and newborns is a must for all neonatal providers.

Our Lancaster infant research from 2006-12 revealed many of nature's subtle secrets. Now in my 70s, I continue to experience joy in sharing what is possible for newborns. Practicality is not my strong point; I am a romantic, believing in my vision even if it seems unrealistic. I am just waiting for the world to see its promise.

For more information, please go to: https://www.gillespieapproach.com/gillespie-approach-in-a-snapshot/.

03/21/2023

Feyza Celik, a doula in Canada, wrote such a terrific essay on my Facebook group about the possible cause of arching that I wanted to save her comments on my other platforms.

She makes a lot of sense. If this indeed is the cause of arching, maybe someday effective preventative methods may be available for all pregnant women.

"As a Body Ready Method doula who supports pregnant people before, during and after birth, and trained with understanding the pregnant body and fetal positioning, here is what I can tell you about arching:

From my observation, the babies who show the greatest levels of arching are the babies who WERE NOT curled up with their chin tucked in. In fact, quite the opposite is true. My observation is that many babies are in suboptimal positions in the womb, and the cause of which is usually a lot of tightness and tension on the left side of the pregnant body.

As a result, the baby has to fit on the back or on the right side of the womb. The right side is where the liver is, so the baby HAS to arch their back to fit over the liver. The spine is also curled so they are also forced into an arched back position there.

More and more these days, birth is becoming more difficult because of imbalances in the pregnant body. Rates of medical intervention are increasing exponentially due to a lack of understanding of the biomechanics of birth, including the role of fascia.

Modern society does not serve the pregnant body well. The imbalances in the pregnant body directly affect the birthing baby’s (sub)optimal positioning. It’s worse when they’re born by cesarean because they do not get their first craniosacral treatment through the birth canal.

All in all, if a baby arches her or his back a lot, I would bet that if you asked the mother where she felt the baby’s kicks, she would probably say on the left or the front. In effect, the baby is actually re-enacting the trauma of their fetal experience."

For more information, please go to: https://www.gillespieapproach.com/gillespie-approach-in-a-snapshot/.

Learn about the Gillespie Approach's core offerings to help you find valuable information about Craniosacral Fascial Therapy.

11/30/2022

A young woman presented with chronic pain, and found the root of her healing by clearing her tight throat causing her underlying panic attacks and gagging.

She emails: "Unable to hold my chiropractic adjustments, I saw Dr. Gillespie after reading an article about how craniosacral fascial therapy can help heal tension in the body. At 31, I had been going to the chiropractor religiously for 3.5 years after injuring my back and suffering neck pain ever since.

I felt addicted with three visits per week when my pain was so bad. I would have muscle spasms in my neck and not be able to turn my head to the side. Although chiropractic helped the pain, the root issue did not seem to be resolving.

Dr. Gillespie identified severe fascial strains in my neck, cranial area, and pelvic floor. I had not told him that I was also in pelvic floor physical therapy for over a year for tight muscles.

For a couple days after my first session, I had severe pain in my neck. Dr. Gillespie assured me this was the fascia releasing. As I continued therapy, the neck pain significantly improved.

After a couple months the pain and tightness in my pelvic floor also got much better, and I was much looser and more balanced. I also noticed that the migraines I had for most of my life were gone.

Shortly afterwards, I began to experience debilitating panic attacks with uncontrollable gagging during the attack. Dr. Gillespie found a lot of strain connecting into my throat area, he called, 'deeper layers in my onion of trauma'. Under stress, my throat gets tight due to birth trauma, I have trouble breathing, and panic ensues.

We worked for months to release many layers of tension and trauma in my pelvic floor pulling in the fascial web on my throat and neck. Slowly but surely, the gagging improved and the panic attacks subsided where I now no longer experience them.

This therapy has been life-changing for me. I firmly believe it is a foundational treatment that everyone should receive at birth to avoid these issues later in life."

For more information, please go to: https://www.gillespieapproach.com/gillespie-approach-in-a-snapshot/.

08/02/2022

This essay continues my hypothesis connecting science, orthodontic care, and the Gillespie Approach.

All 52 tooth bud cells are present during the embryonic stage of development. The baby teeth start forming at six weeks and the adult teeth at four months. As fascial strain patterns develop in the growing fetus, all of the teeth can be in play, possibly creating a future malocclusion.

The bones of the head and face are formed from softer intramembraneous tissue, which allows for malleability as the head passes through the birth canal. Since a newborn’s skull has the consistency of a milk carton, the Gillespie Approach can restore normal cranial symmetry and function more easily when the full body fascial strains are worked out at birth.

As the skull ossifies during the first year, therapy can still be very helpful, but the golden window of opportunity of time is closing. At five or six years of age, the sutures lose their smooth rounded edges and develop a sawtooth interdigitation with connective tissue in between the bones. Trying to create a symmetrical head and face now becomes more challenging.

Considering that all of the soft tissue structures like the tongue, floor of the mouth, nasal and throat linings, oral ties, and muscles of mastication are also connected in the fascial web, one can appreciate the magnitude of the soft tissue injuries occurring during those 40 weeks.

The distinct aspect of the web is that a distorted pelvis can create a fascial twist running through the trunk, shoulders, neck, head, and into the jaws and teeth. So the orthodontic problem may not be an isolated tooth or bite issue that can just be “fixed” orally, but may be a part of a systemic physiologic condition affecting the entire body. Dentistry needs to embrace this concept.

I believe the Gillespie Approach needs to compliment orthodontic care for authentic healing. Better yet, prevention at birth makes more sense.

For more information, please go to: https://www.gillespieapproach.com/gillespie-approach-in-a-snapshot/.

06/12/2022

We need to think about orthodontics differently. In the 1930s my dad was one of the first orthodontists in Connecticut. He had trouble establishing a practice because no one knew what orthodontics was. He told people that he straightened childrens’ teeth.

I view orthodontics as part of the craniosacral fascial system. The following post is from a parent showing the possibilities of the Gillespie Approach:

"We have successfully expanded our eight-year-old son's mouth with weekly Gillespie Approach treatments. The therapist worked on his body and jaws each week, and individual teeth on alternating weeks. We saw measurable results in the first 4-6 weeks.

Our CFT treatments have yet to cost us as much as a top and bottom expander. Plus our son is hopefully reaping many other benefits as well as his body is growing so quickly, stretching his muscles, tendons, and fascia to their limits. If you can't find an affordable CFT therapist, I highly recommend getting the training yourself to help your children and possibly embark on a new healing career path.”

The above child and therapist are working through strain patterns from birth trauma that caused the narrow jaws. Orthodontics is a full-body issue. If you just straighten the teeth, you are leaving the causative strain patterns untreated in the body.

You child may have a nice smile but many potential conditions are still in play. Orthodontists need to play their role in helping the body heal itself.

The best preventative solution is to work on a newborn so the strains are cleared in the hospital. That would greatly lessen all of the downstream conditions like colic, reflux, constipation, indigestion, gas, breastfeeding issues, earaches, headaches, asthma, ADHD, some learning disorders, orthodontics, and more.

The world needs to wake up to the effects of untreated soft tissue birth trauma. That will change neonatology, pediatrics, mental health, education, and dentistry.

For more information, please go to: https://www.gillespieapproach.com/gillespie-approach-in-a-snapshot/.

05/05/2022

Breastfeeding can be a major concern for mothers. But once good nursing commences, many moms then feel they are good to go.

In my world nursing is just the beginning of the food conversion process. For the complete health of the newborn, we need to look at the function of the gastrointestinal tract:

Digestion: A doctor once told me that you can eat the best organic food on the planet. But if you cannot digest that food, it is worthless. Digestion starts in the mouth and primarily occurs in the stomach, pancreas, liver, and gall bladder. Many babies have fascial strain in some or all of these organs. When indigestion occurs, gas can be passed. The Gillespie Approach can help to relieve the fascial strain in these organs to optimize digestion and minimize gas.

Assimilation: Assimilation or absorption of nutrients occurs primarily in the small intestine. Our work can relieve the strain in these tissues for better maintenance of life.

Metabolism: Metabolism occurs at the cellular level, primarily with mitochondrial function. Since the fascial web connects to every cell, a relaxed fascial web would allow for better cellular metabolism. Research has indicated that each cell may possibly have its own unique fascial web controlling its function—wow.

Elimination: Currently nursing babies can p**p once a week with pediatric blessing. In our world fascial strain can inhibit normal peristalsis to create stagnation and constipation. When the fascial strain is released in the intestines with the help of the Gillespie Approach, the infant can p**p a more normal every or every other day.

My wish is for every newborn to leave the hospital breathing well, nursing well, digesting well, p**ping well, and napping well. That is a happy baby.

“Disease begins in the fascia.” Dr. Andrew Still, the Father of Osteopathy.

For more information, please go to: https://www.gillespieapproach.com/gillespie-approach-in-a-snapshot/.

04/28/2022

I love to tell this story. Years ago a former student called me at my office to give me an update. She had been doing the work on many people for years with great success.

She even taught her husband how to do it, and they worked on people together in their retirement. I sat listening to this thinking that was not in the game plan for our seminars, but in rural Pennsylvania people do their own thing and I was OK with it.

Then she surprised me by saying they taught their five-year-old grandson how to do the work. I really perked up when she said that now he is seven and he is REALLY good. I had to chuckle.

I totally believed her because of the purity, clarity, and innocence of that age. But as this child develops, that energy may change for the following reasons:

He is not in the present moment. He starts to think about sports or his girl friend while doing therapy. He may be more interested in his phone.

He develops an ego. He starts to think he is a healer. He forgets that he is just the co-pilot in therapy and tries to be the pilot. My view: I will help you loosen and God will heal you.

He has high healing expectations for the patient. He lost the fact that he needs to be fully engaged in therapy but not attached to the outcome. The healing game is much larger than him.

He stops listening to the body, and his early clear childhood intuition gets drowned out with life’s distractions.

The keys to successfully doing the Gillespie Approach: Be in the present moment, let go of your ego and expectations, listen to the body, and allow the healing to begin.

If you are considering taking our courses, you can do this work. Its not brain surgery.

For more information, please go to: https://www.gillespieapproach.com/gillespie-approach-in-a-snapshot/.