Because I’ve received questions lately about what made me choose to become an MBSR™ Practioner, I wanted to share about it here on the blog. Note: This post leans towards the transparent side in terms of my story to pursuing training as a Practitioner and my own feelings on the subject as well. With that being said, I want to provide a reminder: You do not have to hold the same spiritual or religious beliefs as I do in order to benefit from this modality. <3 As always, I encourage you to use discernment and make the choice that’s best for you.
A Little about MBSR™
Mind Body Spirit Release™ (MBSR™ ) was developed by the lovely Tracy Southwick with Heights of Health in Houston Texas. It is a technique that is used to facilitate the release of cellular imprints from negative experiences, emotions, and trauma to heal on a deeper, holistic level. These imprints (trapped emotions) get stored in the body on a cellular level and can contribute to negative, unpleasant reactions as well as to dis-ease and disease. This is usually happening on a subconscious level, meaning we aren’t even aware of it.
If you haven’t already, you can read a little more about this modality, you can check out this page on my website or go to theirs directly. I also share about MBSR™ on my Instagram here.
What Brought Me to MBSR™
After my own long, winding pursuit to more vibrant health, I’d accumulated helpful “wellness” tools and invested in tons of education and training so I could help others do the same. I wanted to have a well-rounded approach to best come alongside others on their own healing journey.
It wasn’t long before I realized just how easily overlooked the realm of emotional healing was on pretty much every person’s and client’s journey. I’ll admit it was even a bit missed on my own. Plus, after a few years of on and off counseling, I felt like I hit a wall. Talk therapy just didn’t cut it for me anyways. I began praying for guidance- for the Lord to show me what I could do to help not only myself but others in this area. I wanted something that I could utilize in conjunction with what I already used (things like bio-resonance, coaching, muscle testing, etc.). But nothing I found online or already knew about hit home.
Early this year, I attended a conference with a company I’m an affiliate practitioner with. As I began the drive to the conference center, I was excited to learn more about helping others get to physical root causes in their healing journey. But I found myself praying again for guidance about how to help others on a deeper, emotional level. On the second day of the conference, I walked past a group of ladies and overheard a conversation. The words “mind”, “body”, “spirit”, and “emotional healing” caught my attention. Not going to lie- I eavesdropped on the convo like a creeper and eventually scurried back to my seat looked up the program online. It felt like I was just handed a piece to a puzzle I was trying to solve for a long, long time. I loved what I saw and continued to pray about this as an option.
Not long after this, one evening a friend and I stayed up much later than the health-enthusiast in me would otherwise deem wise. She poured her heart out about past experiences and trauma. I knew how to help her physically; I knew how to pray and love her well in that way, too. I also knew that addressing this underlying trauma was crucial to her healing process, and I desperately wanted to provide greater support on a deeper level. But wasn’t sure how exactly to do that. I saw so much of me in this friend and it pulled at my heartstrings. I was determined to find some answers.
The following month I traveled to Texas for a muscle testing workshop for additional experience and education. I knew this would somehow be a part of what I did after all. In Texas, I stayed in a hotel for two nights by myself. After I processed through the initial discomfort of being completely alone (this was the first time I did not have my son nor husband with me in six years!), I began praying about MBSR™ again.
The next day, one of the main doctors did some bodywork on me, after which I had a rush of unexpected emotional release. I can’t begin to explain how this impacted me. It was surreal. It was also a very clear reminder of the connection behind the mind, body, and emotions. But I wanted more than somatic techniques I already used. That evening, I talked it over with my husband and shortly thereafter signed up for the next with MBSR™ Level 1 training. After doing further digging, and continuing to love everything I heard and saw- from the heart of the instructors to the testimonials to diving into it for myself- I was excited. It just fit and after the first class, I felt like I was sitting in a puddle of peace.
Why This?
Until this point, I had mixed feelings about pursuing forms of energy work. As a Believer, I wanted to use personal discernment. I knew that I was going to make any decision to pursue forms of this work and I wanted it to align with my own beliefs. I believe that we are elaborately created as energetic beings. Everything may be energy, but energy isn’t everything. I do not worship Creation. I do, however, worship the Creator.
Many of the training I’d found before, or even encounters I found myself in prior, seemed to really encourage me to believe that I was the sole director of my fate; that I was the ultimate- I was God in my own right. For me, this simply did not align with my own personal faith. While I do I aim to be like the Lord in character, I am not and have no desire to be God. Other programs used forms of energy-type work that put the practitioner (or whatever the person applying the modality was called) entirely in charge. Whereas I wanted an open line of communication with clients and had/have no desire for them to be unaware of what was happening during our work together. Sure, a lot of these training had some good information about the energetic plane and all that, but I just didn’t feel right in my spirit about other aspects of what was taught. (Again, this is based on my own personal preference. If you feel or think otherwise please do not misinterpret this post or anything I share it in as an attack or form of judgment <3).
Overall, I was pretty picky when it came to pursuing a specific program and aligning with the intention and character of instructors in which I would make a solid investment and under whom I would learn. And from what I knew and felt, I appreciated the approach from those I would be learning from in Mind Body Spirit Release™. While you could say the final choice to become an MBSR™ Practitioner was merely personal preference (which in some ways, it was), I can’t not share that I felt called and pulled in this direction by a power far greater than myself. Finding it, and using this modality for the benefit of others, felt like finding another part of myself.
The Work that I do
Sometimes, when I first explain what I do with someone, they immediately think it’s some form of woo-woo medicine. There’s nothing magical about MBSR™. It is simply utilizing ideomotor and or muscle testing to identify what is impacting one’s physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. Even with my clients now, I encourage them to use personal discernment and make the choice that’s best for them. This applies both with utilizing MBSR™ in general, as well as what comes up in sessions and for energetic work as a whole.
If you have any questions about this modality or the services of such, you’re welcome to send an email to me at maddieadelinewellness@gmail.com.
Coming up next, I’m sharing some of the foundational principles of my approach. These apply both to my approach to wellness in general and in my practice, but also to the use of Mind Body Spirit Release™. Stay tuned 🙂
