Metaphors for Healing: The Tale of the Body’s Bank
I’ve spoken of my first Clinical Instructor that helped to ruin me (to my eternal gratitude!) for “traditional” therapy. Several years ago, I heard from Gina that she was finally releasing her book, “The Heart of Healing: Discovering the Secrets of Self-Care” and has now begun teaching therapists the skills and wisdom she has obtained over her decades in practice. I went to the book launch party and obtained a copy. In it, Gina revealed many pearls of wisdom to what it means to be on a healing journey; but one of them, we have taken as another metaphor that we share with all of you daily.
“We begin each day with physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energy
bank accounts, not unlike our monetary bank accounts. To maintain reserves
in each account requires conscious, consistent management and wise investment
choices. Our goal is to always have sufficient funds, rather than depleting our
energies or becoming bankrupt through lack of attention to chronic pain, illness,
stress and dis-ease” 1
Imagine your bank account. We make deposits and withdrawals to, ideally, meet all of our goals for what we want and need to do. As long as our deposits meet our withdrawals, we’re set. But what happens when we make more withdrawals than deposits, aside from crying and screaming! We overdraw our account. But the bills continue to come in, so we begin to borrow on credit at inflated interest rates. That’s where most people are when they finally seek help and get to meet all of us at Inner Circle.
The body can be seen, simplistically, like our bank account. We make “deposits” through proper self-care practices and wellness routines; and concurrently, make “withdrawals” through using the body for work and play. As long as we are managing both “deposits” and “withdrawals”, we’re set. But many of us, especially in our society, have overdrawn our “account” and been borrowing on credit, getting the body deeper and deeper into debt. This leaves us with chronic pain, stress and illness.
The techniques and approaches we utilize at Inner Circle Physical Therapy & Myofascial Release Center are not only effective at helping you return to your pain-free and active lifestyle but stay in it as well. These approaches serve as life lessons; helping you to listen and learn from the “therapist” that lives within each of you. This is our practice.
1 Rosenthal, Regina. The Heart of Healing: Discovering the Secrets of Self-Care. Dimensions of Wellness Press, 2013