Hello, My name is Cathy Switzer. I am an Advanced Practitioner of Ortho-Bionomy®. I attended Rocky Mountain Ortho-Bionomy® Center. I hold the Certification of Occupational Therapist through the State of Colorado and the Title of Advanced Practitioner through the Society of Ortho-Bionomy International with my training.
I understand what it is like to live with chronic pain. This has led me to do what I do and my passion to help others. Here is my story:
PRACTITIONER ESSAY
Cathy Switzer
Hope: To want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true.[1]
It is said, “Hope deferred makes the heart grow sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”[2]
In December 2013, I was depressed, heartsick, and in constant pain, I had no hope. I had tried “every treatment,” spent thousands of dollars and still had no relief. I had already had back surgery eight years prior and now the surgeons wanted to put in rods and fuse my spine. This latest “episode” with my lumbar spine had been going on for six months at that point in time, two months of which I was bed-ridden, crawling from the bed to the bathroom because I could not stand at all. Then blood tests showed that the pain medications were shutting down my liver and I would not be able to continue taking them. I was indeed hopeless.
During her Christmas shopping, my mother met Marcie Shumway, Practitioner, and that meeting would change my life forever. Marcie overheard my mother telling her friend about a pain in her foot. Marcie asked mom if she had ever heard of Ortho-Bionomy®. Mom said she had not and asked what it was. Marcie proceeded to do a short demonstration on her thumb. Her arthritis pain instantly went away!
My mom was so excited about this new possibility. Mom told me all about meeting Marcie and that she said this could help my back pain. Mom was completely convinced. I however was not. I had never heard of this “Ortho-whatever” before. I was sure it would be just as everything else everyone had recommended, helping very little or not at all. I was sick and tired of being “poked and prodded” and most “treatments” were excruciating. However, since my mom had such faith, and mom’s can be very convincing, I relented. I gave Marcie a call to find out more information and to let her know I was not eager to sign up for another painful experience. She assured me that Ortho-Bionomy® works from a place of comfort and it is extremely gentle yet powerful. She explained she works with the Nervous System and that the body can usually self-correct. She sounded nice and knowledgeable so I scheduled my first appointment for January 2014.
I was nervous about the appointment. Was this person telling me the truth? How could she possibly have confidence this could help me when nothing else had? To say I was skeptical is an understatement. As I lay on the table, she helped me get as comfortable as I could. She placed her hands under my backside and the strangest things started to occur. I started feeling such intense heat and my muscles started relaxing in such a way as I had never ever felt before. I felt my bones shift inside my pelvis and move off of my nerves. I could not believe what was happening! After a series of other gentle movements and compressions, the session was complete. As I cautiously rose from the table, I was able to stand. Yes, stand! Tears of joy poured out and I felt as if I could run forever. I could not wrap my mind around what had just happened. It truly was a miracle. My mom had helped me from the car but now I could walk along side her unassisted. My husband was so thrilled he promptly gave the session he received as a Christmas gift from my parents to me as well.
As I continued to receive treatments from Marcie and Sara Spehar, I improved greatly. I was sharing my story with everyone who would listen. Those who had seen my condition before were astounded at my progress. I began to wonder how it was possible that I had never heard of this work before. Why weren’t the benefits of Ortho-Bionomy® being shouted from the rooftops? Mostly, I wondered how I too could learn these techniques and help others avoid pain and multiple surgeries. This was such a gift, an answer to many prayers. I felt urgently compelled to share Ortho-Bionomy® with anyone and everyone open to discover it.
With Marcie’s encouragement and under Sheri Covey’s instruction, in March 2014, I enrolled in classes through the Rocky Mountain Ortho-Bionomy® Center. I could not get enough Ortho-Bionomy® in my life. I craved it. I lived and breathed it. I heard about living in The Principles, experienced The Phases, and peeled away layers of pain, both physical and emotional in my life. I attended classes at both the Grand Junction and Denver campuses and traveled to Santa Fe, NM for even more classes. I was in at least one class a month, sometimes two, for the entire first year as well as receiving treatments. I continued to improve in stamina and stability throughout the whole time. In June, just six short months from my first treatment, I achieved Associate status with the Society of Ortho-Bionomy International®.
“When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others.” – Chinese Proverb
Through Ortho-Bionomy®, I was given hope once again. I had the hope that I could possibly be out of pain and the hope that I could live a normal life free of medications and continual surgeries. I began to believe that I really could heal from within. Those hopes are now a reality.
To have the opportunity to offer those same hopes to others as a Practitioner of Ortho-Bionomy® would be my greatest pleasure and honor.
[1] www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hope
[2] Proverbs 13:12 New International Version
Ortho-Bionomy® is a registered trademark of the Society of Ortho-Bionomy International, Inc. and is used with permission.
