Sharon Gelber is a Certified Occupational Therapist, BodyTalk Practitioner, Kinesiologist, Brain Gym Instructor and Reiki Practitioner. Sharon practices in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs. Website: www.sharongelber.com

Q. In short how would you define BodyTalk to someone who has never heard of it before?
A. BodyTalk is a simple, non-invasive and fast treatment system, which is designed to reconnect the natural lines of communication within the body. Our bodies are designed to heal themselves. When all the parts and systems of the body communicate with each other, healing happens naturally. However, the stress of every day life can cause communication breakdowns resulting in discomfort and disease. BodyTalk identifies these breakdowns and restores communication, helping the body to heal itself. It is as if we are regrouping the orchestra to be able to play a symphony again.

Q. When was BodyTalk developed?
A. BT was developed here in Australia by Dr John Veltheim in the mid 1990’s.

Q. PureCalma highlights the combination of the alternative and traditional. Can you give any examples where BodyTalk bridges this?
A. Dr Veltheim has been an instructor and practitioner of Chiropractics, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kinesiology, Osteopathy, and Bio-energetics (as well as having extensive studies in counselling, sports medicine, philosophy and theology).

This system therefore reflects his knowledge: Merging the ancient wisdoms of yoga philosophy, the energy dynamics of acupuncture, the clinical findings of applied kinesiology and chiropractics as well as techniques based on the latest research in the fields of cellular biology, neurology and quantum physics to provide a deeper insight into the body/mind system.

I am an Occupational Therapist, so I love the fact that it combines the traditional worlds that I am familiar with (that of ‘Western’ physiology, anatomy and psychology) with the more alternative/energetics of the ‘Eastern’ and complementary therapies.

Q. What issues can be addressed with BodyTalk?
A. BodyTalk can be used with clients of all ages: from ‘in-utero’ (pre-birth and fertility issues) to the aged. The BT System can be used to address: Physical conditions related to lymphatic/ circulatory/ digestive and muscular/ skeletal/ joint complaints, pain, sports injuries, cancer, immune deficiency, viruses and infections, allergies, pre- & post- surgery. Emotional stress and behavioural problems Within relationships at school/work/home, specific traumatic experiences, fears, depression, stress, anxiety & phobias, insomnia. Scholastic and work related issues Concentration and attention, memory, organisation, learning difficulties, managing a busy lifestyle. Sports Performance, Animal healing and even Plant balancing/healing.

Q. Can you describe what happens in a typical treatment?
A. The session normally takes place with the client lying on their back on a massage bed. (The treatment is equally effective in any position, according to the needs of the client).

The practitioner uses a form of biofeedback: A subtle muscle-testing technique, to access the body’s natural wisdom, which locates the weakened lines of communication and also determines the specific sequence in which they are to be addressed. (The order that the links are repaired is of utmost importance in order for the changes to be long lasting.)

The practitioner then lightly taps the client on the top of the head, which stimulates the brain centre to acknowledge the new healthier patterns and repair the communication. The practitioner then taps the client on the sternum/heart centre to store the corrected patterns in the body’s cellular memory. This ensures that the corrections are maintained and the body doesn’t slip back into the old habits. Through the heart-beat, the heart relays the information for rest of the body to become aware of the new patterns of functioning.

Links are made throughout the session and tapped into the system, until the body indicates that no further corrections are required. The practitioner discusses the links with the client, so they are in full awareness of the issues and changes that are being facilitated. The healing process usually follows rather quickly.

Q. How do you find the answers ‘in’ someone’s body and where do these answers lie within us?
A. As mentioned above, the answers are found by using a simple muscle testing technique that sets up a “code”. The muscle responds one way for a ‘yes’, and a different way for a ‘no’. In this way you can ‘ask’ the body questions, and the body ‘answers’ yes/no. The answers dwell in the consciousness of the person, we call it the ‘innate wisdom’: that part of the person which knows everything: the genetic code, every event with in their life and all the dynamics past and present with in the person’s social/ emotional/ mental/ physiological and physical world.

Q. How do you tailor the treatment for an individual who, say, has a concentration problem compared with another who has an allergy?
A. The beauty of the BT System, is that the practitioner doesn’t tailor make anything….There is no agenda to deal with or to make any diagnosis: The protocol is followed whatever the symptoms. The session is dictated by the body’s innate wisdom, and therefore no two sessions (even when the symptoms appear to be the same) are ever the same. We each have our own unique story which guides the flow of the session. Therefore, in this example, one might be guided to work on belief systems, food intolerances, genetic predispositions, sensory imbalances, brain integration, family dynamics, traumatic associations (and the list continues) to balance the concentration difficulties, but you may find that some of these areas (and others) get covered when having to get to the bottom of allergies too.

Q. What are the most common feelings and results following a BodyTalk treatment?
A. The consistent experience is a greater sense of calm and wellbeing and an ability to cope with the issues coming up in daily life. Dependent on the session, and what was covered, improvements would be noted in the symptoms that the person was originally experiencing. 

Q. Is one treatment enough or does Body Talk work on a cumulative or ‘top up’ basis?  
A. Like all healing modalities, BT is not a quick fix. It is a process of shedding layers of patterns and faulty connections and strengthening the system to adapt to the situations in daily life. Sometimes the client may need to come for a few sessions for long term, complex issues to be addressed. On the other hand, there is no doubt that a single session can dramatically change one’s life and health. This is because we are consulting with the body which provides very accurate information, rather then guessing or assuming we understand the complex workings within the body/mind system.

Q. Is BodyTalk suitable for all or are there situations/individuals where it is not advised?
A. The BodyTalk System is very safe: If the practitioner makes the wrong link/connection - nothing will happen. It is only when the accurate link is made, that the body/mind will shift the patterns of connections and respond to the healthier patterns of communication. There are numerous studies in hospitals where clients have been in comas and the nurse/family has done some very basic links and the patient has become conscious. Babies are worked on in utero, during the birth and straight after the birth. Nurses and family work with clients in ICU (Intensive Care Unit). Even at the sight of a traumatic accident, you can do BT while waiting for the medical team, to assist the person with shock, maintain their consciousness, control bleeding and begin the healing process. Numerous testimonies are provided with BT during epileptic seizures and heart attacks.

Q. Can you allocate your client ‘homework’? i.e. can you continue to benefit from the BodyTalk session with prescribed exercises for home use?
A. In September 2005, BodyTalk Access was launched for this particular purpose. Access is a system of 5 techniques plus the ‘Fast Aid’ technique for emergency situations. It is the ‘best of’ BT packaged in a 10 minute every day regime. Clients can do these techniques on a daily basis to activate and then maintain health, as well as preventing future dis-ease. It is perfect to use between sessions, to consolidate, maintain and enhance the changes made in the session. There are a few other techniques from BT, over and above these 5, that can be used and practiced at home.

Q. Is the practice of BodyTalk beneficial for the practitioner as well as the client?
A. The practitioner and client move into a calm and relaxed ‘zone’ during the session, it is therefore exceptionally calming for both. Because the therapy is so interesting and dynamic, it is also a lot of fun uncovering the hidden stories with in the body. This keeps the work alive and fascinating for both the client and the practitioner.

Q. What training institutions are recognised in Australia and overseas for the therapy?
A. There are now certain natural therapy courses/ colleges that are incorporating the BT modules into their curriculum throughout the world. In general though, it is predominantly taught by individual instructors, under the auspices of the IBA (International Body Talk Association). Out of the 36 countries in which BT is taught, many have a local-hub or national association that organises and markets courses, expos and public lectures. In Australia, the one day ‘BodyTalk Access’ course is accredited for continued education points for natural therapists belonging to ANTA (Australia Natural Therapists Assoc). The IBA has also opened up the Australasia Branch in Brisbane to assist with coordinating, training and marketing BT in Asia/Australia. Search on the IBA website for courses running in your city/country.

Q. Is BodyTalk a standalone subject or are there other facets that form a pre-requisite to go on to become a certified practitioner?
A. BT is a standalone subject. Therefore you need no prior knowledge of health or healing to be a very effective practitioner. The more knowledge (anatomy, physiology, pathology, sports medicine, psychology, TCM, Allopathic Medicine etc) that a practitioner has, the more in depth their sessions can go and the quicker the healing process will unfold. Further general study is therefore encouraged and specific courses are provided to enhance practitioners’ knowledge in some of these areas. There are different levels of practitioner, depending on courses taken and exams passed.

Q. If a therapist is trained in other areas can BodyTalk be used together with other therapies and techniques and if so which offer the best combination?
A. BodyTalk is designed to be able to incorporate techniques from other modalities. With in the protocol, Innate can take the practitioner to “other modalities” at which time the practitioner would run through the other techniques that they use and see which technique the body wants to bring in, to add to the formula. Techniques and elements from Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chiropractics, Massage, Cranio-Sacral Therapy, Flower essences, Homeopathic Remedies and many more can be incorporated with in the BT links WHEN THE BODY PRESCRIBES THEM. In this way, the body, and not the therapist is in charge of the most optimal tools to use to heal the body.

Q. On PureCalma we have a page dedicated to ‘Your Top Tips’. What would be your Top Tip to the readers of this interview?
A. If you can, try and get to do a BT Access workshop: This one day workshop, will provide you with a full health care system in one day, which can be used as a 10 minute daily regime: optimising your health and helping you cope with daily stressors. This is a BT ‘best of’ taster of the full system. It provides techniques to activate and calm the brain, cope with stress, hydrate the system, boost the immune system, balance the musculo-skeletal system and deal with emergency situations.

If nothing else… Breathe deeply If in pain: Think or hold the painful area with one hand (and tap head/heart with other hand*) If stressed: Keep the stressor in mind (and tap head/heart* while imagining the stress becoming integrated and releasing) If you have a goal or a positive affirmation, think or say it, while tapping head/heart* thereby integrating and storing the goal at a deeper level.

*Tapping: Open up your hand wide to cover both sides of the head: Tap very gently. Then, tap gently on your sternum (breast bone) (This is super-simplified, but might just help you out when you need a DIY trick).

Listen to your body. Your gut instinct (the innate natural wisdom of the body) continues to guide us to achieve balance. If you are open to your body’s signs and look out for it’s stress signals, (aches, pains, allergies, irritability), you can seek assistance (from a practitioner) or from your own resources (nature, exercise, creative pursuit, meditation) to bring balance to the body.

The "best of" BodyTalk for daily use!
Techniques for you, your kids, clients and community... Learn easy to use tools to activate your health as well as reduce stress and enhance work, learning and sport performance.
This is both a stand-alone workshop as well as a great introduction to the dynamic world of BodyTalk.

Sharon is also a dynamic facilitator. She is a BodyTalk Access trainer and a Brain Gym instructor. Public and corporate workshops are all hands-on and practical, providing the participants with tools that they can use on a daily basis to maintain and enhance their health and well-being, improving productivity and confidence.

Many Thanks for taking part in this interview Sharon!

Web Interview with Sharon Gelber March 2008

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