The Shocking Practitioner & Novelty Store
Sometime last August I was asked if I would like to go to an iridologist. I hesitated as I have learned to not compare the work I do, with what others are doing in the community. However, uncharacteristically I said okay. The gal that was passing her appointment on to me gave me instructions of how I would have to fill out forms once going to the customer service at this local #yyj storefront.
On arrival at the customer service desk of this local store I am immediately brushed aside once I announced myself . The gal tells a clerk to put me in the new massage chair. I sat down and found out this clerk didn’t know how to use the chair which was unlike any massage chair I had ever seen. The clerk left and I found myself in a chair that was manipulating my movement patterns in a way that could cause injury while squeezing my limbs tighter and tighter without stopping! I was desperately trying to stop the machine when the practitioner came up to me and expressed impatience and annoyance. Luckily I found out that it had to do with her taking another client ahead of me without an appointment so that I didn’t take it personally. That is to begin with until it went from bad to worse.
At no time did she share what she was doing in her appointment, however demanded, in a chastising way, personal information about me that I was uncertain had anything to do with why I came. Walking into her office I was dumbfounded. A massage table was put into an alcove under the stairway and lowered to sit on across from a broken office chair that I was expected to sit on. The floor was covered in old worn out shoes scattered around so that I had nowhere to put my feet. She only had a small space to sit on the table cross-legged style across from me and there were no windows or vents. When she was giving me some papers, that the customer service desk neglected to give me ahead of time, to fill in she began yelling about my lack of being committed. I was in shock.
She decided there wasn’t time to fill in the papers and began looking at my eyes and making personal statements based upon my iris’ while wanting confirmation of her accuracy. There was no way I would be telling this gal anything personal or being vulnerable with her. At no time did I experience any empathy, kindness, respect or consideration. I had not been to a practitioner like this in over 20 years!!!!! It was awkward. After viewing my eyes she hooked me up to a vega machine. She made it sound outer worldly and thankfully I knew what it was from having my own naturopathic and homeopathic doctors. I looked in dismay as the rods poking into me as they did not look as though they had been cleaned between clients.
As she talked at me and not with me, she began talking to me about worst case scenario’s with a focus on candida. She emphasized multiple homeopathic remedies that I would need. Well over $200.00 worth! I was thankful that my first Homeopathic Doctor was Stephan Malthouse and that I had his compassionate care experience prior to seeing this person. To go along with her diagnosis I received a photocopied paper with a few food items ticked off that she claimed was all I could eat if I wanted to detox. It had obviously been from a paper copied many times before without any research, meal/daily diet suggestions or recipes ideas. This food list was based upon the vega machine readings and it interfered completely with an organic lifestyle change that was personally happening for me from my own garden food source. Trying to have a conversation with her regarding this she labelled me argumentative and was unable to discuss this. She determined I wasn’t interested in healing!
At some point she learned I was a practitioner so she cut our hour appointment to 30 minutes and hovered over me as I went to the counter to turn in the papers, etc. She grabbed the clipboard I was using away from me and took the pen out of my fingers. It was the appointment from hell!
Getting back to my office and processing this experience in walked one of my more fragile clients. She had just been in to see this person and was experiencing trauma. I was thankful I had gone after all and immediately reminded my client of her own naturopathic doctor that does candida testing and was an iridologist. She calmed down and I suggested she make an appointment and get a second opinion. She did and reported back a much different outcome with a different diagnosis. She also suggested it was a far more professional experience without the need for so many remedy purchases.
Had I not had Dr. Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication Training, Dr. Moshe Feldenkrias’ Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement Training and Dyan Grant Francis’ Art of Placement/ Eco-psychology Training , I could have fallen victim to this practitioner’s snake oil like sales technique. Fill them with fear and keep them in the dark. This was an abusive and disgusting experience that I was able to turn into lemonade! The material that she offered me is not current and was a trending topic in our community over 20 years ago. She does not live in Victoria and helicopters in while there are practitioners here locally that have integrated these techniques into their own practice. They are far more professional with an office set up for comfortable appointments. I caution anyone who is seeking answers to consider that manner in which they are treated and recommend that you work with those that are meeting your needs for respect. I did receive a flyer shortly after this appointment that advertised this practitioner as a mindful awareness instructor and grief coach. I was surprised and felt sad as my experience didn’t align with these two offerings.
Ways you can raise your consciousness and take your power back moment by moment is participating or engaging in learning opportunities like these:
Feldenkrais Method® of Somatic Movement Education
Recent Comment: Thank you for the amazing session which helped me to better understand the pain and anxiety issues I’ve been dealing with. Very insightful experience. I felt way more relaxed Friday evening and I’m monitoring myself to help make sure I’m releasing tension and breathing properly. Am impressed by it and by your skills. D
Transitioning from Language of Conflict into Language of Connection
Recent Comment: I love your cogent analysis of emotions = energy + story. So, emotions – story = energy freed. Yeh! thx, pat zzz
Recent Comment: Thanks very much for your wonderful classes and the way you teach us. I really appreciate that you have given the class a bit of extra time at the end to allow everyone to have their turn. I look forward to truly learning this technique of communicating and experiencing richer relations with people. R
Lifescapes (Landscapes)
Renee Lindstrom, GCFP,
Jaw Release Program since 2007, Authored Achieving your Goals 31 Day Program, Sleep Sweet Sleep, Kid’s Peace Bus Calendar of Values Educational Program & InTouch with Your Values Self-Actualization Program. Feldenkrais® Practitioner since 2007, Communication & Empathy Coach since 2004, Art of Placement since 2000, Labyrinths of Victoria since 2012, #yyj Peace Week Grassroots Calendar Founder, Vice-Chair of World Children
At the end of an Awareness through Movement® lesson, designed for participants to begin to notice their movement patterns and experience a stronger sense of their body movements, one student shared a story. She had been told by a new, young orthopedic doctor that their was nothing more she could do her frozen shoulder except surgery. She went on to say he told her, “Don’t waste your money on any more physical therapy or anything, surgery is the only cure.”
Inside Awareness Center for Integrative Somatic Learning 