So, I spent most of last week in a DermoNeuroModulation
(DNM) think tank with some outstanding manual and movement therapists. These
people are also some of the most inspired thinkers working in the field of…the
field of healthcare? Not quite. Wellness? Ok, that might be a little closer.
How about biopsychosocial change? Yeah. That’s just going to have to do for now.
After a couple years of flirting with the concepts of DNM,
and applying them to the work I do with you, I finally decided to go all in and
drink the damn Kool-Aid. I am so happy that I decided to do the formal course.
DNM is not a new modality, movement language, or tool. I
think we’ll all agree I speak enough “movement languages.” What DNM is to me, is a worldview that is
backed by hard science regarding the needs of an individual human being for
optimal functioning with other human beings. I know. I know. Huh???? Well rest assured;
I will be talking your ear off about this in more detail. For now, mull over a
few bullet points:
·
DNM treats physiology instead of anatomy.
·
DNM uses touch, talk, and movement to create a
context rich environment for sensory
experience, and re-mapping of the nervous system.
·
DNM privileges the rehabilitation of sensory
awareness before motor function.
As far as brass tacks are concerned, I firmed up my grasp of
neuro/biomechanics, pain science, and manual manipulation skills. And, I’m just
so excited to recommit myself to work that I’m passionate about.
You all know I only refer you to the best people, well, here
are a couple more. I encourage you to contact them if you’d like to learn more
about DNM.
“Michael Polon and ReyAllen have done something very
impressive in their teaching of the DermoNeuroModualtion Advanced Course. They
have managed to teach the hard science of neurobiology and pain science and
integrate it with the poetry of being alive in a human body. They also managed
to take the science and ground it in practical approaches to working with
clients who have complex needs. As a participant, I’ve been able to use what
I’ve learned in every aspect of my business, from marketing my services, to more specific applications of touch during a session. Perhaps the most special thing about Rey and
Michael as educators is their willingness to challenge everything, and
everyone, including themselves. Courageous and rigorous thinking during a time
when it’s most needed.”
–Cory Nakasue,
Movement therapist, educator, DNM Practitioner
Here’s a poem I wrote
last year when my back wasn’t, ahem, cooperating with me. I went to see Rey,
and he started busting out the books on the intercostalbrachials that he so
adores.
The Vice’s Grip is a Trick
Strictures wrapped in a cast of every move I’ve made
based on every want I’ve wanted.
You’d think motion would beget motion. Full stop.
Tracing the ridge where dough meets crag is the most painful
place
the most painful place, the most healing place, the most
healing place
the most mystical place.
The back of anything’s the most mystical place.
No one knows nothin’ ‘bout what’s stuck in the back.
As much as it takes one good shove to make something stick….
It really doesn’t happen “just like that.”
These things start with a tingle that I manage to ignore—to
move around
move around the idea that every fist must unclench
move the idea around to the back of my mind (where the truth
lies).
Move into my imagination (where the truth lies).
Pick the wrong thing and I stick. I’m stuck
until I unravel the mystery, untie the bind, unfurl the mind
and
let
go of any ideas about how I move.
Here’s a poem by Wallace Stevens that reminds me of
the ideomotor.
Fight, flight, feed, or fuck.
I’m talking indirectly right at you.
Listen up...