Enhance your Vitality with Osteopathic Manual Practitioner Emily Lou

0:00Welcome to the Exploring Healing Arts podcast, your go-to source for learning about different healing techniques and meeting exceptional healing arts practitioners from around the globe. Together we explore where the physical meets the subtle, the possibilities that exist for healing, and a diverse array of methods to try from acupuncture to yin yoga and Reiki to family constellation therapy. My name is Elizabeth Alexander. I am the creator and curator behind

0:30this podcast, a Reiki master and energy healing practitioner. This podcast is something I have dreamed of for many, many moons, and my intention is to birth the resource I wish I had had at the start of my own healing arts journey over a decade ago. Whether you are just getting started on your own journey or you are intentionally diving deeper into a healing arts practice, this podcast is the place for you. You will hear inspiring stories, get real life practical tips, and connect with

1:01exceptional practitioners and teachers from around the world. No two paths in healing are the same, but that does not mean you need to be alone. Join us to explore and experience healing together.

1:18Today's guest is Emily Liu. Emily Liu is an osteopathic manual practitioner who integrates physical therapy, color work, movement analysis, traditional osteopathic methods, and a recognition of a mind-body connection into her work. She graduated from Texas Women's University with a master's degree in physical therapy in 1986. Since then, she has migrated to an increasingly more holistic approach to helping patients. In 2020, Emily received a diploma of osteopathic manual practice

1:50from the Canadian School of Osteopathy manual practice in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and traditional osteopathy has become the scaffolding for her healing practice. Emily's whole person approach is hands-on, individualized, and follows a set of guiding principles that serve as an organizing force to bring the body back towards its optimal function. Welcome, Emily. Thank you. It's really great to be here. I'm excited to share. Yeah, me too. I'm so excited to be having this conversation as someone who has had the pleasure

2:24of experiencing your treatments and has benefited from it and just seen firsthand how the work you do can really make a difference in the body and in our beings. I'm just so excited to get to share your perspective, your journey, and your offerings with people today. Me too. So my first question, which is kind of a grounding question that I love to ask all guests, is what are your roots? What is your ancestry? And how do you stay connected or not to your roots and ancestry?

2:56So I'm Chinese. My parents are from the Shanghai area. But my grandmother was actually born in San Francisco. And my grandfather was born in Ningquo, China. So they actually went, you know, kind of had this overseas relationship. And I stay connected by being with my family. And I also think I stay connected by being back here in the San Francisco Bay Area. That's lovely. So you just answered my next question is where are you physically? So I am back in the Bay Area. And I practice in Mountain View, California, which is about an hour

3:35south of San Francisco. And it's a practice called Osteopathic Manual Practice International Academy Clinic. Awesome. In Mountain View, California. So Emily, you are based out of the San Francisco Bay Area with your practice. And you are obviously an integrative practitioner with lots of different things that inform your style of practicing. And most recently, you are a manually trained osteo practitioner, osteopathic practitioner. So what does that mean?

4:08Well, first, I should probably describe what osteopathy is, because a lot of people don't know. Okay. It's defined as a natural medicine and science that utilizes palpation. It's usually delivered one-on-one and individualized sessions. And it was founded by Andrew Taylor still in 1874. He was a physician and surgeon, but his wife and three children had just recently passed away from meningitis. So he was a little bit disheartened with medicine. And so his mind was

4:39open to a new way of thinking. And he opened his first school of osteopathy in Kirksville, Missouri. So a lot of people don't really know that it sort of originated here in the US. It follows four principles as taught in my school in Canada. In the US, they tend to say there are three principles, but I'll tell you my four. One is the body is a functional unit. And that just means that everything is connected. And then the second one is that we have an inherent system of auto

5:13regulation. And that means that if everything is working well, then we have the ability to self-heal. And we can say this, like when you cut your finger, you can watch yourself self-heal. Absolutely. This actually happens and we can witness it. It's just that it hasn't always been applied to bigger things or medicine or dysfunction or pain, but osteopathy applies it. The other thing is that structure governs function. And so again, if the structure is working well, then things function

5:46better. Seems pretty simple. But again, sometimes we don't think of them together. And the one that, you know, sometimes is included and sometimes it's not, the rule of the artery is absolute. And what we think is that all fluid flow is of the utmost importance. It's not just arterial flow, but it kind of refers to all the fluids in the body, whether it's arterial, venous, lymphatic, CSF, you know, interstitial fluid, they just need to be flowing. So everything kind of is based on

6:21those four principles. And the objective of a treatment is to restore mobility to each system and the interrelationships between them. And use those principles, we always keep them in mind and we try and make all the systems in the body work together. And the idea is that when all the systems are harmonized and working well, then we have health because the body's own ability to self-heal is activated or it can work. Now, in the U.S., when people talk about an osteopath,

6:53they usually mean, and this answers your question, they usually mean a D.O. or doctor of osteopathy. And in the U.S., an osteopath or D.O. will go to medical school. And it's just an osteopathically based medical school, but they end up becoming like a physician, very much like an MD. And you'll often find them in the same kinds of physicians. So very few of them practice hands-on. Some of them

7:23do, but it's more a rarity instead of the norm. An osteopathic manual practitioner, which we call ourselves in the U.S. to distinguish ourselves from the D.O.s. We're trained more to look at the body using the hands-on approach. And we use traditional methods like cranio-sacral therapy, visceral mobilization, which is working on the organs. We work on the fluid and pressure balance, on the fascia, on the structures. Basically, it's all hands-on. So we don't get training in

7:57pharmacology or radiology. We can read a little bit, but we're not officially allowed to diagnose people. So that's not a big part of our training. We don't prescribe tests or medications. It's all hands-on. And in other countries, osteopaths are the same as our osteopathic manual practitioners, but they work hand-in-hand with doctors. So they might be involved in one person's care, like in the continuum of care. And here, a D.O. might not be, that would be the primary physician

8:35or more of the physician part. And they don't usually work hand-in-hand with an osteopathic manual practitioner. But hopefully that will change. Yeah. Just to reiterate, let's see if I'm understanding this correctly. A D.O. is what we typically call osteopaths here in the United States. And they fall more under a physician-type role, like an M.D. They can prescribe medication. Oftentimes, they work in clinical settings. And sometimes, they do some of the palpation

9:06techniques. But typically, here in the U.S., they're not doing that as much. Whereas an osteopathic manual practitioner is more similar to what would be an osteopath maybe in Canada or in Europe or in other countries, where they work hands-on on the body with the three to four principles that you were suggesting. And they're part of the continuum of care that might work alongside or with a physician, but they're not prescribing medication or making, like you said, following radiology or ordering tests

9:36and stuff like that that would fall under a physician's scope of practice. Exactly. Yeah. And it's a little bit confusing because if you say osteopath in Vancouver, it might mean something different in San Jose or Mountain View. Yeah. Well, I just came back from Europe this summer where I did see an osteopath there and my friends see osteopaths there. And the way that they're talking about it is very different than one of my good friends who is a DO than the way she talks about her job. And so, I've seen firsthand

10:08how that wording can get confusing. So, I'm thrilled that you're here today to clarify this for us. And tell us a little bit more about what can a manually trained osteopractitioner, what are common things that you help people with? Why would someone go see a manually trained osteopathic practitioner? So, a lot of times, people will come with a musculoskeletal condition. Usually, it's people who have tried other things and it's not working as well as they think it should. And so, they start

10:42looking outside the box. And when I say musculoskeletal, it could be like shoulder pain, back pain, neck pain, tendonitis, bursitis, you know, ankle sprain. It could be scar tissue from a surgery or an injury. It could be other things like in other systems like a digestive issue or a breathing or the cardiorespiratory system, breathing or heart, you know, palpitations, urinary tract infection,

11:13headaches, temporomandibular joint issues, facial pain. Sometimes, we're working on one system to affect another system. Okay. So, it's very common to work on the gastrointestinal system and the digestion if somebody has low back pain. So, they might come in with a lower back issue, but I might find myself working on their guts, for instance. It sounds like a lot of what you're saying too are

11:44more like chronic conditions or things that people have experienced over a period of time. Do you tend to see that in your like client base or is there also like acute care? I tend to see more chronic people because it takes a while for people to get through the system. Because we don't bill insurance, it's not the first thing that people turn to usually. We live in a world, especially in the Silicon Valley, where people have insurance. So, they like to try that first. So, typically, we see people after they

12:17have tried other things. But, you know, maybe the things that are covered by their insurance is not enough to satisfy what they want. That makes sense. Yeah. So, it ends up being chronic things. And we like, you know, in the beginning, it's because they have a problem and they need to get back to neutral. But then after a while, it becomes a wellness thing where they like to stay in their neutral and stay organized. Absolutely. Once you realize how good you can feel, you don't want to maintain it. Yeah. So, what is a session with you like? Like if someone was to

12:54come in, let's say, you know, they had back pain or they were experiencing like heart palpitations or breathing issues or chronic stuff and they were coming into you, what could they expect from coming to see you for a first session? That's a great question. You know, because it's really, it's people come in and they're like, I have no idea what to expect. You know, the first thing I do is I really like to get to know the person. So, I talk to people a lot. And part of the way I talk

13:24to people is to get them to realize that maybe things in their history may be impacting what's going on now. Because we all know, like if you have something, you might compensate for it. And I think if you compensate once, you know, you usually don't notice it too much. But if you compensate 20 times for different injuries, then you might start to notice it. So, we look at their history really carefully and talk about how they're feeling and relate it to their functional life. And I try and get people to be as specific as possible when they're talking about a problem with doing something in their

13:59life. Because I feel like that's a really good way for them to tell if this is helping or not. Absolutely. So, then I do an assessment. And I don't know if it's because I'm a physical therapist, but I like to use a lot of standardized testing, you know, because it's something they would probably recognize from maybe a doctor visit or something that they can relate to that, you know, maybe they do these exercises and exercise class and it's difficult. So, I do a lot of standard tests,

14:31like how far I can lift the leg, range of motion of the shoulder, how much they can bend in different directions, things like that. I also, because osteopathy is based on palpation, I also will palpate what's happening from the inside out. So, I like to see if I can feel the manifestation of this inherent energy that is responsible for some of the self-healing. And in a state of health, there is this inherent

15:01energy that's always there and can be felt and it creates a predictable motion in every part of the body. So, a lot of times what I'm doing is I'm trying to feel for the presence of that. And I love the idea that we're all created perfect. And sometimes there are just blocks to the expression of that perfection. So, my treatment plan is to just try and remove as many blocks as I can. And, you know, try and get people closer to

15:34that state. Wow. And these blocks that you're seeing, like I'm thinking back to the four principles that you talked about before, I'm thinking about like how important the structure is and also like the flow of all the different fluids that you mentioned earlier. Are those some of the things that you're like palpating for? Those things can give indications as to the flow of energy through the body? Yeah. So, usually what I'll sense, if there's not enough flow in a certain area, I might

16:06tend to go work in that area to see if maybe there's a joint restriction or tension in the myofascial connective tissue or if there's a block in some of the lymphatic flow. So, I might do techniques that work on things like, you know, the muscle tension or the joint restriction or, you know, getting the blood flow to increase, you know. And those, they look sometimes like a lot of movement and sometimes

16:37they look like nothing. Yes, I do. I remember from my sessions with you.

16:45It's a combination of feeling like, okay, something's happening and okay, nothing's happening. But when nothing seems like it's happening, then I'm working on a different level. So, I'm trying to work a little bit more subtly. And you kind of mentioned this before just in terms of like when you're going through the history, you really want people to clarify like where the problems, you know, are that have led them to you. But how might someone know it worked? Because you're working on these different levels,

17:16right? The subtle levels and the physical levels. What are you looking for like in your assessments, I guess, and also like in reported experiences from clients? So, you know, one of the most common things I run across is what people will say, you know, they have back pain, and they have tight hamstrings all the time. And a lot of people stretch their hamstrings. So, they're very familiar with them being tight. And so, they know what it's like. So, what I would do is I might do my treatment, it may or may not be on the hamstring. Usually,

17:52it's restoring that inherent mobility in the sacrum. Sometimes I'll start with that. And then I will retest that straight leg raise, the ability to raise the leg. And then they can also do whatever test they notice the dysfunction in. So, a hamstring tension could influence things like walking, sitting, you know, driving, things like that. So, if they were having a problem with those activities, I would encourage them to just check those activities after they leave and see how it

18:26is. So, I kind of leave that up to them when they do it. You know, I do my retest in the office during the session. And then I have them do their retest when they return to their life. That's really cool. And how might somebody know that they could benefit from a session with you? Like, are there any signs or like symptoms or experiences that clients often have before they show up at your office? That's a good question. You know, most of the time, people come because they've heard through word of

18:56mouth that this is helpful. So, I'd say it can help with almost anything, you know, but it's more at a foundational level. So, maybe they're having a difficult time being comfortable in their life. Like, maybe something that they're doing is not quite as comfortable as it used to be. Say, like gardening or trimming the trees. I had somebody come in the other day and say, oh, yeah, when I was trimming the trees, I was having a lot of problems. Or, you know,

19:27sleeping is kind of a hard one. That's a big one. That's a big one. Yeah. And sometimes they're uncomfortable sleeping. And it could be because of their breathing or, you know, they're grinding their jaw or their back hurts or anything like that. So, I'd say when they notice a difference in their function, it's a pretty good time to check to see if osteopathy can help. Cool. And so, it sounds like osteopathy and the way that you practice can be particularly helpful helpful for, like you said, when you've identified an issue. Like, what about people who've come to

20:03you that you've resolved something for them and are, like, interested in more of, like, a maintenance schedule? Like, what might that look like? Is that going to vary from client to client? Or are there recommendations in terms of, like, frequency of visits? I really leave the frequency up to the patient because a lot of times it depends on their schedule and when they feel ready. Hopefully, by the time they get to that point, they're kind of familiar with how their body feels and how it reacts. But I'd say in an ideal world, if I were to have

20:35sort of wellness sessions at the frequency that I think is the best, I would say about once a month, you know, would be great for me. So, I think that, you know, we all live our lives and we don't live our lives, you know, perfectly in every step that we take or in every activity that we take. And our bodies are pretty good at compensating, but you don't want the compensations to add up, you know, because then if you get to a certain point and you can't compensate quite as well when there are already,

21:08you know, so many things your body has to deal with. Yeah. And I see that with my fitness background with the clients that I've trained, you know, one-on-one and in group classes. I bet. I'm always trying to get people to like, let's also bring like an osteopathic manual practitioner onto the team and like a physical therapist because like you said, those little things repeated over time add up. And so, if you can get somebody hands-on working on you to help with the structure and the flow, you're just going to benefit, in my opinion. Right.

21:38You benefit in so many other areas of life from it. And I think that's often where people notice it is when they're doing their fitness routine or doing exercise and they notice, oh, this used to be pretty easy. And now it's getting kind of difficult. And I'd say when it gets to the point where it's difficult enough to make you pay what you think is too much attention to it, then it might be worth getting a session. Cool. That's a great indicator. Thank you. And I love that we've already kind of started moving into like fitness and exercising because

22:11your background, you started out as a physical therapist originally. So, I would love to know a little bit or a lot. I would just love to know about your journey from physical therapy to osteopathy. Like what got you started originally in physical therapy? Why there? Why physical therapy? Yeah. Well, I really liked anatomy and my cousin was a physical therapist and I liked her. That's kind

22:42of how I got into it. And it seemed like a kind of a good profession. It dealt with the body. I like movement and things like that. But I was trained as a traditional physical therapist, you know, Western style physical therapist. That was way back in 1986. And the first job I got was at a hospital that it was a combined facility, Texas Heart Institute, St. Luke's Medical Center and Texas Children's Hospital. And there were four rotations. It was orthopedics, wound care, chest physical

23:19therapy and neuro rehab, neurology rehab, which dealt with strokes and spinal cord injuries and all that. So, I was thinking that that's probably where I started to get an appreciation of all the different perspectives that a physical therapist could be involved in. I started to just, you know, we'll have to do continuing education classes. So, I started to look into like myofascial release, which is sort of a holistic practice. After the hospital, I worked in work heartening,

23:51which is, it's a terrible name. Work hardening? It's called work hardening. Okay. I've never heard of this. It sounds really awful and like abuse. So, it was for people that got injured on the job. And we would use their job activities, rehab them back to that job. And kind of goes along with the specificity of training principle. You know, the best way to train for going back to working on the railroad was to do activities that you would use working on the

24:24railroad. So, we had people building houses and, you know, installing toilets and painting things and things like that. So, I think that's where I got my appreciation for functional outcomes. Absolutely. Yeah. And I still, I still really am focused that way, I think. And then I found Heller work. And Heller work is a combination of myofascial release and sort of myofascial organization of the whole

24:56connective tissue structure, mind-body interaction and movement sort of reorganization. And it looks at our habits and how our movement habits affect how we carry our bodies and how there's an interaction between mind and body. So, I thought, this is getting great. Yay. I love this too. It's getting a little bit more and more holistic as I go. Yeah. But then I thought, oh, there's a little bit I need to learn about movement because it's much

25:32more difficult than I thought it was. And so, I studied movement analysis. And that was great. And there was also a mind-body component to that as well. And I took a class that was osteopathically based, but it was working on the organs. And this teacher did something in the abdomen and released the hamstrings instantaneously. On you or on somebody else? On somebody else in the class. Okay. Wow. I thought, wow, because before as a PT, I would do the stretching and the soft tissue work and

26:06the ultrasound and all that. And I never got results that fast, that great. So, it made me want to look into osteopathy, especially the visceral component. So, I started looking in Europe for a school that taught in English and there weren't that many. And then I found the school in Vancouver. And I love it because it includes all of that. Includes joint work, myofascial release, mind-body interactions, work on the fluid flow, work on balance and

26:39alignment, works on subtle things like cranial work. And it just felt like it was home. And now, because it's so inclusive, I can sort of use that. I think the word scaffolding is the best word I could think of because it's all there. And I just have to pick and choose which part of osteopathy I want to put together for each treatment. That is so cool. So, you're very integrative now with that osteopathic training. It's kind of like an

27:13umbrella that lends itself to everything else that you had been practicing and learning previously in your career. That's a great way to put it. Yeah. Wow. I also would love to, because I know you and I, we could talk about the body all day. We're throwing out some terms there that not everybody may know. So, can you tell us a little bit more about like, what myofascial releases or like the fascial system and its implications in health?

27:43Okay. So, fascia is connective tissue. And it's sort of like a three-dimensional webbing that covers every structure in the body. When you talk about myofascia, it's the covering around the muscles. And it's continuous, but it not only goes around the muscles, but around the fibers and around the fibrils. All the different parts of the muscle goes around the bones. It goes around the organs. It goes around the nervous system, goes around everything, and it's all connected. And I feel like

28:17it's kind of like when you pull on your shirt, say, if you pull on the left corner of your shirt down, you get an effect somewhere else, like up in this area, because everything is connected. So, if you can imagine like a three-dimensional stocking or shirt all throughout your body, then that would be a good descriptor of fascia. And I heard one time that if you dissolved everything in the body except for the fascia, you would still be able to recognize a person.

28:51Whoa, that's so cool. I know. It's pretty amazing. And the first time I really recognized the power of fascia, somebody was working on my scar on my leg, on the outside of my right leg, and I felt it up in my ribs. And I remember asking him to do it again. So, I asked him a couple times, and I was like, that's really weird. So, that was a long time ago. But that's probably one of the things that kind of

29:24helped me go on my journey. Cool. And so, like when you're working on someone in a session, you may not necessarily be working on the spot that they're coming in to complain about, but you could be working on a different area and it would still impact the area that somebody has a complaint about through fascia? Yes. It's very, very common. In fact, it might be more than norm than the exception that I might work somewhere else to affect the area of complaint. Like it's very common for me to work on, say,

30:00if somebody has a shoulder problem, it's very common for me to work first on the diaphragm or the organs. Part of my assessment is trying to figure out what may be the cause of a dysfunction, rather than focusing on the dysfunction itself. You know, because it's part of working on the person instead of working on the pathology. I'm trying to kind of find the source and isolate it. So, on this whole journey, I mean, it's so cool. I love just like this tapestry of your career that

30:31you've woven together. I'm curious, like, how did you know when you wanted to study something new or additional? It sounds like things just kind of presented themselves and you followed it, but was there anything else that really, like, guided you or...? Yeah, I think I get guided by sort of a restlessness and a feeling of inadequacy, which is kind of funny to say, but I think what it does is it opens you up to new possibilities. So, if I get to that point, then I'm sort of looking around and I'm opening myself to things.

31:07And I think that the timing has just worked out where those things present themselves to me at those particular junctures. And for me, it's just a matter of recognizing, you know, I'm trying to go by feeling, you know, recognizing this feeling like this is the right thing. And, you know, I do that with big things, like, even like shopping for a house or something. You know, I have this certain feeling. And it's like, oh, yeah, this is a good idea.

31:40So, I feel like I'm pretty happy with where this method has taken me. Yeah. Well, and what you're describing to that listening to, you know, feelings, that really resonates with me in terms of, like, how I go about finding the practitioners that I choose to work with. And so, I'm curious, you know, from your perspective as someone who has been a treatment provider and a treatment recipient, do you have any advice on, like,

32:10finding the right practitioner to work with? That's a really good question. So, I'm kind of experimenting with that right now because I've just moved back to the Bay Area a couple years ago. And so, the first thing I look for is maybe not the qualifications that talk about what schools people go to or, you know, what people like to do, but I tend to like looking at people's philosophies. And then I try and get somebody

32:41whose philosophy matches mine, certainly somebody who thinks holistically. And, you know, sometimes it does help that if they have some similar kinds of hobbies, because then I know that maybe I can talk with them, you know, on a conversational level. But it's mostly about being open to new perspectives or other perspectives and looking at the whole system and how it influences, you know, different parts, how each part influences different parts.

33:13Cool. Thank you. So, another question more related to, like, your practice. I would be curious if you can share about a time that somebody made substantial changes through the support of your osteopathic work and, like, what the outcome was. Well, I like to think about the whole spectrum. And I'll just use the examples that I started to share in the beginning. I think when somebody comes in with

33:43back pain, I'm not going to share specific things because I never got responses back. But very commonly, people will come in with back pain and I'll work with maybe their diaphragms and the guts and do some musculoskeletal work. And all of a sudden, they can travel better, you know, or they can hike better. And that, to me, is the ultimate is when they can improve their function and enjoy life better. With the shoulder, shoulder things are very common. So many people nowadays have very limited shoulder

34:17motion, but yet they still want to use their arms. And what that happens to create is a lot of substitution patterns. So by working in the, like, with the diaphragms or from, you know, the gut perspective or working on their feet, maybe, each session, of course, is individualized. But, you know, maybe they can play volleyball better, you know, and then that's important if somebody is on a volleyball team, you know, to be able to do their part better and have less pain. I think that there are a

34:51lot of subtle changes. And usually, I like it best when they can report some functional difference, because I can often feel that there's a change in the energy expression. But people can't typically feel that themselves. Yeah. You know, so I usually like for them to sort of assess on their own, if something changes functionally. Yeah, I'm giggling a little bit, because I am one of those people that can feel the difference in the energy expression. And I'm

35:22just like reflecting on being on your table and being like, wow, I feel very different. Like, like you never pushed really hard. It was never like a big stretch or anything. But the manipulations were happening. And I felt the difference in my body, you know, both energetically and physically, which was really, it's fun for me. I love experiences like that. Yeah, I'm like that, too. Now, after getting body work, I'm, I'm sensitive like that, too. And every once in a while, I'll get somebody in my office that's like that, it's getting to be more

35:53frequent. You know, I'd say when I started working like this, maybe 15 years ago, because I started, you know, kind of going down the osteopathic path, before I went into osteopathic school, because they teach physical therapists, these techniques. But I'd say when I started, nobody felt anything subtle. But now I think people's awareness is increasing. And so the other day, I even had somebody, I was just finishing my session. She goes, Oh, I feel energy going up and down.

36:24It made me happy. Yeah. I love that. Yeah, people can feel that it's great. But I don't usually expect them to. So I'll do my, my test, retest of the standardized test in the office, and then leave it to them to see if there's a functional change. That's great. And back to one of the things that I really love, and I think it was principle number two that you shared about osteopathy, that our body has an innate ability to self heal.

36:57And osteo, osteopathic treatments, you know, like the manual osteopathic treatments you provide are designed to really support that system. I love it, because it really honors the intelligence, like of our beingness and our bodies. Yeah. And I'm curious, how do you like discern as the practitioner that you're aligning or supporting the body and getting into a place where people can awake in their own healing capacities? Like, is it that energy expression change that you felt?

37:31Is it a flow through the fluid or through the, the connective tissue? Is it all of the above? Like, yeah. What does that look like on your end? Yeah. So there is something called, so when we're talking about this inherent sort of energy, a lot of people talk about chi or prana. And I feel like it's sort of the same thing that we talk about when we say vitality. Then we also have this thing called the primary respiratory mechanism. And it's actually how I feel like it's how the vitality expresses itself in the body.

38:06And you can feel it at every part of the body in a state of health. And it's predictable. And it should have a certain degree of motion. And I feel for that. And it's called the primary respiratory mechanism. Primary, because it's like there all the time. It's inherent. And it animates all like cellular exchange. Oh, I'm sorry. The primary is because it's always there. The respiratory part of

38:39that name is because it is the basis of all cellular exchange of gases and electrolytes. And the mechanism just means that it's in the body and it manifests through the bones and the articulations of the body. So when I feel for that, I feel like when it comes back and it's robust and regular, and I can feel for it in all the different parts of the body, then I feel like that mechanism is activated. Wow. That is really cool. Yeah, it's really nice to have a marker.

39:15Yeah. Well, and just understanding, like, I'm deeply appreciating how you just made something that was very complex seem very simple, you know, and also appreciating just like the level of, I mean, it's happening on a cellular level, yet you can track it through different parts of the body. Right. Yeah. And so that's where I use the standard tests and retest to see like if it's manifesting in the musculoskeletal system. But so I can check both, you know, I can see how it's working on the

39:50PRM level, and how that's manifesting in the musculoskeletal level. And I feel like when all of that is working well, then I feel like a person's self healing abilities are engaged. So they may not stay there. But I feel like at that moment, you know, that it's turned on. Love that. Wow. I'm just in awe. That is so cool. And then the rest of it, like, once I can tell where that is happening and where it's not,

40:21then a lot of my job is removing the restrictions that are blocking it from happening. Wow. It becomes simple. Wow, Emily, thank you so much. That is just like the most fun and interesting and like coolest fact that has made my year. So we're gonna leave it there. And if you want to learn more about the primary respiratory mechanism, and you want to experience it firsthand, go and see Emily for a session, maybe help to revitalize yourself. So we're gonna head into rapid fire questions. So

40:57these are five questions that I do at the end of all the podcasts. And Emily, I just want you to say the first thing that comes to mind is something short and sweet. Okay? Okay. What is your human design? The projector or the seer? Cool. Where is your favorite place in nature to be? So I like color, and I like texture. So any place with color and texture. And I feel like that has been the Swat Canyons, or like Rainbow Mountain. Those have been two of my favorite

41:30places. That's beautiful. Is Rainbow Mountain the one in Peru? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's amazing. What is your beverage of choice right now? A tamarind, agua fresca.

41:45And what is your top tip for good energy hygiene? I think that it's important to recuperate and to replenish your energy bank account. I don't know that that's a big aha. But for some people, I think it is. Yeah, I think around here in Silicon Valley, I think people need to hear that message a lot. I need the reminder.

42:11How would you define healing? Ah, I think it's anything that helps engage that self-healing system, you know, which requires some organization and some self-awareness. I really believe in the power we hold in ourselves. So I think the best healing is when we can get to that. So we can work on just creating joy and living from our essence. That would be the best way for me to be healed.

42:41I love that. I like that for myself too.

42:46So what services do you currently offer? And like, where can people find you or connect with you? Okay, so I am an osteopathic manual practitioner. So anything that's related to that, work on healing musculoskeletal injuries, digestive issues, cardiorespiratory issues, recurrent urinary tract issues, things like that. We're helping to rebalance the body and reorganize the body. So it doesn't matter so much that you have a particular problem. What matters more is that

43:21you would want to help organize your system so you can engage your own self-healing. I will mix in physical therapy with it. So even though I'm not practicing primarily as a physical therapist, I can't take it out of me. So it'll be part of it. I am at the OPIA clinic. It stands for Osteopathic Manual Practice International Academy Clinic. And we are located inside the Silicon Valley Integrative and Chiropractic Office in Mountain View, right near 85 and El Camino. Our website is

43:58www.ompiaclinic.com. You can find us online and you can schedule yourself if you want to. We do do 15 minute free consults if you have a question. And then we just do it over the phone. Yeah, hopefully you'll come when you need us. Yeah. And I'll put the link. The link will be in the show notes for anybody that wants to click through directly to the clinic website and see about scheduling sessions with Emily. And that's how I got started. I think we had a 15 minute slot scheduled for a

44:32phone call like four to six months ago. And I decided it was a fit and it was. So thank you for your help. And yeah, go check out the show notes for the link directly to Emily. And Emily, thank you for everything today. I just I love the way that you've integrated all of the different things that you studied and practiced and just your journey from physical therapy through heller work movement analysis to osteopathy, and just the rich amount of information that you've shared with us today about the body and the different structures and the way it works.

45:05So thank you for your time, your energy and your presence. Yeah, I really appreciate you being here. Thank you so much for the opportunity to put this out into the world. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Exploring Healing Arts podcast. I hope that our words, our stories and the wisdom shared on today's episode inspire you and support you in feeling connected. If you loved this episode, please leave us a five star review so we can reach more people. And as a thank you for listening,

45:41join me for a mini course on energy hygiene. You get three simple practices you can do anywhere, anytime to support you in feeling more grounded, connected to yourself and confident in your energetic boundaries. Sign up at energyhealingelizabeth.com slash energy hygiene. Thanks for being here today. And I look forward to being with you again soon.

46:08The primary purpose of the Exploring Healing Arts podcast is to inspire and educate. As a reminder, the information and opinions shared on this podcast are not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment. We encourage you to speak with your doctor for professional medical advice or treatment. Opinions offered on this podcast are just that, opinions.