People often ask me how I got into massage therapy, and the answer is that it was a natural progression starting from my personal discovery and experience with macrobiotics. Then the question shifts to, “what is macrobiotics?”
Growing up a number of personal life experiences helped to shape my interests and direct me towards the fields of nutrition, health, and well-being. Starting as a teen I struggled with fatigue, anemia, and severe abdominal pain, symptoms that were never clear and specific enough to warrant a definitive diagnosis. My doctors and family recommended eating more iron-rich foods, like animal products, but this never helped. Doctors prescribed various medications and later informed me that I would likely be unable to have children. My prospects were looking grim.
But luckily in 1999 life was changed by two friends who were practicing something I had never heard of — macrobiotics. One told me it cured his Crohn’s disease, the other said it had significantly improved his health. My interest was piqued. I ran to the nearest bookstore and found a book called Zen Macrobiotics by George Ohsawa and my journey into macrobiotics began. I finished it in one afternoon and it left me completely inspired and curious for more. I then picked up Paul Pitchford’s Healing with Whole Foods, which provided incredible insight into how eastern medicine and western research work together, a book I continue to learn from today. The recipes were simple and the foods were fresh and delicious, which after a lifetime of heavy American food I found profoundly satisfying. My diet started simple, maybe I little too simple for long term. Miso soup, lightly cooked greens, and brown rice I was eating daily. I had no idea how to cook sea vegetables, burdock, and daikon, but did my best. What the heck is an umeboshi plum? At first taste I thought it was horrid! Then a week later I found myself beginning to crave them. These simple foods were reawakening my taste buds… and reawakening my health.
Within two weeks I felt a noticeable different. My vitality, my sleep, my pain symptoms and even my posture had all improved. I remember thinking how much more comfortable I was standing up straighter! As I continued to eat these natural foods I continued to feel better. Three months later I went to my first macrobiotic lecture, with Denny Waxman, a world-renowned macrobiotic counselor. He spoke not only about the importance of natural foods but on the importance of lifestyle in sync with nature. How chewing, eating at regular times, and taking time to sit down for meals is equally as important as what we ate. I later went to macrobiotic cooking classes with Melanie Brown. In the first class I learned just how wide and delicious a macrobiotic diet could be. Macrobiotic cooking can be creative and fun and thankfully so, being Italian my love for cooking is just as strong as my love for eating.
I soon after attended the Strengthening Health Institute and studied macrobiotics intensively for four years, and thus began my personal regimen to good health. It was during this time I learned of shiatsu bodywork as another valuable avenue for healing. Shiatsu is an effective way for balancing the body’s energy systems, relieving muscle pain, and strengthens overall healthy and vitality.
Over the last 22 years my macrobiotic practice has greatly improved my quality of life. I’m deeply grateful for what it has given me. I’m living virtually free of pain, zero medications, and when I was in my late 30’s tests had shown that my fertility was better than average for my age. Though I still wonder how accurate the original diagnosis was.
Over the years I have not always had the perfect macrobiotic practice, but I have learned that balance is a fluid movement, shading a little one way or to the other. Sometimes being gentle and kind to yourself is more important than pushing or being too strict with yourself. Shifting is natural, as in nature. We all change a little with each day, each season and each activity. Welcoming change and how our diet and lifestyle can shift with it is key, and my journey with natural healing methods has been exciting ever since.
