Recently I received an email inquiry from a wife seeking help for her husband. She had been referred by a couple who see me on a regular basis. It wasn’t the first time I had heard a story like hers, and I felt her pain. Here was my response.
Hi Lois,
Thank you for your email and your interest in the Gyrotonic Expansion System and Restorative Exercise.
I shall be blunt; I have every confidence that what I do can help your husband.
BUT
This work takes time, dedication, practice, awareness, and lots and lots of patience. His body did not degenerate over night. A lifetime of behavior patterns, heredity, and environment have contributed to his pain. Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet. I know this from my personal and professional experience (and having worked on my dad who is 66). Truthfully, students who progress best with my program are those who are open to doing things differently than they have in the past, and are willing to dedicate themselves to learning how. I do not fix people. I teach people how to fix themselves. Thus, they have to be ready to take responsibility for their own healing.
I start chronic pain students in basic foundational stretches, breathing, and movements that translate into how his body will work most efficiently in everyday activities. I give lots of homework, which is easy to do since every move we make can be done with awareness toward better alignment. Saturating the body with as much new, relaxing information as possible will help him progress faster. I recommend starting with 2-3 sessions a week, if resources allow. People who dedicate themselves to doing their homework, and move as mindfully as possible, will progress much faster, and some people can get by with one session a week.
I regret that our health care system is not ready to reimburse you for your willingness to try an alternate therapy that will improve your husband’s quality of life. I would suggest that if he has not already, he ask his physician for a referral to physical therapy (I can recommend one if you’d like). Physical therapy will at least get him started with insurance coverage on some of the details his body needs. In order to serve as many people as I can, I make my services as affordable as possible and offer discounts to service people. Here are the details:
$75 for the first hour evaluation
$70 for each subsequent hour
$325 for 5 sessions when purchased in a package ($65/hr).
If he is a retired teacher, military, or a senior on a limited income, the fee is $65/hr even if only one is purchased at a time.
I hope that answers some questions for you. Please feel free to call me with any others.
Best,
Kelly Reed Daulton
