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July/August 2005 Alternative Health
The Self-Healing Power of Stretching

by Mary Maddux

In early March, I received a call from a friend who told me that a man named Jacques Gauthier was speaking that night and that I would definitely not want to miss him. She told me he was nearing the end of a walk across the United States spreading the word about the benefits of stretching. "Something" told me to go. After years of studying all sorts of healing systems, I was finally coming to realize that the simplest, most obvious things were the actually the most powerful. Hence I decided to give the topic of "stretching" a try and to see this man who so intrigued my friend.

When Jacques first walked into the room at the meeting, his appearance seemed unremarkable; but as he told his story there was a tremendous power and energy in his body language and words. I knew I was in the presence of a healer.

I define a "healer" as someone who empowers others to heal. All healing is basically self-healing. "Miraculous" healings are rare, and when they occur it is often possible to trace many steps that led up to that moment in which the "final stroke" of healing could occur. What is not rare are people healing from all sorts of things that have been deemed "incurable", but which they are able to resolve by applying certain healing principles and techniques over a period of time. A healer simply points the way.

How does a healer empower others to heal? Watching Jacques at work taught me a lot about how one empowers others in their healing. First, and perhaps foremost, a healer has to be able to inspire others. Jacques inspired others in a number of ways. He shared his own experience of healing from a crippling condition as well as stories of others who had healed themselves through stretching. Also inspiring was his trust in the capacity of the body to heal. This was coupled with his utter conviction that everyone possessed the same ability for healing that he had. Jacques in no way implied that he was "special".

In addition to being able to inspire, Jacques refused to take responsibility for anyone else’s healing. Along with his conviction that anyone can heal, was his clear understanding that he could not do it for anyone else. He always emphasized every individual’s responsibility for their own health.

A healer needs to be able to set people at ease, as being able to relax is a key ingredient to healing. Jacques was passionate about the benefits of stretching and yet he was completely unattached to whether anyone else did it. There was no sense that anyone would be judged for their choices with regard to stretching. Not only was this refreshing, as so often people with a "message" are often much too eager that it be heard and accepted, but it made it very relaxing to be with him.

And last, but not least, Jacques was clearly having a great time. His enthusiasm for life was contagious. At 66, he was much more youthful than most people half his age. He is full of vitality and quick to laugh and it’s clear that he was having the time of his life on his walk across the US.

The same qualities that make Jacques a healer made his stretching classes highly effective. Like Jacques himself, his program is simple, straightforward, and inspiring. His trust in the body’s wisdom and the ability of every person to heal is shown in his flexible approach to teaching. He states that the stretches do not have to be done in a set way – each individual can adapt the stretches to their needs.

Above all, Jacques’ way of teaching is relaxing. He teaches stretching in the context of body awareness and slow, deep breathing that allow one to relax into the stretches. Since muscles elongate as they relax this is a key to successful (and enjoyable) stretching. I was amazed at how much people progressed in a weeklong class with Jacques – clearly his approach was highly effective.

I’d like to finish with a quote from Dorothée Lavoie, Jacques’ wife and partner of 40 years, which, for me, sums up the power of their work: "What is simple is divine. What is complicated is human." Stretching, Jacques emphasizes, is one of the most powerful self-healing techniques there is, and one of the simplest. In a sense, the most important thing I learned from Jacques was that, indeed, the simplest approaches are the best!

If you would like to learn more about Jacques and his remarkable healing from crippling vasculitis, arthritis and osteoporosis, visit www.heartofhealing.net. The website also contains information about a video that he created with Dorothée. It contains 15 simple stretches which stretch 95% of the body, and it captures the essence of his powerful teaching.

Heart of Healing, P.O. Box 150, Sonoma, CA 96576, Tel.: 707-933-9111

www.heartofhealing.net; www.heartofhealing.net/Products/StretchingDVD.html.