About
Sarah
Sarah Firmage has a Master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine, a BA in Psychology and is currently studying to obtain her
Doctorate in Chinese Medicine. She has also studied massage, Craniosacral Therapy, Jin Shin Jyutsu and Therapeutic Touch. She has a private practice in
Sarah's
Experience with the Tao Te
It is difficult for me to find the words
to describe my experience with Tao Te bodywork. It has
been the most profoundly healing modality I have ever experienced
both physically and emotionally… I had my first session with Jade
in February 2006, shortly after graduating from Five Branches Institute
of Chinese Medicine. Less than a minute after Jade first touched
me I experienced a wave of enormous relief, a feeling of “homecoming”
that arose from someplace deep inside and I knew that I wanted to
experience & learn this art both as patient and eventually
as practitioner.
I am incredibly grateful for the
level of physical healing I have experienced. As a teenager
I was diagnosed with severe scoliosis (curvature of the spine)
and underwent spinal fusion surgery to stop the progression and prevent
paralysis. While the surgery was successful in stopping the
progression it did nothing to stop the painful spasms and it had the
side effect of restricting movement. Over the course of
my work with Tao Te Bodywork areas of tightness and spasm have melted
away and not returned and as my back has relaxed other areas of my
body that had been compensating have also relaxed. My
posture is straighter. My movement is less restricted and more fluid.
I feel free. This is unique to this form of bodywork—something
I have not experienced with other modalities (massage, acupuncture,
chiropractic, energy work). While these other modalities gave
some relief the results did not last. This work is not always
easy though. In the course of my year of Tao Te treatment there
were prolonged periods of incredible fatigue, severe weakness as my
body has released old patterns. It is as if unhealthy tissues have
had to break down to allow the space for healthier tissue to grow. Yet even through these times of fatigue I knew my body was healing
on a very deep level. This release has been the foundation for the
transformation that has occurred over the last year.
Even more
amazing to me is the change emotionally and spiritually. I am
filled with the most intense sense of gratitude, not only for Tao
Te but also for my life and all the beauty that surrounds me. I smile at the beauty of flowers, at the songs of the birds, the musical
sounds trees make as they sway in the wind. I can feel the energy
that connects us all—that place where we are all one. I am more aware
that I am connected to and supported by the Divine. I am more
loving, more forgiving, less fearful. I am amazed at the healing
power that can come form simply supporting the body/a person without
judgment, without agendas, without the need to “fix”—simply honoring
and trusting their unique path--- that they are also connected to
the divine. It has been my experience that this level of trust
and acceptance on the part of the practitioner is the key element
in this form of work and this allows the client/patient the safety
to surrender. The space created by trusting and surrendering is magical
and sacred. The transformational potential that comes from this
is incredible and beautiful and I feel blessed to be a recipient of
this work and honored to be among the first students of Tao Te Bodywork.
