Kate Greenaway has been working in physiotherapy for over 30 years. For the last 18 years she has been developing gentle physiotherapy and Esoteric Connective Tissue Therapy work for people with complex chronic pain conditions and chronic ill health.
“Even though a person may have a significant illness, long term injury or chronic fatigue, I have found that when they reconnect to their body and really commit to caring for themselves they can feel well and more vital again."
Kate loves working with the body – “I learn every day from the people I work with. The body has a natural intelligence if we listen to it; it tells us everything we need to know about who we are and how to look after ourselves so that we can be truly well and vital.
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Kate’s work is based on an understanding and respect of the natural healing processes of the body. “As a younger physio I used all sorts of modalities and treatments that were in theory helpful, but in reality were often imposing or at best gave short term relief.”
“For years I was searching for a truly gentle way of supporting the body to heal itself.”
This saw Kate travel to the USA and Ireland for her work and study.
In Boston in the early 90s Kate was introduced to Myofascial Release Therapy and Craniosacral Therapy. This was the start of her love affair with the wonders of connective tissue. From here began an ongoing learning of the amazing qualities of connective tissue and its role, not only for the body's organ systems but for the overall balance and vitality of the human being.
"Through a greater understanding of the connective tissue I became more aware and appreciative of how the body brings itself back into a greater foundation of balance and harmony from the inside out. In medicine this balance is called homeostasis.
"We are taught about homeostasis as physiotherapy students but there are very few techniques or modalities in the therapeutic world that support this in their practical application for the whole body."
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Eventually this understanding of the connective tissue would form a key part of Kate’s practice – but not until she was 15 years into her career.
As a younger physio I was keen to learn as much as I could and I applied with fervour the many treatment modalities that I learned for treating sports injuries and people with chronic pain. Over the years I found that most of these treatments were not supportive of the clients' healing or of me as a practitioner.
For some clients there was some short term relief, but the pain and the problem often came back. This caused frustration and a need to know more. As I treated, I was also feeling the impact and strain on my own body. So I began searching for a more gentle and holistic way to assist the body to heal itself.
In her mid twenties the emotional and physical pressure on Kate's body began to show.
"At first my thumb joints began to twinge and ache, then there was upper back tension and pain and intermittent lower back and pelvic pain. The upper back pain soon became chronic and had a significant impact on the joy I had always had when working with people. It was then I realised that there must be another way to work with people without compromising my own spine and health. I knew I didn’t want to walk away from people or working with their bodies, but I realised that my body could not sustain the physical strains of treating in the way I had been trained.”
The turning point for Kate was in 1998 when she met complementary healing practitioner and presenter Serge Benhayon of Universal Medicine.
At the time I was very much science orientated in the way I looked at everything, always looking for the reasons behind a physical outcome or behaviour. Meeting Serge and then later working with him, expanded my understanding in so many ways of how the body and the being, heal. It blew apart my narrow outlook on life. Previously, when I went to work as a physiotherapist I would put my physio cap on. But I was losing ‘Kate’ in the process of being a ‘physio’ and doing what physios do. The loving,gentle way Serge lived and worked and the consistency he brought to all his relationships inspired me to see that there was another way to live and work. So over the last 18 years I have been developing a far deeper care and love of myself in all areas of my life.
Now I live in the understanding that every part of my life affects every other part of my life. The gentleness and self-care that I have developed in my day to day have become the quality that I can now bring to my clients and to my practice. It is all one life.
Through the work of Universal Medicine I began to understand a vital factor that many medical practitioners discount in the treatment of a client's condition and that is the energetics of the body.
Even though science has accepted since Einstein’s days that energy is behind everything, science and indeed physiotherapy have not embraced the understanding of how energetic disharmony in the body can lead to a physical problem. What my own experience has taught me is that an understanding of the energetic root cause of any physical and emotional problem should be foundational in our approach to physiotherapy training and treatment.
Now when I treat someone, it is with the consideration that they are a physical, emotional and energetic being. If someone comes to me with a chronic painful and stiff shoulder I no longer just treat the relevant muscles and joints. I offer them the support to consider whether the way they have been living and treating themselves and their body may have contributed to an imbalance (internal and or external) that has led to the physical problem. They are given the option, in addition to treatment with gentle physiotherapy, of added support from a combination of Esoteric Connective Tissue Therapy, Remedial Massage and Sacred Esoteric Healing.
Each treatment has an educational component where I support the client to reconnect with their open elongated posture and how to move gently and smoothly so the problem area has the opportunity to heal and return to a pain-free balanced state. So each client leaves with a sheet of funny little stick figures for their home exercise program which supports them and their body's individual needs.
The way I now live and work supports my clients and me to be more healthy and truly vital. I can honestly say I love everything about my physiotherapy practice and my relationships with my clients. I am now 55 years old and have way more energy than when I was 35. I generally work 16 hours a day with people and community projects. Even better is the fact that I am now completely pain free and feel consistent joy every day.