Endorsements

I tell people that Everett Ogawa saved my life. Well, he didn’t actually save my life, but he did give me my life as I know it now. I went to Everett the first time for sharp pains in my shoulder and arm that kept me up at night for four months. After 20 minutes with Everett, that pain went away and never came back. While he worked, purposefully and doggedly to loosen the tight muscles that had developed over the previous few months, he explained that we store physical and emotional experiences in our tissues, and that if it is counterproductive, this energy needs to be released in order for the pain to be relieved. Well, I had been to medical school, so I knew this was ridiculous, but this guy sure seemed to know a lot more than I would ever know about the muscles in my neck and shoulder, so I went back, even if the theory seemed crazy. I had at that time terrible and constant back pain and a history of major spinal surgery for scoliosis. I couldn’t stand for 5 minutes, I didn’t sneeze without stabbing pain, I couldn’t pick up anything off the floor, and I wasn’t making dinner plans because I never knew if I’d be up for it. Putting my skepticism aside, I went back to Everett because I got results. The change in my body didn’t happen overnight, and it definitely wasn’t easy. I gradually learned that there was some great mysterious truth in this theory about releasing negative stored energy, and now I will tell you that although I am a firm believer in the western medicine that I practice, I also firmly believe that manual therapies, and in particular the deep tissue work of Integral Bodywork, can promote a wholeness and vitality that traditional medicine does not. After many sessions with Everett, I now have no pain. I never had additional surgery that was recommended to me. I can rake leaves and hike and keep up with my two young children and do many normal things I wouldn’t have been able to do had I not encountered this bodywork. Each time I went through the 10 sessions I reached a higher level of balance and clarity, and although I now live in Indianapolis, whenever I visit Chicago, I make an appointment with Everett! I continue to benefit although the original pain that brought me to bodywork is long gone. There aren’t words to express my gratitude, but maybe I can inspire someone to get to work on their own experience!   Melissa Cavaghan, MD

Working with Everett Ogawa at Integral Bodywork has been life-changing for me. I was unaware of this type of work in the early 1990s and would not have sought it out on my own. But I was held up at gunpoint one afternoon in a safe locale, and it was quite traumatizing. Several months later when fear, low mood, and lethargy continued to bother me, a trusted colleague and friend encouraged me to see Everett, saying that I needed to have the trauma physically released from my body. After only one session, I felt energized, stronger physically and emotionally, the world looked brighter, and food tasted better. So I decided to work with Everett on a regular basis. That was 16 years ago. As I approach 60, I am in excellent physical and psychological shape. My immune system is stronger, my seasonal allergies are milder, my body’s flexibility is increasing, I am taller and more aligned, and I can breathe deeply from head to toe. I have no body pain. More importantly, I feel much more centered and grounded emotionally, I am able to handle stress far more effectively, and I savor life. I have judiciously recommended Integral Bodywork to about 6-8 colleagues or friends, and they too have had positive experiences.   Professor, Northwestern University

Having been introduced to Mr. Everett Ogawa by a teacher with whom I had studied zen meditation for many years, I can say without a doubt that Integral Bodywork succeeds on so many levels. Three years ago, my body was manifesting spontaneous physical movement that had no apparent medical cause but was interrupting my daily activities, work and family life. Mr. Ogawa is to be commended for his inexhaustible patience by phone explaining to me in depth how the body functions physically and emotionally while successfully taming my fear and frustration over my condition. Since I live 1400 miles away from the Integral Bodywork studio, it took much planning and coordination to accomplish a feasible schedule for me to complete ten sessions of bodywork with him. It was by far the best physical or mental therapy I have ever experienced. Since I had spent most of my life in very athletic endeavors, I thought I had great body awareness. Integral Bodywork took my understanding to a much deeper level, with more profound insight. I saw firsthand how the emotions experienced throughout my life have imbedded themselves into my body creating physical roadblocks and emotional detours. Through the release of this multi-dimensional tension stored within the connective tissue, a catharsis resulted in renewed energy and true inner calm never possible before. Here’s how the alchemy works – once the body is cleared of blocked energy and emotional waste through this bodywork technique, the mind is free to shift into open space garnering new ideas and gathering momentum for change. Many people with whom I have shared Integral Bodywork, have found themselves taking new directions in their lives positively affecting their future and those close to them. This work is a gift you give to yourself that has no boundaries for the positive changes it offers. Once experienced, you will want to share your new gained knowledge with everyone – I did, now it’s your turn….   Sonia, Miami, FL

Because I have had kyphosis since childhood (a rounding of the spine in the upper back), I have learned that I need a certain amount of bodywork to control back pain and maintain flexibility. Over the years, I have found some great practitioners who help me stay healthy and comfortable. Last February, I took a nasty fall, tripping on the sidewalk and landing hard, sternum first, on a sharp concrete curb. For several weeks, I experienced swelling and pain in my chest, shoulder and back. I got some great work done–chiropractic, massage, acupuncture—yet some of the back pain continued, especially if I stood or walked for more than a few minutes. A friend suggested that I try Everett and Integral Bodywork, and so I did. The friend warned that I might get much more than relief from pain, that the full ten sessions could be transformative. Transformation would be great, I said, but I’d settle for pain relief. Almost immediately, I began to feel much better. My body became more open, and my back and neck more comfortable. To my surprise, I found after several sessions that my breathing had changed. Now I could breathe all the way into my belly and much more deeply into my chest. Everett does great work. The whole ten sessions felt like an adventure to me, as I experienced greater openness in my body and the opportunity to let go of some painful feelings from the past, that I was now able to release through this work. Last night I had a session with a cranial-sacral therapist who has treated me for years. At the end of our session she remarked, “That Everett did some great work on you. Your fascia are much more supple than before.” I was glad to hear her confirmation, but I already knew this. I feel greater freedom of movement and much more room to breathe. I can go for a long walk without pain. I am enjoying a new sense of possibility in my life. Not everyone is willing to invest the time and dollars to go through the 10-session sequence, but for those who are, it truly can be transformative. Your body is your most important home.   JT, 59-year-old woman

Working with Elizabeth has allowed me to delve into and in many cases release areas of  tightness and trauma that have been in my body for years.  The Integral Bodywork® technique invited me to be a participant in my own healing rather than a passive recipient.  For this reason, I not only benefited from the sessions along the way but learned a great deal about how to approach body, mind and energy that can be applied broadly in my life going forward.   Darin Harris, Madison, WI

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Receiving the ten sessions of bodywork from Alex has fundamentally changed my body.  I generally carry a lot of tension in my body due to my physical disability, cerebral palsy, but Alex facilitated the release of this tension.  After I received the ten sessions, many people told me that my gait looked more natural and that my body looked straighter.  My body feels more relaxed in general, and I now feel that yoga and further bodywork affect me more positively than before.  The ten sessions have enhanced my body’s ability to release tension in response to bodywork and yoga.

Much of the massage work during the ten sessions was painful, but Alex always asked me to tell him exactly what I was feeling.  He emphasized that he was only willing to work at a level of pain I was comfortable with, and he adjusted his work in response to what I told him.  On several occasions, he asked if he could work a particular area really deeply for a few seconds, and I always agreed to this.  Alex knew exactly when to push me, and I always benefited from the times he did so.  Over the course of the ten sessions, I felt that he developed a keen understanding of my body and that he knew exactly how to address specific issues with my body.  I have absolute confidence that Alex can make a significant difference for anybody who wants to receive bodywork because of how he adapted his techniques to benefit me.

The release I felt after each of the ten sessions was incredible.  I often felt really happy, and my body felt a lot lighter.  Moving was easier for me, and my senses changed in a way that made anything I perceived more vivid and more enjoyable.

I received a boost session from Alex several months after I completed the ten sessions and noticed a big difference particularly in how my body responded to bodywork.  Previously, I felt pain while Alex was working me during the session and then release at the end of the session.  During the boost session, I felt release in an area immediately after or even while Alex was working that area.  Receiving bodywork felt really good during the session in a way it hadn’t before.  I think this is a testament to the potential for bodywork to change how my body responds to future bodywork.  For me, it feels like bodywork accelerated the process of release in my body.  I look forward to experiencing release even faster in future bodywork sessions.

Sam Greene, Spring Green, WI