As some of you know, my household was affected by one of the many viruses doing the rounds a few weeks ago, unfortunately just before my work trip away, which resulted in a few weeks’ gap in the blog. Luckily, I managed to recover before the trip, and had a very productive time traveling to the United States and meeting lots of wonderful and like-minded people.

My trip began in San Francisco, after an eleven-hour flight from Dublin which gave me a good opportunity to catch up on my research! I stayed with a friend, who picked me up from the airport. It was wonderful to receive such a welcome in an unfamiliar environment, and reminded me how precious it is to nurture friendships, even when you don’t get to see each other regularly.

The Transformations and Transitions Retreat with Lissa Rankin MD began the following afternoon. There were seven Whole Health Medicine graduates including myself, and 20 healthcare professionals. Lissa is intuitive at creating an intimate group where everyone has the chance to make real individual progress.

The next morning, I taught the first session at 8.30am (not quite completely recovered from jet lag!). Lissa had asked if I could teach a movement session that related to Resolving Chronic Pain - most of the healthcare professionals attending were eager for new experiences to help them navigate a change to their previous career trajectory. Lissa includes three pathways in her 'Whole Health Medicine' (WHMI) graduate programme. My teaching session related to the first, called ‘Heal the Healer’, directly addressing the healthcare professionals' relationship with their own body and range of movement.

I’ll write more about that first session in detail in the next blog, as well as further updates from the trip. I’ll try to include an extra blog to catch up on those missed, as there is a lot to tell!