For many years I was Theresa Nesbitt, MD. I delivered babies, performed surgeries, counseled patients, and cured diseases. I was a caring and compassionate medical doctor for any patients who crossed my path. Unfortunately, I couldn't see the person most in need of fixing -- myself. When I learned to recognize and activate my own self-healing mechanism, I began my transformation from a medical doctor to the movement doctor. There are no doctors in our DNA -- we are all endowed with our own personal self-healing mechanism, a powerful force just waiting to be activated.
I was always a great athlete ... in my imagination. I won many trophies and awards for the dubious honors of super spaz, king klutz, and motor moron. My parents and all my siblings were graceful and coordinated; even my grandmother played a mean game of baseball and won dance contests. God knows, I wanted to participate. I tried many sports, including swimming, tennis, soccer, softball, and field hockey. I was terrible. I couldn't run or jump (not even a foot), or throw, catch, or kick a ball. I was a straight-A student, but I routinely came in last place on physical fitness evaluations despite the fact I spent more time practicing motor skills than homework and academic skills. I tripped and fell often, constantly spraining and fracturing ankles, wrists, fingers, and toes.
After a while, I became overwhelmed and burned out with feelings of frustration and failure. I decided to stick to what I did well. I had excelled in academics and graduated at the top my college and medical school classes. I won awards and recognition for teaching and research. I should have felt like a winner, but there was always something missing. Although I maintained a healthy lifestyle and stayed active with regular exercise, I never really enjoyed it. I still was horrible at sports and continued to envy the seemingly effortless athletic abilities of others.
When I decided to take a leave of absence from medicine for a variety of personal reasons, I quickly grew bored and looked for activities to stimulate and interest me. I started ballroom and Latin dancing, and to my amazement I found that with a good partner, I quickly progressed and started winning dance competitions. I knew that my earlier athletic difficulty had something to do with my lack of body awareness, but I couldn't figure it out. I also started to attend law school with the long-term goal of working on health care and public policy. For the first time in my life, however, I began to struggle with academics. I had difficulty with reading and retention. I began experiencing double vision, at first only with prolonged reading, but soon with many other activities. I had multiple medical evaluations because I was worried that I might have a serious neurological disease. I felt trapped in my body, and I couldn't imagine a life without books or computers. Finally, I was evaluated by a behavioral optometrist -- a vision therapist who specializes in helping the eyes function more skillfully with the use of corrective exercises and drills. My visual problems cleared up within a matter of weeks, and I noticed a big change in how I felt. Soon after I started an exercise program with Russian Kettlebells, I went on to become certified -- a movement milestone for me. But there were still big things to come.
At my kettlebell certification, some people mentioned a form of movement drills called Z-Health. Z-Health uses small, precise joint movements, often combined with eye positions, as a means of neuromuscular retraining. It usually produces dramatic and instantaneous improvement in mobility, athletic performance, and pain relief. After just one session, I was able to walk with my eyes looking at the world around me instead of at the ground in front of me. As a physician, I was always looking for faster and better solutions. Surgery works fast and often very well, but neuromuscular retraining works even faster and with virtually no risk!
From that moment on, I have become completely enthralled with the human nervous system. Most learning is done within the context of movement, especially quality movement. Now I can do things effortlessly that I would never have dreamed possible. Now I can play all kinds of sports very well. I coach professional-level athletes as well as weekend warriors and couch potatoes. All my life I confused movement with exercise, but now that I understand how simple and gratifying healthy movement is, I want other people to experience this health and happiness for themselves.