Amber Korobkina (02:35):
And so how long ago was that? I don’t remember 20 years ago now. I can’t believe it’s been that long. So yeah, 20 years ago since I had my injury and probably 19 years since I recovered. because it did take me a little while before I found out about Bowen.
Amber Korobkina (03:00):
Do you want me to talk about the injury and how it happened? Okay. So I was at work and I actually had an office job during the day, but I worked part time in a restaurant and someone needed help lifting a really heavy keg of beer and we had to lift it up and put it on a shelf. So we lifted and then we twisted and I’m sure you’ve heard that from your clients a whole bunch like lifting can be hard on you. Twisting can be hard on you, but if you do both, it’s probably not going to end well. So I felt something go in my back and I decided to sit down and I expected it to get better. And the pain was just debilitating. It did not get better. I tried a whole bunch of other techniques to try to deal with the pain.
Amber Korobkina (03:51):
None of which even relieved it partially other than like massive amounts of alcohol and Advil, which, you know, I’ve learned a lot since then. But at that point it was my only option. I had a couple of little kids at home that I needed to look after and I had to make it through the day, right. So probably about 10 cups of coffee and then when I found out about Bowen, I could barely even drive to the office. The office was about half an hour away and it took me about an hour to get there. because I just couldn’t sit for that long. Like my legs were going numb and I wasn’t really able, I shouldn’t have been driving probably got into the treatment room and I was so exhausted from having pain taking too much advil not sleeping properly.
Amber Korobkina (04:41):
And I swear when I was on the table, I passed out immediately because as soon as he did the first couple of Bowen moves, I just kinda like, I just lost it. It was absolutely phenomenal. And and I felt about 70 to 80% better after that one treatment. So, I didn’t follow the rules and I got worse before I got better again, but after about five treatments, that was it. Like I was completely recovered. My doctor insisted on seeing me because he had seen my MRI and he didn’t think that it was even possible that I could recover from the type of injury that I had. And we canceled the surgery and I’ve had two kids since then without any issues. It’s, you know, so when you get your health back like that, and like I said, it wasn’t just my physical health. It was mentally, I was just a mess. I got my life back. So knowing that my body did all of that, my body healed on its own. Just it made me really have a strong appreciation for my body. And I treat my body a lot nicer now than did when I was taking Advil and overdoing the coffee and the beer. But it was that time when I actually made an appointment so that I could go and see Derek in his office and I didn’t need a treatment. I just wanted to go and look him in the eye and thank him for helping me get better. And I needed to know how I can learn this technique so that I can help other people feel better. And that was 19 years ago and I started saving my pennies then. And I’ve been doing Bowen for about 15 years now.
Dr Manon (06:32):
it’s an amazing story. One of course, because of the recovery being so fast, but also, I think it is in so many of us that we want to help, in all kinds of ways, and if you can really help people with their health and even give them the options that there is another way, and that you can avoid a surgery. Like looking at these MRIs, I don’t know how many patients have come in saying, well, my MRI says………that’s what an MRI says. It’s not what your body is…..your, body’s not limited by the MRI. You know, research has actually shown that. That’s true.
Dr Manon (07:30):
So how did you get started? Basically because it changed your life and you wanted to do help other people with that. What were the things you had to overcome to become as successful as you currently are?
Amber Korobkina (07:57):
That’s a good question. I don’t recall. I’m kind of a go getter. So I overcome things for breakfast. Like if there’s a problem, I solve it and I move on, one of the issues that I had actually was, I mean, Bowen was so unknown at the time. So I think the biggest hurdle that I had was getting insurance for my business. because they didn’t know which category to put me into. Anyone else that was practicing Bowen was probably a naturopath or a massage therapist They already had some sort of governing body. And I was just Amber, the girl that used to work in an office and now she’s doing 50 Bowen treatments a week that was, quite a challenge. And then of course I think my other challenge was I wanted to help everyone because Bowen can help with migraines and allergies And breathing difficulties and digestion and back pain, like everything, right. The list is longer than my arm. So I sort of wanted to put that information out there and I expected like, wow, when people learn this, they’re going to be lined up. Right. But no, it was like too much information. They’ve already been sold so much snake oil in the past from people that claim they can help. And it, you know, it’s really done nothing but costs them time and money. So I learned pretty quickly that I can’t really go out there telling people I just needed to keep on helping people. And then they would tell their friends or maybe their neighbou would notice like, Hey, where’s your cane. You haven’t been walking with your cane and look, you’re upright now you’re not hunched. So I think maybe that was a hurdle just knowing that I couldn’t make it happen. I just had to let it happen. And that’s the name of my company let it heal , let it happen and let the Bowen do its work.
Dr Manon (10:00):
I was going to ask you about the name because it is very much very clear to the therapy that you let the body do, its work, you know, and, and you have to come to it with a certain amount of trust.
Amber Korobkina (10:23):
And I think that’s hard for clients, right? because they come in there and they’ve probably been through you chiropractic, active release, massage, all of these really touchy, feely therapies. And, and then they lay on the table and from their perspective, we come in, we poke them a couple times and then we leave the room and now we tell them that they have to trust in the therapy and you know, don’t do this, don’t do that. Make sure you drink lots of water. And I seen that look on people’s faces where they’re like, you’re going to charge me for that. And then they feel better. And, they realize that sometimes the most powerful things are the things we can’t touch or see.
Dr Manon (11:16):
Absolutely. And I think for the practitioner when you’re first starting, because obviously I train practitioners and I think it’s like, I’m going to be doing this. What will people think and I think it’s really….. You have to somehow believe, I’m not saying believe without witnessing. But you must experience it on some level that the body can heal. It has to be part of what you’re willing to see, because really we’re not educated this way that the body can heal. Now it’s starting a little bit more, but it’s always that we need an external force. We need something to fix us completely from the outside. Not just trigger our own innate ability to heal.
Amber Korobkina (12:19):
We’ve always been, you know, we go to the doctor for that magic pill or even when we’re little……….Like mommy kisses it better. And we’re not really, I guess we need to educate our kids better……Like that’s okay. Your body can do it. you just need to give it the right tools. You need to give it some rest, whatever
Dr Manon (12:42):
Though. It’s interesting. because I do think there’s a fine line between being a victim in the sense of waiting for the outside to fix and nudging the body to do things, you know? So it’s like I see Bowen more like a mother touching the baby or the child sort of saying, you know, it’s okay. Because what we witnessed with that is that love and that holding the space does allow things to happen. Now, if somebody just held the space for you, Amber, at the time when you were pre-surgery or the mother’s kiss may not have done the trick, I’m not saying….. sometimes we need more
Dr Manon (13:36):
Because we need more, but it’s a triggering of what already is. It’s like a language to the body. That’s how, I try and explain it to people, it’s not just let nature do its self. We sometimes need to intervene and guide, But the fundamental belief is that the body has the answers within, you know, the best pharmacy is within not outside. So that’s what I wanted to……can you comment a little bit on what you’ve seen are obstacles to patients, what makes them have a difficult time sometimes coming in?
Amber Korobkina (14:22):
Well, I think sometimes the rules are a little bit overwhelming for them.So they go to the doctor when they first get injured and then they’re told to put ice on it or put heat on it. And it helps, right? Like in that inflamed stage the ice is going to make it feel better temporarily and hopefully give it the space that it needs to heal. But then if it doesn’t heal and they end up coming in for some Bowen treatments, we’re telling them completely the opposite. I think about the fertility protocol that we do with Bowen, right? These people have been told like a strict set of rules by their fertility specialist that didn’t work. So then they come to see us, like we try not to get into their lives too much, but there are certain rules that are fairly important that they follow in order for the technique to succeed. And it’s completely contradicting what they’ve been told by other medical professionals, but you just need to remind them if, if those things had worked, you wouldn’t be here. So let’s reset. Let’s start.
Dr Manon (16:10):
So in these “unique” times how is that affecting your business?
Amber Korobkina (16:18):
I’ve been quite frustrated by it because like some of our clients, when they came to us they were dreadfully addicted to painkillers that they knew weren’t good for them, after a few Bowen treatments, we get them off the painkillers. They’re doing great. And in some chronic situations, maybe they just need to come and see us once every month, once every three months, something like that. And those people are suffering right now. They’re not allowed to come in and see us. So I was on a phone call with some of the governing bodies earlier this week actually. And I’m verified. I basically said you know, I was in my clinic last week and I did a treatment on a friend for free, would I get in trouble? Like what would I get fined as a big business?
Amber Korobkina (17:09):
And he said, no not if it was a friend. So I went, Oh, okay. So if I had clients, dear clients that I’ve known for years and years, if I wanted to give them a free treatment, would I be allowed? And he kind of said, well, yeah, I guess you would. So for those people that are suffering right now that we’re not supposed to be seeing they are my friends. Like I can’t let people suffer like that. So we’ve recorded some videos of things that people can do on their own or with their partner that may ease their pain. But there are certain people that that we consider friends that we’ve been able to help out a little bit and you know, like we’re not breathing in each other’s faces.
Amber Korobkina (17:57):
And hopefully the door will open so that we can accept all clients again soon. But right now it’s just a matter of following the rules and you doing what we’re told to do. So we do have a chiropractor physiotherapist and RMTs in our building. So they’re all open for business. They’ve got all of their rules, they need to do prescreening. They need to, I can’t imagine wearing a mask while getting a massage, That’s one of the rules. So I’ve sort of got an inquiry out there saying like, Hey as we’re following all those rules. Do you think it would be okay for us to see clients too? So we’ll see, we’ll see what they come back with, I think that there’s just so much information out there right now that needs to be passed on. Like, that’s why they’re only allowing the regulated practitioners back at it because they’ve got a governing body that can pass that information on. Right. So it would be nice if they were to go to Bowen college and say like, Oh, you’re the governing body for Bowen practitioners. Can you please share these guidelines with all of your practitioners and make sure that they’re following all the rules and let’s let them get back into healing, but no such thing.
Dr Manon (19:17):
We’ve definitely had different practitioners ask where do we, fall in… In which category. exactly, and the thing is it changes the information is so unclear, right? It’s very hard to know, and it changes province to province, so it is complicated to do that, but I definitely agree that if a person is in pain and back on, you know, horrendous pain meds, I’m not sure that we’re doing them a service, not to do a treatment, from from that perspective, and if you look at thee anxiety rates and the ripple effect that has on your relationships, like these people are squished into a house together all the time and they’re suffering from pain or anxiety or depression or whatever there are relationships that are really suffering because of this.
Dr Manon (20:33):
I have a home study program, which I’ve really tried to launch and get out during this time so that people can learn to do very basic life-changing things in their family to have fun together because you’re going to be stuck together. You may as well learn something that can be helpful. And, my patients originally asked me to create something when I left the province way back when I was working in Nova Scotia. And so I think I can see that the time is right where people are willing to take charge more on their health. And that certainly helps the practitioner as well, because for me, my role as a practitioner is really to empower patients. I want them to get better and I want them to stay better.
Dr Manon (21:32):
And I want them to have a really beautiful, wonderful experience and relationship to their own body. Right. So that’s kind of, I feel like if we start that movement of letting people take charge, it, it helps every practitioner out there that people understand that you go to an expert or to somebody who’s studied it much longer, or who has much more experience. Of course, that’s the first thing I would do. I wouldn’t go to my husband and say, do this, but in a pickle, which I’ve been, and, you know, even my own daughter, I dislocated my shoulder and it was not fully dislocated, I had fully dislocated it before, she says to me, mom, you created these home study programs, of course she had received Bowen, so it’s not completely new to her, but she just followed the video and did it. And and then yay, I got off the table and I went, wow, this is so great, it just, it makes me so happy, to educate people that they can do so much to change their situation in life, even if they’re stuck at home, I think people are starting to sort of get dialed in to the fact that when it comes down to it, our only line of defense against a virus is our immune system. Like, that’s, let’s be good to our bodies and, and empower them. Right. And learn a little bit more about them too, because knowledge is power.
Dr Manon (23:30):
which is interesting, let’s put it this way. I completely agree with you though. Interestingly we can’t really talk like that when you’re a licensed proffesional and it’s been very interesting because I’ve been forwarding other medical doctors ,naturopathic doctors, from the States who aren’t under the same rulings and just sharing about in the end it’s our own bodies that are gonna make the difference, right? So you can play around with a million, either drugs or vaccines or whatever it is from the outside. But we have already seen that it affects certain people. And it’s usually those who are most immune compromised or have comorbidities, or are at a certain age where certain people do go downhill at one point.
Amber Korobkina (24:34):
So something’s going to get us all at one point, right.
Dr Manon (24:37):
So that’s the other thing too, so well-proven in science. So for me, it seems like why can’t we use the body of knowledge that we’ve had for years and realize the actual impact we have by looking after our own bodies, you know, by nurturing our bodies, nourishing our bodies and all that. It’s so essential. Right. So anyhow,I guess I’m just talking to the converted.
Amber Korobkina (25:12):
You are. I love this topic though. I do. It’s I love it because I’m getting excited that more, it seems like more people in the general public, even before this latest pandemic I feel like people are actually starting to appreciate their bodies a little bit more. Sometimes it’s because of weight loss. Sometimes people get into healthy eating because of weight loss, in fact, probably most times.
Amber Korobkina (25:40):
But in doing so, they still do learn a whole bunch of important information about what they can be doing for themselves and for their children. And you know, whether it’s for your immune system or speeding up your metabolism or improving your memory, people are starting to learn that there are certain lifestyle factors and foods and nutritional supplements that are going to make a much bigger difference than taking a drug every day. Right. So it’s good. And now I think that, because the, all of the buzz is about health right now. That’s what I’m taking away. I know that there are going to be some people that are gonna be lining up to get the vaccine. And I just can’t wait to get someone else to fix their problems for them. And then I think there are others that are just going to say, well, you know, when it comes down to it, I better make sure my body’s healthy. even if they are going for the vaccine, the way that you receive a vaccine, the way that your body reacts to it is also going to be contingent on what sort of immune system you have .
Dr Manon (26:45):
So one of the questions I have is……. You’ve been practicing Bowen therapy now for so long, what types of conditions, cases have you been able to help that people have, and also one that really struck a chord with you, something….you especially didn’t think you could, you know ,because when I learned it and I think it’s the same when you learned it, it was very much a……? Kind of thing.it was that type of therapy and it does all kinds of things like sciatica, Lasha, frozen shoulder, all of those things that we could, we would expect we would expect to have results in, but I have been amazed by always asking the question, I wonder whether it would help other things. So what’s your experience on that level?
Amber Korobkina (27:47):
It’s funny you would ask? because I was just talking to my step son about this today, about how I mean obviously yes, the sciatica, it’s amazing to see how frozen shoulder, all of a sudden, when someone can lift their arm that was locked before all of those physical things are really, really cool. But I was talking today about mind, body Bowen and how doing a certain series of moves on the body can actually bring some crazy memories to surface things that people have solved in their brain because they been to therapy. But somehow that trauma is still locked in their body on a physical level somewhere else. And I mean, just the fact that even just giving their body that acknowledgement like, Oh yes, I do remember when I fell off the swing when I was six and my mum called me a cry baby, or, you know, sometimes there’s an emotional thing attached with it.
Amber Korobkina (28:50):
And that same hip that they fell on has always been their problem. But then when we address the emotional component to it gets better miraculously. Right? So like that really blows me away that we can, we can sort of deal with physical issues by addressing their emotional partners. Some of the other stuff like the hormonal things that we can help with Bowen when young ladies are having inconsistent periods or migraines that go along with their hormonal cycle. The conception piece, I mean, I mentioned before the fertility, it’s like the number of babies that I’ve made, like not the ones in my body, but I mean, I know it wasn’t me. I know it was their bodies, but we always joke because I’ll have a joke with the husband that like, Oh, I got your wife pregnant. But yeah, the, the emotional stuff, the the anxiety Bowen for anxiety is mindblowing.
Amber Korobkina (29:58):
Like it can just one treatment for some people and it returns their body to that peaceful state where they can process things properly insomnia incontinence like, Oh, I could go on. But you also said one of the cases that really stands out for me and I mean, there are quite a few, but the one that really evokes a lot of emotion for me is there’s one of my clients has, I think it was his sister in law and she had been diagnosed with ms. I believe about 10 years previously. And she had been in a wheelchair for seven years and she had a lot of, she had a lot of discomfort and I just said, well, we do free treatments for people in wheelchairs. So why don’t you bring her in? And we can see what we do. And I just remember, I was still a fairly new practitioner too.
Amber Korobkina (31:01):
I’m trying to get to these spots and like, and she was a larger lady. So like lifting her legs up. I was, I was, I worked up a sweat and I just remember thinking, Oh, I wonder, I hope I got the spots properly. Right? Like it was really hard to feel she wasn’t in the same position as I was used to. So, and I didn’t even, I, was just hoping that maybe we can get her sleeping better, maybe improve her mood. because she was pretty down, stuck in a wheelchair all day. Anyway. So after the first treatment she was actually able, we were able to get her out of the wheelchair for the next treatment so that we could do it on a treatment table. And I think I probably did about 10 treatments on her, and she got better each time her legs were, she was getting more sensation in her legs, which was a good thing because they were quite often….. She wasn’t really feeling much anyways.
Amber Korobkina (31:58):
So she called, i We’ll never forget the phone call that I got from her, she called me on my cell phone. She had gotten my cell phone number from the front desk at my clinic and she said, hi, Amber, do you know who this is? And I said, is it Leona? And she….I had called this way. She said, yep. And I was like, is everything okay? And she said, guess where I’m calling you from? I said, Oh no, did we have an appointment? Was I supposed to be at the clinic? because I wasn’t there. She said, no I’m at home. Guess where I’m calling you from? I was like, I don’t know. She said, I’m calling you from the kitchen. I’m standing here at the kitchen counter. And I thought that because this has been like at least 12 years, I wouldn’t cry telling the story, but like she stood and she, she walked she still needed some crutches if she was going to walk freely and then her shoulders got sore. because she started to do more and more walking and she was using her upper body more than usual. But we got her out of the wheelchair and it was like mindblowing.
Dr Manon (33:07):
It’s incredible to hear these stories and, the thing is they’re frequent that’s the thing, you know, people are told there’s nothing to be done or there’s certain things, but you know, this therapy is not as known as it needs to be. incredible.
Amber Korobkina (33:37):
Yeah.it’s pretty neat that someone’s body can do that. So there are tons of stories like that. That was my first big one. So it’s like, it’s, you know, there was another really cool one where one of my clients, her father had fallen. He was in his late seventies and he had fallen and he was in the hospital, which is right down the street from where my clinic is. And she just wondered if I would go and see him.
Amber Korobkina (34:08):
So I went and saw him the first time and he wasn’t really on board. He was like, okay, whatever. Right. And the nurses didn’t like me being there and it was an uncomfortable situation. And the next, the second time that I went I knew that he needed his hamstrings seen to but I was reluctant to do it on the first treatment. So on the second treatment I was able to do his hamstrings and when he sat up and this guy hardly said anything like he was a closed book. Right. So when, when I got him to sit up, I said, I’d like you to sit. I want to make sure you’re not lightheaded. We are going to, I’m going to try to get you walking. because he hadn’t been walking at all. All of a sudden he started talking about how he’d been really sad since his wife had passed away and she’d passed away a couple years before he actually teared up a little bit and he got a little bit embarrassed and I still think there’s a connection. So I stood him up and everything felt great. I got in trouble beccause I walked him up and down the hallway and he couldn’t walk apparently. So the nurses were freaked out. He can’t walk. I was like, what’s he doing right now? Then? And fortunately he got out of the hospital not to like, this is one of those situations where if he had gotten up, you know, sometimes when elderly people fall down, not that he was elderly, he was in his seventies.
Amber Korobkina (35:38):
But sometimes that one fall is the thing that that’s when they start going downhill. Right. And just seeing this guy, I never got him talking about his late wife again, which is kind of sad. because I think that, I think that he needed to, and I do think that there was a connection there too, but that was really cool. Like just walking past all the nurses and like sort of doing a little bit of that. Some of them were really supportive and really happy that just, you know, they have to be careful,
Dr Manon (36:09):
but I think you raise a point, which I think is, is really important is that yes. If he could have further spoken, it might’ve been a relief to him about his late wife. But the magic is that the body knows what it needs to release. And it does that naturally.
Dr Manon (36:31):
and that’s the thing is that if we educate people to understand, to listen to the body, then we can go, okay, well, you know, that came out of this treatment and now give yourself a moment to honour your feeling and what happened and that’s it. You don’t have to go into it. We don’t have to create new neuro pathways of, Oh my God, this is terrible, et cetera. it’s a release basically. And that’s the piece I’m really excited about with Bowen therapy is giving people an option of a way into the body.
Speaker 4 (37:18):
That is through the body And when I had my practice, I noticed that about 60% of my clients were men. And this is definitely one of those generalizations, so I’ll go for it, but they’re not always the most wanting to talk, it’s like, just fix me. I’m here. My wife or my friend or whoever somebody sent me get the work done. And it’s like, they come because it’s, you know, you can help them in three to five visits most of the time. And, what’s amazing is that when they release things it goes much faster than so many therapies that really use the mind. And you go, you analyze and you you know, you change behaviour, you do all these things. They’re kind of in a way, they can be adjunctive and sometimes they’re not necessary. Sometimes you just go through the body, let the body do its thing and off you go. And I think that’s something I would love to get more known about this therapy and I can see that you’ve had the same experience clearly.
New Speaker (38:34):
Totally.
Amber Korobkina (38:36):
And it’s just so cool. How it’s different for everyone. You know, like if I had two clients sitting together in the waiting room that I might’ve done exactly the same protocol on them and they would have experienced two completely different results and you know, like, Oh, well don’t you love it when it tingles. And then the other person would be like, I don’t tingle. I just pass out or I pass gas or I burp but you know, all these different reactions to it ,your body does what it knows it needs to do. Then you just have faith.
Dr Manon (39:15):
Yeah. Well, anyway Amber, we’re going to wrap it up. It’s been really great to have you on the show. And is there anything, any last Pearl of wisdom that you want to share?
Amber Korobkina (39:31):
Well, I just, I would like to encourage anyone, you know, if you’ve got an ailment of any type or even if you don’t, you’ve got to try Bowen it’s more impressive if you do have an ailment, because you will feel that the recovery. if you’re looking for some sort of a technique to even just to help your family members, you don’t have to go into business doing this. But anyone with aging parents or little kids that get bumps and scrapes, or, you know, it’s so nice to have a tool you’ve always got your hands with you and that’s really all you need to start the ball rolling on, on the healing. So do it.
Dr Manon (40:13):
And do you still do you still take new patients or your team still see new people?
Amber Korobkina (40:20):
My team does. I’m limited to the amount of patients i can see I’ve got my people and I’ve got, I’ve got room for them. And then Tiffany, my sister, who’s been doing it almost as long as I have. She is in five days a week and she accepts new patients.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
So we’ll put that link as well at the bottom of of our show so that people who happen to be in Ontario can get a hold of you. And otherwise obviously you can get a hold of Bowencollege.com. We’re going to have a registry soon with everybody and that we can so we can guide people to to Bowen therapists everywhere. All right. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (41:07):
Thank you. It was nice to see you.
Thank you for joining us. For more information, go to DrManonBolliger.com.
