Exotic TTouch

Last week I have the chance to assist for Sarah Fisher at a Tellington TTouch training in England.  The trainings there always include one day working with exotic animals.  In the photos you will see Mary, a young python, and George, an even younger Golden python. See how many people it takes to give them a TTouch session!

Gorgeous George on the left and Mary on the right.

Indy, a very discerning macaw.

NIgel, the cockatoo, is 38 years old and he certainly made his presence felt - or rather heard!

Tellington TTouch in Madrid

The techniques of Tellington TTouch followed on from the previous day's zoopharmacognosy and, as is usually the case, both techniques are mutually enhancing, setting up a positive feedback loop which allows animals to find their own calm space.  Once they know that it exists, it is always easier to find it again and take refuge there under stressful situations.

http://www.cursoclicker.es/index.php/galeria-de-fotos/category/85-ttouch-mary-rodriguez

Tellington TTouch in Madrid

Here is a link with all the information for the next Tellington TTouch workshop in Madrid. We look forward to seeing you there!

http://www.cursoclicker.es/index.php/mary-ttouch/188-mary-rodriguez-ttouch-y-zoofarmacognosis-en-madrid

TTouch & Parkinson's Disease

This is a case study by a TTouch student which may be of interest to some people.


TTouch for Parkinson's Case Study
Dear Linda,
You may use my case study with our blessing. I hope that our experiences with TTouch for Parkinson's can make a difference in someone else's life as well. Below are some detailed notes on what we tried, what worked and what didn't.
D's symptoms include involuntary movement of the head and upper body / shoulders. These attacks last about 30 minutes and come on approximately an hour after he takes dopamine. In consciously trying to control these exaggerated movements, the neck muscles are strained and this in turn causes terribly painful spasms in the neck and shoulders. He regularly had to go for physio treatments.
Initially I tried the TTouch "sensei" body wrap for a few days for about 20 minutes every morning when the jerking movements were really bad. I decided to use this wrap because his posture is very "head forward". However, I could not see any reduction in the movements, and he also did not report any significant improvement.
We then tried a 2" turtleneck wrap simultaneously with 3" shrug wrap. The movements stopped virtually immediately and we kept the wraps on for about 30 minutes. D said that there was a warm, glowing feeling in the neck where the spasms usually are and an incredible lightness in his shoulders. So this is now the regular treatment, the jerking still stops as soon as I put the wraps on, and he hasn't needed to see a physio for neck spasms since.
We went to Norway for three weeks in November and forgot to take the wraps along. The muscle spasms started up on the second day without wraps. I tried several pharmacies, but none had suitable bandages. I did TTouches on the neck and shoulders, about 3 pressure and with various positions with the back of my hands. It helped sufficiently that D could live without pain medication for most of the trip, but not as spectacularly as the wraps.
D also has sciatica due to his irregular gait (almost stumbling movements). I tried the wrap described on page 29 of "All Wrapped Up for You" and it brought IMMEDIATE and TOTAL relief. It was the most amazing thing!! I also tried the sumo wrap and the diagonal wrap, but they did not work as well as the page 29 wrap. This wrap brought relief as long as it was on, but the pain returned soon after and he is now receiving physio treatment for his hips. As soon as the current inflammation has cleared, we will use the page 29 wrap regularly to improve balance and gait and hopefully prevent this from happening again.
And then, the absolutely astounding results on the swollen legs and feet! The blood pressure medication caused his feet to swell to such an extent that he could not get his shoes on. The diuretics the doctor prescribed interacted negatively with the Parkinson's medication, so he had to stop taking it. Well, I don't really know what I'm doing or why I'm doing it, so I just tried various things and got feedback from D. I was also quite intrigued by the idea of just treating one side of the body and the other side will be affected as well (something Robyn mentioned in the course). So I only worked on his right leg as an experiment. The program we settled on was Noah's March, Raccoon TTouches on the lower leg and foot, a few Abalones, then some Python lifts, Coiled Pythons, Octopus and Noah's March again.
I then put a simple criss-cross wrap on his lower leg – starting at the back of the knee, cross front, cross back, cross front on the ankle, under the foot and back - and left it on for about 20 minutes. D said that this caused a intense "buzzing" feeling in his leg, the leg felt a lot lighter than the other one and when he got up and walked, he actually walked a lot better – not shuffling anymore.
After a week of this treatment once a day in the evenings, I could see the difference – the swelling in both legs were down significantly, even though I only worked on the one leg. We kept this up for three weeks until his legs and feet looked normal again. His legs have not swollen again. (It is now four months later.)
I have to admit that I am very left-brained, logical, analytical and scientific and it is very strange for me to get such spectacular results with something I neither understand nor know enough about it to really know what I'm doing. But I work mindfully and with a positive attitude, I visually good outcomes, and it seems to work.
Thank you for making your experiences, insights and research available to us. On a personal level, it has already made a huge difference in our lives, the lives of my beloved rescue doggies and the shelter animals I work with. I really want to learn more!
Best regards,
Erica

Uruguay Joins the Tellington TTouch Trail

The first ever Tellington TTouch workshop in Uruguay was a great success. Fifty-one participants and twelve dogs attended and, as always, the dogs provided the chance to explore and learn.  The Military Riding Centre in Montevideo was a wonderful venue providing a huge expanse of outdoor space to practise the techniques.

The participants' backgrounds were varied and this always makes for a lively discussion. Another outstanding aspect was the high percentage of male participants.

My thanks to Pia Arhio-Lehto for her invaluable assistance during the workshop, the organisers, Sylvia Corbesola, Cathy López and Marcela Cobalan, and also to the members of the cavalry establishment who made us feel so welcome and did all in their power to make the event a success.  A great thank you also to Aldo Giovinetti and Sylvia for the wonderful photography work.

Montevideo calling!

The first Tellington TTouch seminars to be held in Uruguay are scheduled for next weekend. This promises to be a wonderful experience! 

Take a look at the information pamphlet prepared by the organisers.

http://issuu.com/sylcor/docs/informaci__n-seminario-ttouch_y_zoo/1

Another step along the way in Buenos Aires

Some new people have joined the Buenos Aires TTouch community. The introductory course presented different canine personalities who taught us a great deal about observation and the importance giving options and paying attention to the individual needs of each dog. With the inestimable help of Pia Arhio-Lehto we were able to provide a high level of individualised attention for those who required it.

At the seminar on leading techniques the focus was on the human element - how our balance and focus are crucial to the success of our dogs. Bees, pigeons and butterflies were the order of the day and we had fun learning these new techniques. 

It was beautiful to see how the more timid dogs were able to find their own space and balance!