Wholistic Kinesiology® Center in the News

Duke City has variety of practitioners of holistic health, an open field

Workers: The natural healers

Ailene Torres / Special to The Tribune
Monday, April 30, 2007

Photo by Erin FredrichsTribune

Tribune

Kinesiologist and energy healer Daphne Dobecki Welp places her hand on client Naomi Gilbert's stomach, her trouble area, to focus the energy there. "People are made of energy," Dobecki Welp said. "Energy work is my passion, my fort,."

Photo by Erin FredrichsTribune

Tribune

Kinesiologist and energy healer Daphne Dobecki Welp places her hand on client Naomi Gilbert's head to focus the energy there. "People are made of energy," Dobecki Welp said. "Energy work is my passion, my fort,."

THE INDUSTRY

Size: An online search of holistic health practitioners indicates there are 48 in the Albuquerque area, though it's difficult to gauge accurately, since the work doesn't require a license from the state.

Getting a job: J. Dunn of the Wholistic Kinesiology Center and the Wholistic Kinesiology Institute, says people from all backgrounds can learn the technique. She has taught everyone from medical doctors to people with little to no medical background.

Average income: Local practitioners Daphne Dobecki Welp and Veiga O'Sickey rent their spaces for about $350-$400 a month. They earn $55 and $65 per session, respectively. Dunn said practitioners who work at her center earn between $59-$89 a session. Sessions usually last an hour but are sometimes longer.

Challenges: Welp said the main obstacle is educating the public on what holistic health care practitioners do. Although some of it is intuitive for Welp, her work is rooted in science and clinical kinesiology, which is difficult to convey in an advertisement.

FYI: If interested in studying kinesiology or for more information, contact J. Dunn at the Wholistic Kinesiology Center at www.wholistickinesiology.com.

Daphne Dobecki Welp always knew she had a unique ability.

"I've always had something here," Welp said holding her arms in front of her. "A gift in my hands."

It was her special touch that sent Welp in search of a way to use her talents as part of her daily occupation.

Then in her 20s, Welp decided she would become a natural healer by learning holistic kinesiology - a process which includes monitoring a client's muscles to understand imblances in the body and then stimulate the body's natural healing process.

Although some of what Welp does is intuitive, her work is rooted in this offshoot of applied kinesiology, which was developed to enhance the practice of chiropractics.

Holistic kinesiology practitioners learn how to talk the body's language, said J. Dunn, a chiropractor and director of the Wholistic Kinesiology Center and the Wholistic Kinesiology Institute in Albuquerque.

First, the practitioner conducts a muscle test to determine the body's "yes" and "no" answers.

As a client lies face up, the practitioner raises the client's arm into the air. While the practitioner touches certain points on the body - say, the liver - the client pushes the arm without moving the corresponding shoulder.

If the arm shows resistance to the practitioner's hold, it is considered a healthy response for the liver. An ability to push the arm without resistance is considered an adverse response.

This technique can be used to detect all types of deficiencies or imbalances, Dunn said.

"We can pick up a virus before a person even knows that they have it; before it becomes symptomatic," Dunn said. "Viruses sometimes have a two-week incubation period and then - boom - it hits them. We can pick those up at a very early stage."

Channeling energy

Welp uses kinesiology and Reiki - a process of channeling energy for healing purposes - to enhance her natural ability, she said. She specializes in identifying the root causes behind complicated issues like emotions and spirituality or even recurring rashes, she said.

Although there is no governmental licensure for natural healers in New Mexico, a practitioner can easily set up shop with the proper business license once they learn the craft.

The Wholistic Kinesiology Institute at 9809 Candelaria Blvd. N.E. offers a six-month course, with classes held monthly on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Dunn said.

At completion, the practitioner can get a school-supplied certificate after taking written and practical exams and completing 30, one-hour sessions, she said.

Practitioners at Dunn's center earn about $59-$89 each session, she said. The course costs about $2,800, which includes reading materials and four vitamin supplement kits that are used in detecting nutritional needs.

Getting covered

The curriculum covers everything from how to conduct the neuro-muscular testing to how to run a successful business, Dunn said.

"We teach how to avoid legal issues and practice without hurting anyone," Dunn said. "We encourage everybody to get liability insurance. Nobody that I am aware of has ever had a claim that's been practicing this, but it's good to make sure that you are staying within your legal boundaries - and that you are covered by insurance."

She encourages all holistic practitioners to get a minimum of $50,000 to $100,000 in liability insurance. That's about $150 a year in insurance payments, she said.

Welp must inform her clients she is not a licensed practitioner and, as a result, can't diagnose, treat, prescribe or put anyone on or take anyone off medication, she said.

Instead, Welp can suggest a client take certain nutritional supplements for an ailment, rearrange their energy through Reiki or suggest other forms of spiritual healing.

Welp and other naturalists feel as people learn and understand more about their techniques they will become increasingly integrated with allopathic methods for health care.

Educating the public

Veiga O'Sickey is a color puncturist.

She takes pictures of a client's hands and feet with a special camera that can help identify imbalances in things such as liver function or sugar levels for diabetics.

Based on that, she directs different colored laser lights on the corresponding acupuncture points for the particular organs that need relief.

O'Sickey said, as insurance companies conduct more research, they might realize it's in their best interest to cover methods such as kinesiology, Reiki or color puncture.

"The way things are going, you will have to look at holistic medicine as a way to support the whole system," she said.

Welp believes education will lead the way toward mainstream acceptance for holistic practitioners. But, at the same time, she doesn't like being referred to as an alternative option, she said.

"I have a problem with the word `alternative,' because then people think they have to choose. It's this or it's that," Welp said. "We are all working toward the same thing. The only difference is we see the person's body as having an innate wisdom. It is able to heal itself. When it runs into an issue where there are too many imbalances than it can handle, then emotional and physical things pop up in the body.

"And a holistic practitioner does what they can therapeutically to bring that body back into alignment. If you can get their body some help, so it can kick in and start working for itself, you are going to see a healthier person; not people getting surgery or on pills for every little thing."