From Restriction to Liberation: A Transformational Path to Wellness

Healing Stories

I first was introduced to Melissa and the Indy Healing Center by way of wanting acupuncture for stress and anxiety. Over the last few years, Melissa and the physical walls of the healing space have been so much more than just acupuncture. I have been moved and pushed to see myself and the world around me in such a different light than I ever had before. In a nutshell, it is about energy and connection. I now I understand every little thing is energy and that it can either stay stuck or it can move. I also see my connection to myself and my spirit and my connection to others is a huge part of my overall health. 

I particularly came in really wanting to "clear up" issues I thought were wrong with me. These issues being mental health, digestion and diet. I really had come to believe that I needed to restrict my diet to be my best which in turn resulted in me restricting most things in life, like joy, creativity and true connection. 

My first Dragons Way I really, by habit, focused on the food and diet and somewhat ignored and downplayed the other information like moving out energy and opening up to releasing emotions and connecting to my true self. I think my 2nd or 3rd Dragons Way or maybe during Digesting the Universe, I realized, WOW! My beliefs matter. My thought patterns matter. My liver can really be screwed up if I'm not dancing, singing or creating! All this restriction, all these rules and all this being serious about being healthy, this is why I feel half alive! 

Being alive is about being alive now, not in the future "once all your problems are solved." 

So many sessions I have sat with Melissa while I come up with my "physical symptom of the month" and she gently listens and lets me give myself my own answer, that I have all the answers. My body is full of wisdom and my biggest enemy isn't the wrong food or the anxiety I have labeled for myself or the physical symptom floating to the top, its not trusting myself. She has taught me time and time again, to notice and not judge. To be curious and playful, not harsh and so rigid. 

The biggest shift of knowledge I have gained since being a patient at Indy Healing Center is knowing that we all have an inner wisdom of knowing what we need. I believe and understand that even a tiny cold is our way of processing exactly what we need at the time and that if we listen to ourselves and our bodies, it always has a message. 

For me, the message is ongoing and is always inviting me to keep going to get closer to a joyous, creative and healthy being. Melissa has helped me see that the food restriction and anxiety is really just from being too rigid, not something that needs more restriction and rules. I thought after 4 kids and all this stress life had to be hard, but turns out - I am deep down wild and free, so all the stress is really coming from not being my true self. 

There is an Indigo Girls song that says "the hardest to learn was the least complicated." This explains so well what I have learned from my time at Indy Healing Center, that we have the simple answers inside of us, guiding us and leading us to strive. The rules and beliefs we create over time are so complicated. The first appointment I had with Melissa she instructed me to "go play in the park, put flowers in my hair and eat a cupcake." I still consider this the best medicine I could find for my soul when my brain and head take over. Maybe only second to a hot bath and piano music, all things that make my body and heart feel alive and connected. 

I am so grateful for the shifts, tears and laughs I have had with Melissa and others within the sacred space at Indy Healing Center.

Kristin Hackman