by Nicky Lucka
When Eugenie asked me to write an article for the newsletter about my TTouch experience, I thought to myself that this was such a wonderful opportunity to write about the work that I have so much passion for. Sitting down, putting pen to paper, I realized that this was not an easy task as there is just so much to write about, and what experience takes precedence over the rest?
In September of this year, I qualified as a TTouch Practitioner, a journey of 3 years which has taught me many things, not just about TTouch, but about myself and the animals with which we share our lives. I have been honoured to have met wonderful people who have contributed to this fantastic experience and I am glad to count every one of them as a friend. I am however, especially grateful to Kalyn, my 3½ year old German Shepherd who started the training with me as a 6 month old puppy. Kalyn has been one of my greatest teachers, I have learnt so much from her, and she has infinite patience, accepting all that was done to her during the 6 trainings, from being led around the confidence course, to being wrapped in a body wrap and being worked on by other people. She took all this in her stride, and never once complained or refused to go with me to the next day.
In September, our group welcomed Linda Tellington Jones, who came to do the Session 6 training. During this week, I asked her to work with Kalyn, who up until a few months ago would not allow her tail to be touched or brushed. She has also never wagged her tail. The Vet cannot explain what is wrong with the tail, and all x-rays have come up normal. It seems that it was injured when she was a puppy and has never used it since. Her tail also has a very obvious kink near the tip, which supports the theory that it was injured. Linda worked with Kalyn through the session, and I have carried on since. I am overjoyed to report that for the first time in her life, Kalyn is wagging her tail. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but I can already see the changes in her posture and personality. Many of us have similar stories to share, and this is the miracle of TTouch, a gift that we can share not only with our animal friends but with humans as well.
My 3 year training was full of laughter and tears, difficulties to overcome and fears to conquer. For a few of the students including me, working at the SPCA was very difficult – many tears were shed in the parking lot of Sandton SPCA, but with the support of our group we managed to work through this difficult time and make a difference in the animal’s life that we were working on. To our clients, both the ones that graciously gave up their time to join us on our client days and the ones that welcomed us into their homes, and allowed case studies to be done on their animals, a heartfelt thank you, because without you, our training would have been that much more difficult.
Although I am sad to have finished my training, I am excited that I will be able to go out and spread the TTouch work, helping both the animals and their humans wherever I can. One thing that Linda has said that will remain with me for as long as I have the honour of doing this work – EVERY BEING IS PERFECT – REMEMBER THEIR PERFECTION. I know that I will not be able to change many things, but I will do my outmost to change the world one TTouch at a time.
Nicky Lucka – Certified TTouch Practitioner Level 1