November 2006
Latest at the Office

We want to gear this newsletter toward those who experience difficulty with colonics. Maybe you have only come in one time or maybe you have done a series. You get very little out, you feel discouraged or you feel psychologically challenged.

The road to release may be long. Spontaneous, thorough and pleasurable releases are possible. They do happen. You have to hang in, be persistent and go for the gold.

I had a colonic yesterday. I felt nervous, which I usually do. I had intense urgency and had to get up and go to the bathroom. On return, I released tons of gas, mucus and more stool. I see myself as a challenging case, especially the psychological part of being nervous before and sometimes uncomfortable during. And, I've been doing this since 1975! Colon hydrotherapy so accurately reflects our internal states and/or changes them. It's paradoxical.

We want to encourage you to get over the hump. You might feel some discomfort, psychological overwhelm or a sense of 'why bother', since you got nothing out the first time or series. Some people choose not to return after this. However, you are still leaving the original intestinal and related issues unsolved. Remember, the gut is a mystery that needs to be solved! As we get older, health issues only compound. Hard work is worthwhile.

We encourage you to take the time now to dedicate some energy to getting your GI tract moving, energetically, psychologically and emotionally. You could also begin to think about colonics the way you do about dental cleaning. It's maintenance and prevention not emergency.

School News

We just graduated another wonderful student. She is an RN with 10 years experience in nutritional counseling in a medical setting. The medical director is now adding colon hydrotherapy as part of their overall health program!

As I grow in teaching and learning at our Intestinal Health Institute School, I realize more about marketing and how important it is done. I want to devote a few words to it.

Who is your target market? Who are you?

Given that nearly all people could receive colon hydrotherapy except when contraindicated, who is your population that you want to attract and work with?

You are not only working on your target market, you are defining yourself.

Who do you like to talk to, listen to, work with and enjoy? Who do you feel comfortable with?

What are examples of different markets? I list a few markets I've come up with based on my practice: students, the various decades in life such as the 20's to 50's, families, friends, highly motivated to change, the obese, the elderly, children, infants, prenatal, disabled, GI colonoscopy prep, pre and post surgery, eating disordered, fasters, cleansers, mentally ill. One could also look at zip codes near the office and income and education level. We also have regular calls from travelers; actors, athletes and business people.

Additional notes on eating disorders. The main eating disorders I witness are overeating and bingeing.

As for the mentally ill, we see people with depression, anxiety, panic attacks, bipolarity, OCD, schizophrenia and withdrawal.

Do you feel comfortable working with emotional release that some people experience during the colonic session?

Would you feel comfortable working on an AIDS person?

Some of you will work in clinics where you are assigned your appointments daily. You will not be involved in marketing, however you will notice that you gravitate more toward some people than others and vice versa.

Some markets are very small such as children and infants and you might want to combine markets to make a complete practice.

The frequency of who receives colonics follows the classic bell curve. There are fewer infants and children, a few teens, more in the 20's to 50's and then the numbers begin tapering off. Many people think that only the elderly receive colonics when in fact fewer of them do in comparison with the whole age population. It's not that the elderly do not need them. That is where education and marketing come in.

Sometimes when you begin a practice, you will need to take every case you can get to build up. You also get to know what markets you prefer.

You want to harmonize as much as possible with each client for everyone's PEACE and RELAXATION. Release happens through peace and relaxation.

The key is to cultivate and attract who and what you love in a practice. This is best for you and the client.
Sheila's Blog (or Glog - Gut Log)

Another time of Traveling and Pooping concerns. I returned from Santa Fe NM on September 23, late Saturday night. I got a call the next night from my friend, Lynn Gardner, a tour guide for Egypt and Central America. A crisis had occurred with one of the participants on the Egypt trip leaving September 26, Tuesday morning! Could I rally and take her place for the 2-week adventure. I said yes and packed my enema bag!

The trip was sensational and I encourage you to contact her about her upcoming trip November 29 - December 8, 2006 to Guatemala and Belize exploring ancient Mayan life, the Mayan gods, spirits and cosmology. Lynn's focus is on the sacred and personal transformation.

I decided it was wisest to take an enema nightly. I felt better physically and also, psychologically. The bathrooms were spacious, the weather warm and enema taking was comfortable and easy.

On another note, my brother, Michael Shea PhD, is offering a 4-day Abdominal Visceral Manipulation Workshop in Tucson AZ April 12-15 of 2007. I'm putting out advance notice now. All registration is through me. I have the link for you to look at the details. The link is also on the front page of my website. I look forward to a very exciting 4 days with him. The work is so relevant to the intestines and their manipulation.

Julianne's Corner

This past month I experienced a part of myself that I did not want to recognize. Who is/was this person and what is/are her purpose/her needs? Here is the short version. Since I was a teenager, I have been committed to leading a healthy lifestyle. Even when I did not have a quarter of the information I do now, I made my best effort to eat healthy and exercise.

After attending a Kundalini Yoga Retreat, I returned and began to eat things way outside my normal diet such as popcorn, peanut M&M's, pasta, bread, cheese crisps, enchiladas, chips and salsa. It was fun and I didn't care, I just ate what I wanted, when I wanted - regardless of whether I was hungry or not. In addition to this, I didn't exercise at all. This was very unusual for me and after a week, it became somewhat scary to experience this foreign person.

At the time, I didn't know what was happening. Now I know that I had swung on the pendulum from diligence to carelessness in diet and exercise. How did that happen? I think the retreat created a shift in my being. How did I feel with this break in my diligent self-care? I felt frustrated with my lack of control and lack of concern. I felt uncomfortable in my body because I felt sluggish and bloated. When I looked in the mirror, I didn't like what I saw. I looked at myself and said, "Who are you? What the heck are you doing?"

How did I find my way back to center? During this two-week stint, I didn't have control over myself or me - that's a scary place to be. I'm not usually in that place except with chocolate, that's a vice of mine. Now I know what people feel like when they want to lose weight and attempt to change their lifestyle and cannot seem to break bad habits. I was a prisoner of my mind. What came to mind that helped me shift out of this were the words of Anthony Robbins. He says that we do things to avoid pain and that usually we won't actually make a change (like give up certain foods, or unhealthy relationships) because we associate too much pain with the action and fail to look ahead to the positive effects.

For example, I don't want to give up pizza and beer because I think that NOT having the pizza and beer is going to be more painful than the pleasure I'll experience from feeling healthier from making healthy food choices. So then, I just keep choosing pizza and beer, even though my stomach hurts every time I eat it. Or, I do not want to break up with my boyfriend because I associate 'being alone' as more painful than getting out of this unhealthy relationship, so I just choose to stay in it.

This is what people do. They think it is going to be hell on the other side, hence change never happens. That's why you've heard the phrase "People don't change." I disagree. People DO change and CAN change. The key is - IF they want to. It's a choice.

For me, at the time, eating ice cream brought more pleasure (albeit temporary) and the thought of leaving my ice cream behind was painful. However, since I knew what Anthony Robbins said, I was able to get out of my plunder by making a decision. I said, "Okay Miss Julianne, that's enough - I'm done and I'm getting back to my routine with more flexibility".

I share this story to remind you and myself that we are powerful human beings with weak minds that need to be trained. We CAN make these changes, we simply have to make a choice and then discipline ourselves and stay committed. Commitment leads to happiness and change.

Now, after reflecting on my behavior, I believe that after many years of diligence my body and mind shifted to an extreme in order to break me out of my rigid world. Experiencing myself in this way has helped me remember that only through loving myself totally and completely will I be able to love others and have true compassion for them.

And remember, the normal path of change is to fall away from our routine and then come back to it. So tonight, when I sat down to write this section of the newsletter I ate three cookies. Right away, my mind wants to get into judgment, and I respond by re-committing and restating my intentions. This is what people don't talk about! The struggle to make changes and stay the course. It is a daily recommitment, just like relationships are work. The relationship with our food and ourselves is one too.

If you've given up on yourself, think you're weak or don't have the discipline, I am here to remind you that you DO! You can make the changes you want and both Sheila and I support you. You just have to keep choosing what you want each day, and when/if you choose french fries instead of a salad, then just observe your mind, body, and soul and make a healthier choice next time.

Sat Nam.

Julianne Monta�o, MPH
520.548.9222