Sitting in the warm glow of a soft light, Vernice Gardiner contemplates how to best describe what she does. “Some people call it intuitive healing. And I suppose that’s the easiest way to describe it.”
She soon becomes animated and enthusiastically describes the concept of moving energy patterns in the body and how it helps her clients. “Energetic patterns that have developed into physical discomfort are traced back to the original pattern. These patterns most often connect on different levels.” Comparing it to unlocking a 3-D puzzle, Gardiner emphasizes that everyone’s body is different. “Every individual and every ailment is different and it is up to us to find the seed or core of the issue.”
Having lived in the Kootenays for over thirty years – ten of those in Creston – Gardiner feels the time is now right to accept clients and concentrate on teaching Qigong classes. For the last few years, she has traveled back and forth to care for her aging parents, but now that they have passed away she has settled down to a “simple, organic life in the Creston Valley”.
Having recently found a space in 12th Ave. Hair and Esthetics, Vernice is now taking new clients. With training in CranioSacral Therapy, Visceral Manipulation and Meridian Therapies, she has had success helping clients for over twenty years with issues in their knees, lower back, hips, sciatica, neck and shoulders, as well as headaches, organ displacement and bowel issues. “I use several different techniques to assist me in the movement of energy. Unlike other treatments that follow certain patterns, I have developed an intuitive healing process by healing my own body and mind.”
Gardiner understands the balance between Western medicine and the methods of healing she practices. “If someone has broken their leg, they need to go to the hospital,” says Gardiner. “What I do is more about internal journeying; it’s about visualizing the inside of your body, discovering what the ailment is and what it looks like, and then what you can do about it. It’s important to know it’s a process. This is different than massage in that way. It’s a healing process that has a beginning and an end.”
Though Gardiner’s work aids in the healing process, she is adamant that we don’t give ourselves enough credit in our own ability to heal ourselves. “I truly believe that people have the power to heal themselves. I’m helping with immediate pain and patterns, and through that process people understand how the body wants to heal and can heal.”
According to Gardiner, the mind often gets in the way of healing. “Modern medicine has led us away from being aware. It is a lack of awareness and repetitive patterns in areas like knees, back and shoulders that can benefit from body dynamics – easy little reminders that realign the body.”
Still unsure as to how to best describe the process, Gardiner reiterates, “This is a process that builds on itself in every treatment. 70% of what is dealt with in a single treatment remains done. But, as to what actually happens… well… your body tells me where to go and my hands tell me what to do. It’s a gift, really. Everybody has a gift, and this is mine.”
Vernice can be reached at 250-254-2543. Her Qigong classes start in September at the Presbyterian Church. More information can be found at her blog site Temples55.wordpress.com.