About

About – History

“As we are conceived, as we come into Being, the midline is our first function. It is the most essential of functions in our lives and in our Being and in our generation and in our healing. Without it we wouldn’t even come into existence let alone make any progress towards our own health.”  – James Jealous, DO, Midline CD

The midline is grounded in embryology, showing up as the primitive streak on day 14 in the developmental cycle to eventually become the central nervous system. There is no more fundamental structure that unfolds and unfurls the Breath of Life in the establishment of the material body.  The principles of osteopathic medicine state that the body has its own healing system.  The forces that made the body (embryogenesis), repair the body, rejuvenate the body, and evolve the body are generated by the Breath of Life and expressed through the midline.  It is the place where Health is Always Happening regardless of the physical, mental and emotional insults, injuries and illnesses that beset human kind.  To return to the midline is to access that innate health and recalibrate to Wholeness.

The midline is an organizing principle and as such it belongs to everyone.  It exists as an energetic truth in the physiology of all nature including the spine of the human body. For those of you who are familiar with bodywork, we came to this process of using meditative awareness on anatomical structures in the development of our skills in ‘body-feeling-awareness’, a fundamental step in learning Biodynamic Cranial Touch as offered by Charles Ridley (www.dynamicstillness.com). Over the years since our original training we have come to realize that the result of that focus ignites the potency of the field … the field of the Breath of Life.  We have lovingly come to call this field the “momma” and bow to the Greater Intelligence that expresses endlessly from the midline.

The osteopathic/chiropractic lineage of healing arts and science has always addressed the mind/body/spirit connections more than the western allopathic medical model.  We know that physical, mental and emotional stress accompany trauma and as practitioners we look for ways to assist clients to find comfort and relief from their ailments and injuries.  We have found this body-centered meditation practice to be enormously beneficial to the healing, peace and well being of clients and colleagues alike.  In the interest of expansion beyond purely craniosacral work into self care, and wellness education we have found significant interest in this meditation.  It is not couched in any particular religious doctrine.  Midline Meditation is a personal energy awareness practice that promotes insight and has a universal appeal.  Whether new to meditation or steeped in your own practice and tradition, you will find yourself easily and quickly adapting to this simple way of “dropping in”.

The quotes below are drawn from James Jealous, the elder statesman of biodynamic cranial osteopathy. 

“All the organisms in nature have this line of orientation…and this (midline) has been appearing in all of life’s structures and function since the beginning of time. It’s ancient, it doesn’t belong to us….it allows us to have individuality…”

“…you and I and everything else are informed, given shape and consciousness because the whole is woven around the center of the stillness of the midline.”

Vision Statement

This site is created to inspire each individual to awaken and live from their birthright of wholeness and connectedness to one another and Source.  Health, wisdom and the evolution of consciousness are happening through the midline in each and every moment and they are available to us through Midline Meditation. 

Acknowledgements

We would be remiss if we did not acknowledge our elders and teachers in this lineage of healing art and science.  To commit to a clinical ‘practice’ is to literally take a chance that what you have learned in your studies could actually be helpful to another human being … you won’t know until you apply it.  Teachers and mentors are the backbone of the Work and our gratitude for their commitment to their own learning and sharing is immense.  As they have done for us, we also extend our own hard won experience and wisdom in mentoring the students who come to us.

First and foremost we would like to thank and honor our teacher and mentor Charles Ridley. These concepts have come to us directly from his work.

Collectively, we have studied with and been influenced by many individuals throughout numerous fields: Charles Ridley, James Jealous, John Upledger, Fritz Smith, Hugh Milne, Neil Cohen, Sandra Ingerman, Kathleen Barry Ingram, Jose Luis Herera, Thich Nhat Hahn, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Dan Brown, Stephen Harmer, Stephen Gilligan, Michael Watson and so many others.

A deep bow of gratitude for all of the Gifts we have been given.