Tonight is Samhain, the ancient Celtic festival which predates the Christian Eve of All the Holy Ones (aka Halloween). 1st November is All Saints (the holy ones) and the 2nd November is All Souls, when we honour those who have died. Many cultures honour this time of the year, when the nights are drawing in – the Celts call it a Thin Time – when the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the ancestors are very thin.
And what might this have to do with osteopathy, I hear you ask??
We are all the product of our ancestors, and when I take the case history of a new patient, I always ask questions about the family’s medical history – parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts – whether there’s a history of arthritis, diabetes, heart and circulation problems, dementia etc etc – these may manifest in the patient that I’m treating. And sometimes we learn postures from our parents which can have quite an impact on how we use our bodies, especially later in life.
So – let us honour our lineage and our ancestors, who are with us in every cell of our bodies.