My Educational Journey
… And what a journey it has been!
I was born and raised in Thornhill, Ontario. I have amazing parents and an awesome older sister. My parents have always placed a high emphasis on education throughout our lives. Our priority was always to focus on school and achieving high marks! I was the last group of Ontario students who had the OAC curriculum. At this time, I had absolutely no idea as to what I wanted to pursue post-secondary. I also took OAC courses in creative writing, drama, and French!
At the time, I had a minimal idea of where I wanted my life to go. But, I knew that I wanted to provide service in some sort of way. During that last year of high school, my Father said to me that I had to apply for post-secondary, that it was not an option to not go to school! I looked into options like nursing and pharmacy, but in the end, I chose Seneca College's 2-Year diploma program for Esthetics and Spa Management. It was okay… but it was not for me! It served the purpose as my stepping stone.
I learned quite a bit about business, marketing, product knowledge, as well as how to perform a manicure, a pedicure, and apply bridal make-up. Partway through my program, my friend's older sister, was graduating from Sutherland-Chan School for Registered Massage Therapy. At that time, I thought that was something I could do. I had to take biology in night school at Seneca to have an advanced science credit. I also had to take Sutherland-Chan's weekend 1-hour massage course to see if I would actually enjoy the practical aspect of the profession. Well, it turned out, I did! My Father had insisted that I finish up my Seneca program because Hey.. he didn't raise a quitter! I received my diploma in Esthetics and Spa Management, spent the summer working, and in that September attended school for massage therapy.
Now, much like most school programs, nothing really made sense at the time of learning. Things began to really make sense once I began working. The curriculum was terrific as I learned anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, neurology, neuroanatomy, central nervous system disorders, how to perform orthopedic assessments, and how to treat them. I also learned a lot about our lymphatic system and how to perform manual lymph drainage. I learned so much about the human body, and most importantly, I learned just how able and intelligent the human body is and how badly it wants us to heal! I was able to achieve practical hours through their weekly in-house clinic. I also completed my outreach at Women's College Hospital, with their high-risk pregnancy patients. In that setting, we performed massage for women who were diagnosed as high-risk and had to stay in bed. I took part in the school's Breast Massage Clinic, mainly providing therapeutic massage for Breast Cancer survivors who may have had mastectomies or breast reconstruction surgery. One of the many goals of those treatments, asides from scar reduction, was to reintroduce a healthy and positive touch. I also spent many afternoons massaging seniors in their retirement condo, located on Bloor Street. That was very interesting, as my classmate and myself had this amazing Peruvian couple, they always wanted to feed us, of which we always had to politely decline!
I also completed hours in the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic, which had the most profound impact on my outlook on life. For seven weeks, I worked with a 27-year-old woman who was diagnosed with MS. If you're unsure, MS (or multiple sclerosis) is a neurological disease that affects the neuronal pathways in our bodies. These pathways travel from our brain to the body and then back again. They innervate (or affect) our senses (sight, smell, taste), muscles (being able to move!), and ensure our survival (keeps our hearts beating, our lungs expanding, and our digestive system working). Optometrists can usually detect MS, as some will complain of losing their vision or being unable to make out shapes or colours. MS is also diagnosed through medical testing and the presence of four unrelated neurological conditions. These conditions can range from anything that our nerves innervate.
Now back to the clinic! At this clinic, I worked with the young woman, who you would not even know she had MS, as she wasn't like some of the other patients who came to the clinic. Some used wheelchairs, some had walkers and catheters, and some had very spastic and rigid muscles (you would not be able to stretch their arm as it would be stuck in a bent position). The young woman I worked with for those seven weeks, had the most positive outlook on life. She was like any other female, and she did not focus on her diagnosis or her future. She talked about her work, her job, and her romantic interests. She always just wanted to talk! And she laughed quite a bit! Even though she came to this clinic for those weeks, and she saw how impactful MS could present, she had such a positive attitude. This lesson I have carried with me for over 14 years. The patient really taught me to think about today and to minimize worrying, and most of all, to stay positive.
After successfully receiving my diploma for registered massage therapy, I wrote my licensing board exams and received my designation of a license massage therapy. At this point, I decided to follow my best-friend to live in downtown Toronto. I was in the prime of my life! And not because I was a 22-year-old living by myself in the city, but because these years were my next stepping stone. At this time, I worked at two locations; one was an all women's spa and the other an integrative clinic. Both taught me quite a bit. The all women's spa allowed me to really hear many stories, some were happy and some not so much. I learned that we are resilient human beings, and life was about phases. Some women were in the thick of their Ebb's, and some were living their Flows. At the integrative clinic, I was able to learn from the service providers that I worked alongside. I worked with chiropractors, doulas, social workers, osteopaths, yoga instructors, and naturopathic doctors. Most clients of the clinic saw each type of practitioner. Through working at the spa, I began to notice many patterns that didn't necessarily make sense to me. I used to ask the naturopathic doctors many questions to help me understand what I was noticing.
One of the doctor's recommended me to study Traditional Chinese Medicine, as most of the patterns I was noticing fell under the TCM concepts. At this point, I decided to take an introductory shiatsu course at the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine Academy. I had learned some very fascinating concepts and hands-on techniques in this course. It prompted me to study the Fundamentals of Traditional Chinese Medicine at the school.
Once I completed the course, I decided to enroll full time to achieve a diploma in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It was a part-time program that allowed me to still work at a registered massage therapist. At this point, I was 26 and decided to move back home to Thornhill, so I could still work and focus on school. The program was three years, and it genuinely helped to explain everything that I was noticing. TCM has an excellent way of linking what people are experiencing in their bodies to something that makes sense, without the help of a primary care physician. The simplest and most common example involves the Circadian Biological Clock. In 24 hours, every two hours is dedicated to a specific organ and it is the time when the most amount of Qi (or energy is in that organ). It is very common for someone to wake up between the hours of 1-3 am. This is the time of the Liver. The Liver in TCM represents many concepts. First, the Liver is responsible for the free-flowing movement of Qi; it represents vision and goals, and growth; the emotions of anger, frustration, and unfulfilled desires, and the virtue of Kindness.
When the Liver is stagnated or stuck, it can produce symptoms of stiff or tight muscles, the desire to move and expend energy, headaches at the top of the head, constipation, and increased thirst and desire to consume cold beverages. It also presents as waking up between the hours of 1 -3 am. Generally, those who wake up between those hours, are experiencing feelings of being stuck, or trying to prepare for the next day or their future mentally, and just general feelings of unhappiness. TCM also includes taking a tongue and pulse diagnosis, to gather the full information a person. It accounts for the snapshot of the person today! TCM views our symptoms within a reciprocal agreement or as a cycle. Western medicine typically see's symptoms as "A+B=C". TCM sees it as "A<->B<->C <-> A." Various treatments in TCM include acupuncture, moxa, auricular therapy, tuina, Qi-Gong, and Eastern nutrition and herbs. For example, did you know meat is very hot in nature? TCM recommends limiting eating meat close to bed time, as it is more likely to create a heat disturbance to your Shen (or spirit) which creates agitation, restless sleep, and nightmares!
TCM really involves taking into account everything about a person to help prevent any future ailments. TCM really taught me to understand people from an alternative perspective. It added to my knowledge of connecting the science side of the human body to the mental and emotional health of the human body. TCM has a really profound way of connecting our emotions and virtues to our Yin and Yang organs. For example, earlier, I mentioned how the Liver is connected to anger and frustration; well, the heart, lungs, kidneys, and spleen are also connected to emotions. The heart to joy, lungs to grief and sadness, kidneys to wisdom, and the spleen to worrying and overthinking. It is not uncommon to meet someone who has just received upsetting news or are worried, and they state that they are feeling sick to their stomach. This is just another example of how TCM can help us to make sense of what we are experiencing in our bodies. And, how our bodies can let us know something is happening in our emotions. And, of course, vice versa, our minds can produce symptoms in our bodies. There is so much to TCM and I just wish I could type everything here!
At the time of graduation, in 2014, I was thrilled to be finished school finally. I spent three months enjoying life, and realized that I needed more, that it couldn't just be about working!
Although I love being a registered massage therapist, I still craved for more. At this point, I decided to enroll in studying Osteopathy at the Canadian College of Osteopathy.
In my first year of school, I learned more about the human body then what I learned while being in massage therapy school. One concept that I learned about is how connected the body is through the Primary Respiratory Mechanism. In this sense, the word primary is used because It happens first, and the word respiratory for the movements It makes. Now, It refers to every bone and organ in the body.
Everything in the body moves in motions similar to a locomotive train or like the mechanism of a clock. In this sense, everything along the mid line of the body moves together, and everything on the sides moves together.
Sometimes we can experience symptoms in our cranial or head area, but it may be due to something that is stuck in the pelvic region. The occiput (or the base of the skull) directly affects the sacrum (or base of the spine) and vice versa. Where the temporal bone directly affects the iliac or the hip bones and vice versa. Respiratory relates to the movements of inspiration and expiration, or flexion and extension, respectively. Everything in a healthy body will move in an opened and closed fashion. This concept is initiated at the time the embryo implants to the uterine lining. Essentially, the PRM of the body begins at conception and continues throughout our lives.
In Osteopathy, practitioners have a very strategic way to assess movements and to treat. The PRM of the body is one assessment that is used to assess for movement, as movement and motility are extremely important. Motility also lets us know that the fluctuation of cerebral spinal movement is healthy. Osteopaths have what is known as a Hierarchy of Lesions. It basically is a charting system to let us know what the least severe lesion (or dysfunction) is, and what is the most severe. It also takes into account the patients primary complaints, their past health history (surgeries including teeth removal), and urogenital (including gynecological menstruation, pregnancy, vaginal or Cesarean births) - to name a few. Lesions that are considered to be the most severe are scars (surgical or emotional) and embedded or compounded bones.
An example of this is someone who has a stuck or embedded sacrum from falling down the stairs. Through the osteo's assessment, they have learned that there is paradoxical or restricted movement in the thoracic (or rib cage) spine. On the hierarchy of lesions, the decrease or paradoxical movement in the ribs ranks lower than the stuck sacrum. It is the hope through applying the appropriate technique to the sacrum, it will clear up the lesion of the rib. Now, the appropriate technique will depend on what is holding the sacrum stuck. It can either be treated as a bony lesion, using an osteoarticular technique to release, or it can need a muscular, myofascial, or an internal organ release.
Another simple example relates to an unknown origin of lower back pain. Lower back pain is extremely common, and most have suffered from symptoms throughout most of their life. Sometimes it's easy to find the cause, either an injury or a surgery, but sometimes it's not so easy. Common reasons for lower back pain can relate to constipation. It's a concept that structure and function are interchangeable. In the sense that, if the structure is where it is supposed to be, the function will not be impeded. And, if it is doing what it is supposed to be doing (function), then the structure won't be affected. In this example, someone who suffers from constipation is likely to tend towards lower back pain because the function has been impeded.
A simple example, if our blood vessel walls are not lined with plaque or cholesterol, then blood flow should move within good hydro static pressure (ie a regular blood pressure). The blood can perform one of it's functions smoothly - transport the blood through the vessels! If the structure (plaque along the inner line of the blood vessel) has been affected, the functions (transporting the blood) can't happen. If the function, a regular rate of blood flow, is efficient, then cardiovascular health should also be - the person will be relatively healthy! When the function of the heart (transporting the blood) becomes impeded by structure (plaque), it can lead to a stroke, a transient ischemic attack, a myocardial infarction, congestive heart problems, and possible death.
The nerves in our bodies are quite complex and straightforward. What this means is that our nerves innervate multiple structures at once. Remember, I mentioned this in a paragraph above. Do you know how it's common for males to experience heart attack symptoms as left arm pain or chest and jaw pain? Well, for women, it's common for them to experience heart attack symptoms as rib or breast pain, and even as acid reflux. Well, a similar concept happens when we have constipation; our brain cannot differentiate constipation from the lower back pain. What it can do it let us know that something is happening in that area, as the small intestine has an attachment point to the lower spine vertebrae. The brain is always most likely going to interpret nerve firing as musculoskeletal pain! If you are wondering what is considered constipation, then consider it to be bowel movements that do not match what you are eating. In theory, if you are eating three meals a day, then you should have three bowel movements a day. What this also means is that the bowel movements match the meals. Now, if you want to learn more about the quality of bowel movements, then you would need to explore that concept through TCM! TCM has a really great way to explain how bowel movements represent different aspects of health through its size, colour, and quality (undigested foods, for example).
Am I missing something yet??! Are you still there! I know it is a lot! My brain is full of so much useful or non-useful information! Most of these concepts come to me when I am working with patients. Oh, I remember where I was!
Now back to my school journey. I was able to complete three years of the seven (five years of classes and two years of thesis research), when I reached the path to the next stepping stone. I was talking with one of my amazing patients, who also has their masters of social work. Together, we concluded that I reached my capacity to learn about how to help someone through their body. (It was honestly like a therapy session for me then it was a massage therapy session for her!) At his point, I was 12 years into my working profession as a registered massage therapist. I am not sure if you can teach an old dog new tricks, but what I knew was that, at this point, I had learned what I needed. I wasn't sure if my hands could learn anything more. I knew my life has always been about providing service, but I had reached a point where I needed to find a way to have a more significant impact on providing service.
And, this brings me to the Social Service Worker program at Durham College. I knew that I got married, I would be living in the Durham Region, and luckily for me, the Oshawa campus offered the full-time program.
Just like many moons before, I applied for college through the Ontario College Application website, had my transcripts transferred (from high school and Seneca! Shoutout to my dad for making me finish the esthetics program!).
And waited patiently. I missed the September application deadline, so I had to wait even longer to find out if I got accepted to the January start.
I remember talking about these future ideas with my husband. And all of a sudden, one day, it came to life, and I became a Durham College Mature student!!
And I must say, I love it!
So far, I have successfully completed my first term with a 5.0 GPA. Now, I will backtrack and be a little forthcoming; I never applied to university from high school (even though I completed the six required OAC credits) because my marks overall were not the greatest, I knew I would not get in.
The SSW program is my fifth academic endeavour, and it has also produced some of my highest marks! I know! I am very proud of myself. I am genuinely excited to see where this stepping stone will take me. I am thrilled that I have the opportunity to learn about professional practice, life skills, interviewing, and crisis intervention.
I am also grateful that I had the opportunity to learn about Human Trafficking from a health-care worker and a service worker perspective. Human trafficking is an area that I have an intense interest in. I was unaware of what human trafficking included! Did you know that it is not limited to the sexual exploitation of young women? It also includes migrant workers who were promised employment that would match their wages and hours, and also Nannies who have come here from abroad? It also dramatically affects young males. It can happen very swiftly, as many victims are unaware of what is happening, as most traffickers pose as a loving boyfriend. Traffickers will also identify a need in a vulnerable person, provide them with that need, and then use it as a method of coercion and control. Human trafficking can happen anywhere - at your local mall, 7-11 gas station, and on social media platforms. I hope to one day be someone who can have an impact on decreasing human trafficking, as well as provide education and awareness to our society.
It has been on mind to learn about Mental Health and First Aid, but due to our pandemic, I haven't been able to find or register for a course.
In St. John's Standard CPR & First Aid - there is some information on Mental Health First Aid.
In the meantime, to satisfy this desire of learning, I completed the online training provided by The Canadian Red Cross. I took two of their courses on Psychological First Aid; PFA for Self-Care and PFA for Caring For Others.
Psychological first aid for self-care helps individuals to recognize when they are in stressful situations, knowing the potential causes, effects and indicators of stress. Stress can manifest as day to day (getting to school or work on time, bad weather, or meeting a deadline). It can be cumulative (being able to pay rent, working long hours, or hurtful relationships). Stress also shows in trauma when there is death, loss, or accidents.
Many people are unaware that stress can also present as vicarious or secondary, this happens when we hear stories of loss in others, or we are supporting people who are experiencing traumatic stress. Vicarious stress can also occur from watching upsetting stories in the media.
There is also a form of stress called compassion fatigue that happens when we hear stories of tragedy and loss and end up feeling helpless, hopeless, and incompetent.
A strategy outlined to help us deal with stress, is to Look, Listen, Link, and Live. This means we always have to be looking for the signs of stress within us, these can include headaches, insomnia, and a short temper. We should also listen to what these signs are telling us and then link them with the appropriate supports. Whether it be a coffee with a friend or engaging in a professional helping service. The final step of the strategy is to live a life that has a balanced, content state of being. There are indicators and common signs that fall under the category of physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, behaviours, and interpersonal signs. These are things like stomach aches, poor concentration, depression, loss of faith, recklessness, and feeling withdrawn. There are a variety of support systems to help us cope with stress. Some of which include meditation and self-assessment questionnaires.
These include our selves, our relationships, out community, and our culture, society, traditions, and religion. It is best to self-reflect through asking ourselves questions and checking in on how we are feeling and developing positive coping strategies. Some of these include taking breaks, developing realistic work expectations, listening to and supporting your team, maintaining healthy habits, practicing stress management techniques, maintaining healthy relationships, and asking for help! The eventual goal of this strategy is to recover and recoup from our challenges so that we can return to living. We can help this through rest, focusing on accomplishments, self-reflecting on experiences, and attending support or team meetings.
I sincerely believe in education! I have learned so many interesting concepts, not just school related but also about what it means to be human! I believe education is a catalyst that can provide self-determination, autonomy, and confidence in all of us. I also believe that I can be someone who can provide awareness to others.
Since my very early days of practicing massage therapy, I have always believed: if someone can understand the body and mind as I do, then I know they will be hopeful toward their healing journey. I believe this applies to the field of social services and social justice. I know that if I can help individuals or communities to feel empowered, then it will pave the way for the change that they need.
I do encourage you to reach out to me! I am always one message away from lending a listening ear.
I am genuinely hopeful for the future, and I am also looking forward to the days leading up to it 😊
Wishing you much success in all future endeavours as I continue to pursue my education academically and in life!
Cheers!
Kashri C Bhookmohan, LLL (Life Long Learner)