{"id":4634,"date":"2021-10-15T21:42:25","date_gmt":"2021-10-15T20:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/psychosomatic-osteopathy.com\/interview-with-dr-alain-cassourra\/"},"modified":"2021-10-15T21:42:25","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T20:42:25","slug":"interview-with-dr-alain-cassourra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/psychosomatic-osteopathy.com\/en\/interview-with-dr-alain-cassourra\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Dr. Alain Cassourra"},"content":{"rendered":"

Interview with Dr. Alain Cassourra by Torsten Liem<\/b> “The question of health is both a mental and a physical question, with the emotional dimension located at the intersection of these two poles,” says Dr. Alain Cassourra DO, an osteopath for thirty years, who teaches osteopathy at the Paris XIII Faculty of Medicine and has taught a course on energy, emotion, and thought for eight years. Author of: L\u2018\u00e9nergie, l\u2018\u00e9motion, la pens\u00e9e, au bout des doigts: Au-del\u00e0 de l\u2018ost\u00e9opathie (2010), La fureur de gu\u00e9rir (The Fury of Healing) on the interaction between practitioner and patient (2014).  YOU ARE A PHYSICIAN AND AN OSTEOPATH. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PRACTICING OSTEOPATHY AND WHAT WAS YOUR PERSONAL MOTIVATION FOR BECOMING AN OSTEOPATH? <\/b>I have been practicing osteopathy exclusively for 32 years. I was also a dancer while a medical student, and it was through dance and movement that I came to osteopathy. When my dancer friends had a problem, they would come to me and ask for advice. I was a medical student and should have been able to help them. But I had no concrete answers for them, and they eventually said, “I’m going to see an osteopath.” That’s what they did. And they came back in top form. So I asked myself, “What on earth is osteopathy?” That was the beginning…WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MAIN INTEREST IN THE FIELD OF OSTEOPATHY OVER THE YEARS AND HOW HAS IT CHANGED OVER TIME?<\/b>In the beginning, I was very interested in structure\u2014I would even say the “hard” structure, a very physical approach. Over time, I became increasingly drawn to softness, fluidity, and lightness. I draw a parallel with horseback riding, as I am also a rider. At first, when you ride a horse, you might think you need to use force to move that mass, that physicality will prevail. The further you progress, the more you realize that it is communication that you need. It is the same in osteopathy. We must communicate, engage in a body-to-body or “hand-to-skin” dialogue. Touch, hands, feeling, and intuition always resonate with me. They are the keys. WHAT FASCINATES YOU ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OSTEOPATHY AND EMOTIONS?<\/b> I wouldn’t phrase it that way: “The connection between osteopathy and emotions.” Osteopathy is at the service of the patient. And this patient has a body, a mind, and feels emotions. Osteopathy, by definition, follows a holistic approach. So how can we only be interested in the physical body, in the mechanics? When someone comes to us, they don’t just bring a body, but an entire being. Of course, the patient can come with the intention of consulting a mechanic, and the osteopath can stick to that mandate. In osteopathy, one can treat purely mechanically, and very well. Some work only cranially, only viscerally, or only energetically, also with very good results. But indeed, osteopathy, in the wholeness of its approach, cannot ignore the meeting of the physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. This sentence by Still sums it up perfectly: “I find in man a miniature universe. I find matter, motion, and spirit.”   So, to answer the question: What fascinates me? The man or woman before me, the patient, fascinates me. They come with a concern that is consciously expressed, behind which sometimes lies another, deeper, more existential concern. Life fascinates me! WHAT POTENTIAL DO YOU SEE IN THE INTEGRATION OF EMOTIONAL COMPETENCIES INTO OSTEOPATHY?<\/b>When an emotional problem is resolved, the patient experiences a deep sense of liberation. They experience the same thing when an osteopath resolves a posterior sacral torsion after days or even months of back pain. It is a new life! It is the same with the resolution of emotional knots or thought structures. The integration of these different areas allows for deeper harmonization and opens the path to resilience. Osteopathic dysfunctions in the physical, emotional, or mental realms show similar characteristics: loss of mobility, increased density, and tension. These criteria must, of course, be transferred to the realm to which they belong. And caring for these areas sometimes proves to be a rebirth. The question of health is both a spiritual and a physical question, with the emotional dimension at the intersection of these two poles. Philippine healers and other shamans say that healing happens through peace, benevolence, and forgiveness. Healing is the harmonization, the resonance of the different dimensions of being. IN YOUR OPINION, WHEN DOES HEALING BEGIN?<\/b> From an osteopathic perspective, genesis begins as soon as density and tension decrease and more movement arises; whether on a physical, emotional, or mental level, the opportunity for change is present. The patient, on the other hand, often has a more pragmatic view and expects tangible results, which is normal. But if, at a certain moment, they feel that something is happening within them, if a physical, emotional, or mental change becomes conscious, they are already facing the path to healing. A door opens. WHERE DO YOU SEE FUTURE POTENTIAL FOR THE FIELD OF OSTEOPATHY?<\/b> We live in a world where the virtual is everywhere and always in the foreground: teleworking, teleconsultations, video conferences, digitized congresses, digitized sexuality… Physical encounters are becoming increasingly rare, relationships are crumbling. We don’t touch each other anymore! For me, an essential part of osteopathy lies in touch, the “skin-to-skin,” the body-to-body encounter. The strength of osteopathy lies in this patient-therapist relationship, in which the toucher is touched and the touched touches. Through this relationship, a dialogue arises between the physical, energetic, emotional, and mental bodies\u2014a silent dialogue that awakens what is felt, sensed, and represented. The future of osteopathy, therefore, does not seem to me to lie in this or that new practice or in a fashionable concept. In my eyes, those are details, the bells and whistles. What matters is the foundation of osteopathy. The future of osteopathy lies in its origins, in this primary dialogue of touch that precedes the word, but does not exclude it. CAN YOU GIVE US A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF YOUR LATEST BOOK?<\/b>In my books, I like to talk about initiation, transformation, about making the intangible come alive, the mystery of life. And I tell it with truthfulness, from the heart, without deception. My books are autobiographical. The intention is to spark an awakening and an awareness. “Energy, Feeling, Thought, at the Fingertips” tells the story of my journey through the learning process of osteopathy and of four masters who taught me so much: Jos\u00e9 Puren, Pierre Tricot, Alain Roques, and Bruno Repetto. “La fureur de gu\u00e9rir” unfolds a therapeutic epic over six years with a desperate and scattered patient on the verge of psychosis. In “Erectus,” I tell my story about sexuality and impotence. In the upcoming book, which is already written but not yet published, “The Wounds of the Soul \u2013 When Energy Opens the Path to Healing,” I tell the story of the initiatory journey of the group that attended my 2019-2020 course. We follow five individuals who were confronted with sexual abuse on one hand and the untimely death of a loved one on the other. We follow their suffering and accompany their liberation toward resilience. In every book, there is the same quest\u2014the search for the secret and the search for something greater than oneself!AT THE ONLINE CONFERENCE, YOU WILL SPEAK ABOUT “THE PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC DIMENSION IN THE PRACTICE OF OSTEOPATHY.” WHAT CAN PARTICIPANTS EXPECT FROM YOUR PRESENTATION? <\/b>Good question! It won’t really be about learning. I am trying, in all modesty, to open a field of consciousness. For some, it will be a new discovery; for others, perhaps an insight; for still others, a confirmation; for some, a questioning; and for others, perhaps a rejection. I emphasize here the intertwining of body, emotions, and mind. I view energy as a concrete, tangible element, as information in motion. I also emphasize the importance of the practitioner’s presence, the intelligence of the heart\u2014in other words, the role of intuition and letting go in care. YOUR FIELD OF ACTIVITY RANGES FROM PRACTICE TO TEACHING TO WRITING. HOW HAVE YOU BENEFITED FROM THESE OVERLAPS? <\/b>Like many of us, I am in search of something. I wander and try to keep my heart open. I love life, I love healing, teaching, and writing. I love the living, and I long for the light of heaven. And everything that encompasses my life, both personally and professionally\u2014for me, there is no real separation\u2014contributes to this awakening. HOW DO PRACTICE, TEACHING, AND WRITING INTERACT IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE?<\/b> They cultivate joy! MORE INFORMATION ON THE 2021 ONLINE CONFERENCE OF THE OSTEOPATHIE SCHULE DEUTSCHLAND CAN BE FOUND AT<\/b> <\/b>https:\/\/www.osteopathie-schule.de\/online-conference-2021\/<\/a><\/p>\n

English Version<\/h2>\n

Interview with DR. ALAIN CASSOURRA by Torsten Liem: <\/h2>\n

“The question of health is both a mental and a physical question, with the emotional dimension at the intersection of these two poles,” says Dr. Alain Cassourra DO, an osteopath for thirty years, who teaches osteopathy at the Paris XIII medical school and has been teaching a course on energy, emotion, and thought for eight years. Author of: L’\u00e9nergie, l’\u00e9motion, la pens\u00e9e, au bout des doigts: Au-del\u00e0 de l’ost\u00e9opathie (2010), La fureur de gu\u00e9rir (The Fury of Healing) on the interaction between practitioner and patient (2014).  YOU ARE A PHYSICIAN AND AN OSTEOPATH. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PRACTICING OSTEOPATHY AND WHAT WAS YOUR PERSONAL MOTIVATION FOR BECOMING AN OSTEOPATH? <\/b>I have been practicing osteopathy exclusively for 32 years. As a medical student, I was also a dancer, and it was through dance and movement that I came to osteopathy. When my dancer friends had a problem, they came to me for advice. I was a medical student and should have been able to help them. But I didn’t have any concrete answers for them, and they finally said, “I will go to an osteopath.” So they did. And they came back in great shape. So I asked myself, “What the heck is osteopathy?” That was the beginning…WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MAIN INTEREST IN OSTEOPATHY OVER THE YEARS AND HOW HAS IT CHANGED OVER TIME?<\/b>In the beginning, I was very interested in structure, I would even say in the “hard” structure, in a very physical approach. As time went on, I became more and more attracted to softness, fluidity, and lightness. I draw a parallel with horseback riding, since I am also a rider. In the beginning, when you ride a horse, you may think that you have to use force to move that mass, that physicality will predominate. The more you progress, the more you realize that it’s the communication that you need. In osteopathy, it’s the same thing. We need to communicate, to have a dialogue from body to body or “hand to skin.” Touch, hands, feeling, intuition always speak to me. They are the keys.WHAT FASCINATES YOU ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OSTEOPATHY AND EMOTIONS?<\/b>This is not how I would put it: “The link between osteopathy and emotions.” Osteopathy is at the service of the patient. And this patient has a body, a mind, and feels emotions. Osteopathy, by definition, follows a holistic approach. So how can we be interested only in the physical body, in the mechanics? When someone comes to us, they bring not only a body, but a whole being. Of course, the patient can come with the intention to consult the mechanic, and the osteopath can stick to this order. In osteopathy, one can treat exclusively mechanically, and very well. Some work only cranially, only viscerally, or only energetically, and again with very good results. But in fact, osteopathy, in the holistic nature of its approach, cannot ignore the meeting of the physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. This sentence by Still sums it up: “I discover in man a miniature universe. I find the matter, the movement, and the spirit.”  So to answer the question: What fascinates me? The man or woman I have before me, the patient, fascinates me. They come with a concern that is consciously expressed, behind which sometimes another, deeper, more existential concern is hidden. Life fascinates me! WHAT POTENTIAL DO YOU SEE IN INTEGRATING EMOTIONAL COMPETENCIES INTO OSTEOPATHY?<\/b>When an emotional problem is resolved, the patient experiences a deep sense of liberation. They experience the same when the osteopath resolves a posterior sacral torsion after days or even months of back pain. It is a new life! It is the same with the release of emotional knots or thought structures. Integrating these different areas allows for deeper harmonization and opens the way to resilience. Osteopathic dysfunctions in the physical, emotional, or mental areas have similar characteristics: loss of mobility, increase in density, and tension. These criteria must be naturally applied to the area that belongs to them. And the care of these areas sometimes proves to be a rebirth. The question of health is both a spiritual and a physical question, with the emotional dimension at the intersection of these two poles. Filipino healers and other shamans say that healing is about peace, goodwill, and forgiveness. Healing is the harmonization, the tuning in of the different dimensions of being. WHEN DO YOU THINK HEALING BEGINS?<\/b> From the osteopathic point of view, genesis begins as soon as the density and tension decrease and more movement occurs, be it on a physical, emotional, or mental level; the opportunity for change is there. The patient, on the other hand, often has a more pragmatic view and expects tangible results, which is normal. But if at a certain moment they feel that something is happening within them, if a physical, emotional, or mental change becomes conscious, they are already facing the path to healing. A door opens. WHERE DO YOU SEE FUTURE POTENTIAL FOR THE FIELD OF OSTEOPATHY?<\/b> We live in a world where the virtual is everywhere and always in the foreground: teleworking, teleconsultations, videoconferences, digitized congresses, digitized sexuality…. Physical encounters are becoming increasingly rare, relationships are crumbling. We don’t touch each other anymore! For me, an essential part of osteopathy lies in the touch, the “skin-to-skin,” the body-to-body encounter. The strength of osteopathy lies in this patient-therapist relationship, in which the toucher is touched and the touched touches. Through this relationship, a dialogue is created between the physical, energetic, emotional, and mental bodies\u2014a silent dialogue that awakens what is felt, what is sensed, and what is represented. So it seems to me that the future of osteopathy does not lie in this or that new practice or in a fashionable concept. In my eyes, it is about the details, the bells and whistles. What is important is the foundation of osteopathy. The future of osteopathy lies in its origins, in this primary dialogue about touch, which precedes the word but does not exclude it. CAN YOU GIVE US A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF YOUR LATEST BOOK?<\/b>In my books, I like to tell about initiation, transformation, about making the intangible alive, the mystery of life. And I tell with truthfulness, from the heart, without deception. My books are autobiographical. The intention is to awaken an awakening and an awareness. “Energy, Feeling, Thought, to the Fingertips” tells the story of my journey in the learning process of osteopathy and of four masters who have taught me so much: Jos\u00e9 Puren, Pierre Tricot, Alain Roques, and Bruno Repetto. “La fureur de gu\u00e9rir” unfolds a therapeutic epic over six years with a desperate and distracted patient on the verge of psychosis. In “Erectus,” I tell my story about sexuality and impotence. In the upcoming book, already written but not yet published, “The Wounds of the Soul \u2013 When Energy Opens the Path to Healing,” I tell the story of the initiatory journey of the group that attended my 2019-2020 course. We follow five people who faced sexual abuse on one hand and the untimely death of a loved one on the other. We follow their suffering and accompany their liberation, until resilience. In each book, there is the same quest\u2014the search for the secret and the search for something greater than oneself!AT THE ONLINE CONFERENCE, YOU WILL TALK ABOUT “THE PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC DIMENSION IN THE PRACTICE OF OSTEOPATHY.” WHAT CAN PARTICIPANTS EXPECT FROM YOUR TALK? <\/b>Good question! It won’t really be about learning. I am trying, in all modesty, to open up a field of consciousness. For some, it will be a new discovery; for some, perhaps a realization; for others, a confirmation; for others, a questioning; for others, perhaps a rejection. I emphasize here the interconnectedness of body, emotions, and mind. I view energy as a concrete, tangible element, as information in motion. I also emphasize the importance of the practitioner’s presence, the intelligence of the heart\u2014in other words, the place of intuition and letting go in care. YOUR SCOPE OF WORK SPANS FROM PRACTICE TO TEACHING TO WRITING. HOW HAVE YOU BENEFITED FROM THESE OVERLAPS? <\/b>Like many of us, I am also in search of something. I wander, trying to keep my heart open. I love life, I love healing, teaching, writing. I love the living, and I long for the light of heaven. And everything that encompasses my life, both personal and professional\u2014for me, there is no real separation\u2014contributes to this awakening. HOW DO PRACTICE, TEACHING, AND WRITING INTERACT IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE?<\/b> They cultivate joy! MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ONLINE CONFERENCE OF OSTEOPATHIE SCHULE DEUTSCHLAND 2021 CAN BE FOUND AT <\/b> <\/b>https:\/\/www.osteopathie-schule.de\/online-conference-2021\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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