Osteopathic end-of-life care

from 09.11.2014 – 12.11.2014 - Berlin

Osteopathic End-of-Life Care

"Silence is the language of God and all else is merely a poor translation," with these words, Tom Esser, M.SC. D.O.M.R.O, welcomed the 14 course participants to the Osteopathic End-of-Life Care course in the new premises of the OZK in Berlin Kreuzberg. For the third time, the OZK team around Tom Esser organized an extraordinary course in the "Clinical Osteopathy" series.

For this topic, unusual at first glance, experienced osteopaths from all over Germany and Switzerland traveled to the federal capital to learn more about life, dying, and death in this four-day seminar than the usual things everyone had experienced in their own way in life.

It quickly became clear that this seminar would push some therapists to their emotional limits. The selection of topics was very diverse, spanning various speakers from the fields of conventional palliative medicine and homeopathic medicine, as well as working with and accompanying the dying in children's hospices, the presentation of different singing bowl therapies, and self-experience.

Through meditation techniques, participants were confronted with this very interesting topic for up to 8 hours daily. Tom Esser taught the latest therapeutic approaches from his Biodynamic Concept according to James S. Jealous. These treatment approaches focus on the calm and gentle accompaniment of the dying with the aim of creating as much space for these people as possible to unfold and transition to the other side.

Furthermore, Esser lectured on various osteopathic approaches to dying that have been recorded by the writings of great osteopaths such as John Upledger, Viola Fryman, James S. Jealous, and not least by the founder of osteopathic medicine, Dr. Andrew Tailor Still.

Between the individual teaching units, new forms of various meditation techniques were practiced again and again.

These units were accompanied by "singing bowl therapist" Tara Le Ann Eriksson from Cologne with her program "My body knows, also space from grace" in an always fascinating way.

One of the main topics in this seminar was the presentation of different practiced approaches and views on dying from a Western perspective, from the perspective of Tibetan Buddhism, dying from the perspective of YOGA, and finally the osteopathic perspective.

On the topic "Dealing with dying from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective," Dr. Almuth Göppert introduced herself to the participants. Dr. Göppert is a radiation therapist and palliative care physician and project leader of SUKHAVATI, a developing Buddhist Spiritual Care Center in Bad Saarow Brandenburg.

She studied Buddhism for 3 years before launching a unique project with RIGPA Germany in 2015:

The opening of Germany's first center for spiritual care, inspired by the Buddhist teachings and visions of Sogyal Rinpoche, a Buddhist scholar.

For 5 years now, Dr. Jünger has been volunteering for Caritas. She shared her experiences gained through end-of-life care for children and adults.

Before that, she worked as a well-known homeopath in Berlin and helps many critically ill and dying people with homeopathy in her practice.

Another highlight was the lecture by Ms. Marie Kohl  from the association Kinderträume e.V. She reported on the work in various children's hospices as well as the wishes and concerns of the human children.

From her many years of experience, Ms. Kohl spoke about how a negative attitude towards death would significantly worsen the situation for the children and how important it is for the dying to "let everything out again."

In children's hospice work, it is important that the staff there, despite the emotional burdens, never lose their sense of humor and approach the children in their daily work with great joy. Ms. Kohl also believes that the dying need ample space and silence in their process. For her many years of work, Marie Kohl received the Federal Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany from Federal President Horst Köhler in 2005.

Not to be forgotten are the transmissions from Ms. Elisabeth Kübler Ross, born on April 8, 1926, in Zurich, + August 24, 2004, in Arizona, USA, the Swiss-American psychiatrist.

She dealt with death and caring for the dying, with grief and grieving, and is considered the founder of death studies. Worldwide, there are 250,000 documented near-death experiences, which Ms. Kübler Ross researched in various ways. Tom Esser presented her legendary "5 Stages of Dying" to the course participants.

At the end of the fourth day, Tom Esser bid farewell to the course participants with the following quote:

"As we enter the dying process, primary respiration changes. Its intention is to make the transition as easy as possible. Consciousness unites with health. The direction of ease is not visible to osteopathic hands until the moment of death, unless they feel health."

On behalf of all participants, we thank the entire OZK team for a very emotional course.
Markus Nöh