06/09/2019
A bit of a mystic that Sutherland
Lifelong Students
Drs. Still and Sutherland accepted the science of osteopathy as a fundamental living law in body physiology and accepted the need to become lifetime students of the authority vested within the living body physiology. They ceased to be physicians—they became students. They were no longer searching for something, they had found osteopathy; they became students of the science of osteopathy for the rest of their lives. Drs. Still and Sutherland became lifetime students, as all physicians who follow in their footsteps will find it necessary to be—to consent to be used by the same set of living laws in their service to mankind.
We're not here to remember the works of Still or Sutherland; we are here to become students of the laws of the mechanism that was their discovery. These laws are available, they're an open space. Still and Sutherland became students and gave of themselves. They gave the work to their followers, but they only gave clues to their followers, knowing the doctors themselves had to become students of the work. (p7)
When you learn to listen to the body physiology of the patient, you may not look like you are doing anything outwardly, but you're working hard; it's hard work to listen for any length of time. But you can learn to do it, and you have the rest of your practice life.
Dr. Still and Dr. Sutherland were students. They spent their entire lives studying the science of osteopathy, and one of the fundamental things they learned was that there is no time in which you can ever quit learning about the science of osteopathy. They consented to be used by the fundamental laws that are within each body physiology. They learned to know and use the rules of health as they apply within us, and it is these rules that are sought in the restoration to health for any dysfunction, disease, or trauma for which the patient is seeking service. Dr. Still and Dr. Sutherland studied every single mechanism within the body physiology as it applied to a given patient, and they were taught by each individual case the appropriate diagnostic and treatment program. They were taught by that which the body itself was trying to do.
What is new in the science of osteopathy? The answer is simple: the next patient who walks in the office, the one who has been everywhere and tried everything. The body physiology is the teacher and the physician is the student. The mechanism of body physiology offers many doors for experimentation to promote better health. You, as the physician-student, create techniques based on understanding the mechanism, visualizing what you think should be for that area, and then developing techniques as you understand the mechanism for each individual case and each individual patient. In other words, you are allowed lots of room for experimentation, as long as you obey the laws of the science of osteopathy. You get results in proportion to your knowledge and your developing sense of touch. We, as students of body physiology, as physicians, can use and be used by the body physiology of the patient in the care of each individual patient. The future is very bright for those who choose to study and use the works of Dr. Still and Dr. Sutherland. (p8-9)
Life in Motion: The Osteopathic Vision of Rollin E. Becker, D.O.
Edited by Rachel E. Brooks, M.D.
Stillness Press, LLC
Portland, Oregon
1997
