Honoring Black Colleagues in Polarity Therapy
The impetus for honoring Black colleagues in Polarity Therapy came from a confluence of factors. First off, both of these women have been inspirations to me. Second, Black History Month and World Polarity Day intersected this weekend. Third, I love how NAMA has been spotlighting African American Ayurvedic practitioners. With gladness for all of this, I reached out to two of my colleagues, C. Shola Arewa and Paula Potts, African Anglo and African American healing arts practitioners respectively, with the question “What drew you to practice and share Polarity Therapy?”
C. Shola Arewa, Energy Doctor
C. Shola Arewa, teaching in the UK, (shown on the right) qualified as a Polarity Therapist thirty years ago with Phil Young and Morag Campbell in Europe. While the principles and practices of Dr. Randolph Stone’s Polarity Therapy percolate throughout her classic text, Opening to Spirit: Contacting the Healing Power of the Chakras and Honouring African Spirituality, she sees herself now primarily as an Energy Doctor, with the aim to energize and empower those around her. As a humanistic psychologist, wellness coach, yoga teacher, and author, she is well-equipped to do so. Shola is the founder of Enlightened Entrepreneurs; she offers a Certified Spiritual Coach Training program and mentors Heart Centred Entrepreneurs worldwide.
Shola has inspired me personally as a Black Woman with her creative wisdom, the steadiness and depth of which acts as a wellspring in all of her work. A leading figure in the worlds of spirituality and wellness, Shola has delivered her award-winning integration of Energy based work internationally for over 30 decades. She is unwaveringly generous and insightful. I was delighted to meet her and discover the first of her five books at a Polarity Therapy conference in the US twenty years ago. That text is now a key resource for the courses I teach, being one of the clearest explorations of energy and the chakras around.
Shola invites you to “Reach your highest potential and Manifest your own Personal Brand of Magic, so you can share more of your passion in the world.” She can be found on her own site, Energy 4 Life, as well as on the International Polarity Education Alliance website.
Paula Potts, Board Certified Polarity Practitioner
Paula Potts, M.Ed, BCPP, RCST, practicing and writing in Washington DC, (shown on the left) completed her Board Certified Polarity Practitioner training with Roger Gilchrist. When I approached Paula about honoring black colleagues in Polarity Therapy, she graciously agreed, with the response that hers was a path of “Awakening to Grace and Faith”. As a writer, she immediately cut to the chase.
Paula Potts in her own words: “The simplest answer is that my personal healing process drew me to Polarity Therapy. A devastating health crisis which brought the onset of severe pain and disability changed my life in colossal ways. I was only 40 and enjoyed a highly touted career as a higher education professional when everything shattered around me in 1988.For almost six years, I just got worse! No amount of trigger point injections or toxic pharmaceuticals charted a hopeful path for healing and restoration (from myofascial trigger-point syndrome/fibromyalgia).”
“My “dancer legs”, as I call them, would be my ultimate road to healing and to Polarity Therapy. My introduction to Polarity Therapy happened in a SynergyDance class with the phenomenal founder, Charmaine Lee. I “showed up” even when I was too weak to participate. My sense of spiritual grace guided me to an awakening to the world of energy healing. I “knew” I belonged there!”
“In no uncertain terms, after my first bodywork session, Charmaine counseled: “You need to do this work. And I have the perfect teacher for you.” Divine timing declared: “The student is ready.” The teacher, Roger Gilchrist, had come.”
“Through the lens of Polarity Therapy I learned to view my life as a “sacred contact with healing”. When I am asked to describe the impact on my health of Polarity Therapy, I say: “It saved my life.””
Paula has inspired me personally as a African American woman with her openness, creativity, will to heal, and down to earth humor. The author of three books, including Zen-Tabulousand Just Paula, she is a poet, healing arts practitioner, and creator of the #FeelBETTERChallenge: Self-Care Practices for Daily Living – A Call to Action. Last year Paula was a keynote speaker for the Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy Association of North America.
Paula reflects, “In 2022, my practice, my writings, my phoenix rising and my return to wholeness express my passion for what I know for sure: Energy medicine is the “good news” in the 21stCentury. I love, honor and share Polarity Therapy because IT WORKS!” Paula Potts can be found through the American Polarity Therapy Association website as well as her own site, paulapotts.com.
It is telling for me, in honoring my colleagues in Polarity Therapy that both, with many decades of experience, have centered in on the wisdom of working with energy in everyday life. Thank you! All blessings to you in all your healing work. It is an honor to be in this field of energy healing together.