Meet Imetai Henderson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Imetai Henderson.

Imetai, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve been lucky enough to be gifted with a life-long exposure to martial arts and natural medicine. This all began when my mother introduced me to her teacher in the Japanese philosophy of Kototama, O’Sensei M. Nakazono (now deceased). I was four years old at the time and began to study the martial art of Aikido. I’m presently a Yondan (4th degree Black Belt) in Aikido.

When I was seventeen, I went to Santa Fe, New Mexico to begin the formal study of Traditional Oriental Medicine at the Kototama Institute. Subsequent to my studies and licensure in Acupuncture, I attended several years of intern and externship under the direction of O’Sensei Nakazono and both his sons, Sensei Dr. K. Nakazono and Dr. J Nakazono, in New Mexico and New York.

2019 is my 35th year of professional practice of acupuncture, moxabustion, acupressure and other traditional therapeutic modalities. I’ve had private practices in New Mexico, New York, Connecticut, and Colorado.

Presently, in addition to private practice, I oversee a low cost/low-income clinic with my student and colleague Jason Livingstone L. Ac, as well as offering internships in my methods to other acupuncturists.

I’ve changed my therapeutic model over the years as I’ve gathered experience, and I’ve come to a pragmatic view of healing. What works best ought to be kept, and what doesn’t add to health needs to be either changed, modified, or let go of. Health isn’t a static state, but changes based on the person, the time of year, nutrition, past history, and many other variables. Learning to relate to the body and its needs and come into a good understanding and relationship with it is the focus of Source Therapies.

Has it been a smooth road?
Learning to consult with the body as opposed to the consciousness in charge has been challenging at times. Although many people think they treat their bodies well, the truth is often different. While learning to translate the body’s experience to the person, there were years where my ability to do so was lacking. The first 10-15 years of practice were challenging too in that it was often difficult to get the symptoms a patient came in with to change and heal.

But after a certain time, and as my understanding grew, my treatments became more effective and my ability to become a strong advocate for the body increased. Now, I very much enjoy the difficult, chronic cases where the internal communication has broken down badly. There’s nothing quite like the dawning of a new relationship between a patient’s body and mind, both of whom have suffered badly without the love and care of this primary partnership. These days, although the growing relationship between body and consciousness isn’t always smooth, there’s an ease in shepherding the person down a more loving internal path. Especially as symptoms grow less pronounced and the awareness of joy and peace grow.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I started Source Therapies about a decade ago. At Source Therapy, we offer a different paradigm, one where health’s basis is the understanding that the body is an equal partner in our life’s path. Where the body is understood to be just as intelligent and wise as our conscious identity considers itself to be, merely communicating in a different way. This difference in communication is primarily that the body speaks in symptoms and feelings. Indeed learning to communicate with the body, or to re-establish communication, with this essential part of self, is the first step toward wholeness and balance that we all need to feel in the pursuit of joy, peace and safety.

Therapies to awaken and strengthen this communication can include acupuncture, acupressure (shiatsu), moxabustion, diet, and verbal discussion, all directed in learning how to decode our body’s messages to us. My student and I have the intention of training the patient to be in a partnership with their body, as opposed to treating it as a dumb beast, believing the body mere representation, transportation or a recreational space to be managed like a job or an apartment. Our identities grow out of our bodies. At some point (usually around puberty), we begin to belittle, deny and reject our body and it’s sovereign intelligence. From that moment on, suffering and symptoms are born. A huge aspect of health is remembering how to honor that which has gone before (our bodies) and put our consciousnesses into a proper relationship to it. Once we make that commitment, we are again in alignment with the source and foundation of our lives and can move forward with balance, love, and support.

Our treatment at Source Therapies differs from any other Natural therapy in that we treat the energetic circulation of women and men in very different and specific ways, and are able to address chronic and difficult-to-heal conditions in unique ways. We treat all chronic imbalances, fertility, women’s issues, and like to take on cases that others have given up on. We are also proud to offer a reduced fee/low-income clinic so people generally without a recourse to complementary medicine can experience our methods.

My office is located about halfway between Longmont and Boulder in an old house on a horse farm. I like patients to be able to come to a relaxing, natural environment. The drive to and from treatment provides time for the patient to concentrate on themselves and access how they’re doing, and to allow the treatment to settle in a calm atmosphere. After many years working in Manhattan, I well know how important the re-integration into life after a treatment can be!

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Natural medicines such as TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) change a lot over time, and yet the basis of the training remains relatively consistent. Over the last three decades, I’ve seen the general quality of training increase dramatically. Many practitioners now have access to over-seas training and long internships, which can only help the overall quality and ability of the practitioners. As has already happened in New Mexico, some acupuncturists can now qualify to offer primary care. Thus, the Natural Medical community is a place of growth and is improving vastly as the years go by. I’ve been quite impressed by the comprehensive training of some of my students who are recent graduates of local Acupuncture schools.

Pricing:

• Consultation and first treatment (allow 2 hours): $300
• Subsequent Treatments (allow 1 hour minimum) $175
• Additional time for consultation or treatment: $25 per 15 minutes

Contact Info:

• Address: Blue Cloud Horse Farm
  6069 Prospect Street
  Longmont, CO
  80503
• Website: source-therapies.com
• Phone: 303-818-6473
• Email: imetai7@gmail.com
• Facebook: Imetai Henderson’s Source Therapy

Image Credit:
photos by J. Livingstone and K. Livingstone

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