Episode 19 - Healing Beyond Medicine: Touchology and the Power of Listening with Njideka Olatunde
By Jessica Garrison
Our next guest is the incredible Njideka Olatunde. She describes herself as an evolving butterfly, which is the most perfect, beautiful imagery for the journey we take through finding empowerment and embracing our layers.
Inspired by home remedies in her household growing up, Njideka wanted to become a healer. She’s always had that passion for helping people and now focuses on being an educator, advocate, and ambassador for pain relief that is alternative to medicine. Prescription medicine can be very helpful, if you’re taking it for the right reasons with proper diagnosis. Sometimes when we have a health concern, we get treated for one area of the problem rather than treating the core of the problem. When you’re only healing one aspect, you just end up going back to the doctor because of something else popping up, but again, it’s because the core of the issue has not been resolved. Njideka understands that pain and stress go hand in hand, so she has a process for understanding the whole problem rather than just a piece of it.
Njideka utilizes the power of touch with her patients, starting with listening. Although you don’t have to physically touch someone to listen, it’s the most important step for proper treatment. She opens her mind and lends an ear to her patients so she can get a full idea of what the issues are. Rather than listening to one part of the problem, she is listening to figure out the core, which saves money, time, and prescription medicine for someone who might not need it. Njideka emphasizes that not one specialist can do it all. There’s a combination of treatments that Njideka will refer to or recommend, but she is coming from the understanding of mind, body, and spirit connections.
Njideka reiterates that touch is more than physical when it comes to touchology. Even a simple “thank you” can be healing. She and Melissa shared a few examples of this, but the one that stuck out in my head was when you’re driving, trying to merge/switch lanes but no one will let you in. Then there’s that one person who will let you go and it’s the biggest relief in the world. You give them a wave to say thank you, they wave back, and then you go on with your day, but you still remember that person who let you in when no one else would. It’s a healing experience that proves any small amount of kindness or consideration is healing.
Explore Njideka’s website to learn more and focus on all aspects of healing. Remember that anyone has the ability to heal and to be healed—suffering isn’t forever. Women like Njideka open doors for new methods of healing and we have only scratched the surface of this world.
Ways to Engage: Your why is a powerful question. Think back to when you were a child and what made you feel passionate or what you wanted to do with your life before someone told you you couldn’t. Does this align with you now? What changed? Explore your journey to discovering your current why, what you love now, and what you left behind.