Today we’d like to introduce you to Deb Lecos.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
In my early thirties, I had a first miscarriage that set off a severe depression. It lasted through several pregnancy losses and became post-partum when twins arrived after IVF. There was an inkling it had to do with childhood issues, but being a “do” person, I went into survival mode, raising twins, and opening a private practice to help people develop a path to heal chronic pain, body-mind-spirit. This took me to learning several different modalities; massage, CranioSacral Therapy, Visceral Manipulation, Lymphatic Drainage, Neural Manipulation, and shamanism.
Each of these protocols was beneficial in keeping me afloat as well. The practice I built on word-of-mouth has become known for a multi-faceted approach that is recommended for people who have hit a wall with traditional forms of treatment. I offer classes in meditation, organic drumming, and mindfulness, as well as techniques learned from a shaman to offer opportunities for spiritual healing. These practices have been written-presented in the online magazine elephant journal, Huffington Post, and my own blog 20 Gurus and a Dog. Two and a half years ago I wrote a book that was being readied for publication covering these topics.
And this is where my bio would end if not for an altercation between me and an MRI tube that set off unremitting PTSD. The abuse I experienced as a child had woken up and wouldn’t go back to sleep. I underwent intensive treatment for PTSD with a mental health professional specializing in Eye Motioning Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). During those months I wrote as I struggled to heal and realized that even when I couldn’t believe it, healing remains always possible. That book is currently being shopped for publication. I’m a speaker on topics about healing, surviving an abusive childhood, and the altered life it can create, the ramifications of aware and non-aware PTSD, and that it is possible to truly live after struggling to survive.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Opening a private practice is a challenge in that there’s no one else to blame if it doesn’t take off, but that challenge is what can create an environment that increases the opportunity to succeed–rather like healing. When a rock wall is met, and there is no reverse button, the only options remaining are to endlessly hate the current stagnant existence while memorizing the nooks and crannies of the rock wall or climb. As a brand new practitioner/owner, I operated out the back of a yoga studio. There was no signage, I did not advertise, and no one knew who I was in the small town we lived.
That same month I began the enterprise my husband lost his job. Our income went from almost-comfortable to impossible. I remember looking at the meager sum in the checking account and a stack of bills and thought, “Well, there is no way this is gonna work, so if it’s impossible for my brain to wrap around a solution, I’m going to trust that I’ve made it this far for no good reason, and managed to survive.” Somehow the bills got paid. I stopped looking at the checking account and focused on creating relationships with strangers who are living with pain.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Body Language Therapies – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Looking back on a previous career in the restaurant industry, I can see how hospitality became second nature to me. Helping people find healing is best in an environment where a person feels respected, considered, empathized with, and comfortable in the surroundings where the service is provided. A white non-inviting room reminds me of a doctor’s office, and not many find that a relaxing experience.
The body is a vessel protected by fight or flight. Producing this response is necessary for surviving potential trauma and overcoming the aftereffects if emotionally or physically wounded. But if that reaction is induced by being in a space similar to where a shot, surgery, or a diagnosis has been given, it is not conducive to healing. No body or brain will facilitate healing while in fight or flight. I keep this in mind when interacting with people struggling with chronic pain. It is not only a better way for me to communicate with clients but interact as a human being–to consider what is going on both before and after the person is in my presence.
There is not a microscope that peers into another person’s experience, but it is safe to say that no one remains unscathed for a lifetime. And I believe that deserves respect and thoughtful interaction. I’ve been fortunate in my own healing that I’ve come across those who have devoted their lives to helping people heal in the most humane and considered way possible. It has been my intent to walk the humanitarian path these talented individuals have introduced as I interact with others as a practitioner, an author, and a speaker. In tandem with the environment and respectful relationship that is built, I have endeavored to continue learning new modalities as they are needed.
Clients can present many different types of physical issues and have facets that connect with other parts of their being. With CranioSacral therapy there is the ability to utilize the craniosacral system to work with emotions that may become trapped in the nervous system throughout the body. It is called somato-emotional release when a person is able to bring their awareness to an issue relating to an event that created a misstep in the body. Utilizing this protocol has given clients the opportunity to bring homeostasis to a body stuck in pain and dysfunction.
This is one example of when a series of classes have driven the direction of my practice. When a client has arrived with an issue that I am unfamiliar, I endeavor to add to my skills when possible, and when not, research a practitioner to refer them to.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Body Language Therapies is about to shift to Deb Lecos, author, speaker, and practitioner. I’m finding the healing stories I share with people are helpful to those struggling with believing that healing is possible and worth fighting for even when a life has been overruled by loss and societal dictums.
Redirecting the focus of Body Language is another shift–like learning new modalities to help others. With the rise of survivors in the #MeToo movement, I believe strong voices can bring healing up and down the street, and perhaps inspire a rebirth in humanitarianism, conscious parenting, and thoughtful community conversations to create problem-solving-actions for a healing future for all life on this planet.
Contact Info:
- Address: 824 S. Main Street #203, Crystal Lake, Illinois 60014
- Website: https://www.bodylanguagetherapies.com
- Phone: 815-861-4889
- Email: dblecos@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deblecos/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DebLecosWriter/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DebLecos
- Other: https://www.deblecos.com
Image Credit:
Dakota Lecos Phography, Annette Gustafson, Kosta Lecos, Deb Lecos
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