10/08/2026
How I became a Perry Method practitioner PART 3:
I Used to Believe That Effective Treatment Had to Hurt
For many years, I believed that stronger treatment meant better treatment.
I wanted deep, painful massages.
I wanted chiropractors to crack everything back into place.
I thought that if a treatment hurt, it must be doing something important.
Sometimes those treatments gave me temporary relief—but the results rarely lasted.
More importantly, they did not teach me what to do when I did not have the time or opportunity to find someone to “fix” me.
The Perry Method® gave me a very different experience.
Dr. Edie teaches:
“Soft hands induce safety.”
When the body feels threatened, it may tighten, brace or protect itself. Pushing harder can sometimes create even more resistance.
The goal is not to fight the body or force it into submission.
It is to listen, provide clearer sensory information and create enough safety for the body to explore another possibility.
As Dr. Edie says:
“We’re not going to inflict change. We’re going to invoke change.”
That lesson completely changed how I understood bodywork.