Mexico

Wow, what a great experience I had this weekend in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. My wife Jeni and I went to Mexico with a group of doctors to provide inmates in the Puerto Penasco prison with much needed health care. Even though I had been to the city of Puerto Penasco before, I had never been in this capacity, so I had no idea what to expect. The experience was invaluable and I came away with several impressions. It is important to note that prisons in Mexico are very different than prisons in the US. In Mexico, people are presumed guilty until proven innocent, unless you are able to pay your way out of prison. Given this, I knew many of the people I was going to be treating would be innocent people who simply did not have the money to get out of prison. I was also surprised to learn that if a mother is in prison, it is not uncommon for her to have her children in the prison with her. I could not imagine the challenge of trying to raise children in prison.

As you can imagine, it was hard at first to maintain a healing intention as we entered the prison. We were all checked into the prison by a guard with a machine gun strapped over his shoulder. We were then escorted into the prison, again by armed guards. I kept myself centered by being present to my breath and keeping my focus on my heart center. I felt that because I would only get one opportunity to adjust each inmate, I needed to be completely present to get the most out of each adjustment. Once inside the infirmary, the guards began letting inmates in to receive care. I was working in a very small room but I was able to fit two tables next to each other so that I could see more people in the amount of time we had. Each inmate first got adjusted before proceeding to see a general practitioner for more specific health concerns. I was surprised to see the amount of tension that many of the inmates held in their body relative to their age. People in their twenties and thirties had as much tension in their body as I would normally observe in someone in their forties and fifties at my office in Tucson. This gave me an indication as to how stressful living conditions are not only in the prison, but in a third world country. Many of there daily concerns revolve around their very own survival, which is not something most of us in the US experience on a daily basis.

What truly touched me about this experience though, was the level of respect and gratitude that each of the prisoners showed everybody in our group. I found this deeply inspiring. If someone living in a prison in Mexico, whether they are guilty or not, and in some cases raising a family there, could be grateful for the ten minute adjustment that they received, I could certainly find more in my own life to be grateful for.

I am grateful for the opportunity to touch the lives of these people if even for a very brief moment in time. I know the power of an adjustment and I believe that one adjustment could change the direction of one or more of their lives. I have seen it happen. I am also grateful for the opportunity to adjust the children in the prison. We tend to live very privileged lives in the US compared to other countries and we often take it for granted. When I see children whose only experience of life thus far is that of the inside of a prison, I realize how grateful I am that my children have a home and are surrounded by people who love and nurture them.

After spending Saturday in the prison, Jeni and I spent Sunday morning on the beach before returning to Tucson. It was so serene early in the morning watching the waves crash upon the shore. It was a moment of cleansing. Spending time in nature can be very healing. Our lives are very stressful and our nervous system is never given the opportunity to fully recover. Because of this, physiologically, we live in a state of survival, our nervous system in always on alert and often overwhelmed. When we spend time in nature, whether that be hiking in the desert or walking on the beach, our nervous system becomes more balanced, shifting from this state of survival and into a state of healing and growth. I forget the power of this because I, like many others, do not fully take advantage of the beauty in the environment surrounding us. I am grateful for moments such as the one I spent on the beach for the healing that occurs and for the simple reminder to be more mindful of the beauty we have been given in this world.