Today marks a profound milestone—forty years since Dr. John E. Upledger opened the doors of his clinic, a sanctuary of healing that would touch countless lives and forever transform the landscape of manual therapy and integrative medicine. As we honor this anniversary, I find myself reflecting on the immeasurable gift of having walked alongside this visionary teacher, healer, and pioneer.
Thirty years ago, Dr. John extended an invitation that would shape the trajectory of my life’s work. He asked me to join him at the Upledger Clinic, to work by his side, next to him, and with him. What followed were twenty-four extraordinary years—seventeen years working directly with him until his passing, and another seven years carrying forward the light he had ignited. The clinic’s closing in 2024, five years after those final chapters, marked the end of an era, yet the seeds planted during those decades continue to flourish in ways that honor his vision.
A Teacher of Unwavering Presence
Dr. John—as we affectionately called him—embodied a rare combination of strength and tenderness. He was a powerful teacher who demanded excellence, not from a place of harshness, but from a deep knowing of what his clinicians were capable of achieving. His expectations were high because his faith in us was higher. He could be tough when the work required it, yet his toughness was always tempered with love, always balanced with an unwavering availability to guide our hands and illuminate our understanding.
As fellow osteopaths, Dr. John and I shared a sacred bond that transcended the typical student-teacher relationship. Our connection was rooted in a mutual reverence for the wisdom of the body, for the subtle yet profound intelligence that flows through living tissue. We understood each other in that wordless way that comes from walking the same path, from placing our hands on the human body with the same intention to listen, to facilitate, to serve. This connection deepened over the years, growing richer and more nuanced, lasting vibrantly until the very end of his life.
Sacred Transmissions
In those final years, Dr. John entrusted me with teachings of the most sacred nature—wisdom he had gathered over a lifetime of dedicated practice and profound inquiry. His encouragement for me to teach Qigong was not a casual suggestion but a deliberate passing of the torch. When he invited me to present at “Beyond The Dura 2003” on the integration of CranioSacral therapy and Qigong, he was recognizing something essential: that the evolution he had always championed required bridges between traditions, between East and West, between ancient wisdom and contemporary understanding.
The connection between Dr. John and my Qigong teacher, Dr. Effie Chow—founder of the World Congress on Qigong—runs deep in the history of integrative medicine. Their collaborative work, invited by President Bill Clinton at the Office of Alternative Medicine established in 1992 within the National Institutes of Health, represented a watershed moment. Together, they were among the pioneers investigating and validating unconventional medical practices, laying the groundwork for what we now recognize as integrative health and medicine. This was the fertile soil from which the merging of Eastern and Western healing traditions would grow.
The Imperative of Evolution
Dr. John spoke often and with conviction about evolution. To me and to other preeminent osteopaths, he emphasized that osteopathy and CranioSacral work must never become static, never calcify into rigid doctrine. He understood that living medicine, like life itself, must breathe, adapt, and grow. This was not merely his opinion—it was his mandate to those of us who would carry this work forward.
Having spent so many years at his side, observing the nuances of his touch, absorbing the depth of his understanding, I came to see that CranioSacralQigong represents precisely the kind of evolution he envisioned. This integration honors a continuum that has been unfolding across many generations, weaving together the subtle energy work of Eastern traditions with the anatomical wisdom of Western osteopathy. The synthesis of CranioSacral therapy with Qigong offers something Dr. John held as paramount: the empowerment of each person to become an active participant in their own healing journey.
Courage in the Face of Resistance
The path of innovation is rarely smooth. I am honored to identify myself as an individuated Upledger-ian—one who has kept faith with the spirit of Dr. John’s teachings rather than their letter, who has chosen evolution over preservation, living practice over static doctrine. This path has not been without its challenges. There has been antagonism from some quarters, resistance from those who have transformed Dr. John’s dynamic, ever-evolving work into rigid dogma.
Yet as an osteopath, I have been graced with the ability—perhaps the responsibility—to operate free from dogma. This freedom is not a departure from Dr. John’s legacy but its truest expression. His work was never about creating followers who would endlessly replicate the past; it was about cultivating practitioners who would have the courage, the wisdom, and the skill to meet the present moment with fresh eyes and capable hands.
Science Catches Up, The Work Continues
We have made tremendous progress. The scientific community is increasingly validating what manual therapists and energy workers have known through direct experience: that the body possesses profound self-healing capacities, that subtle interventions can create significant shifts, that the integration of mind, body, and spirit is not metaphor but physiology. Science is catching up, and as it does, it affirms the vision that Dr. John held and lived.
Gratitude Beyond Measure
As we celebrate forty years since the opening of the Upledger Clinic, my heart overflows with gratitude. Gratitude for a teacher who saw potential in me and created space for it to unfold. Gratitude for the privilege of learning through my hands, day after day, year after year, in the company of a master. Gratitude for the sacred transmissions, for the tough love, for the gentle corrections, for the moments of profound connection when healing moved through us both.
Dr. John E. Upledger gave us more than techniques and protocols. He gave us a way of being with suffering, a way of listening to the body’s wisdom, a way of trusting in the healing process. He showed us that true medicine is both art and science, both technique and presence, both knowledge and humility.
Today, as I continue to develop and teach CranioSacralQigong, I carry Dr. John with me—in my hands, in my heart, in my commitment to the ongoing evolution of healing work. The clinic may have closed its physical doors, but the healing that began there forty years ago continues to ripple outward, touching lives in ways we may never fully measure.
To Dr. John E. Upledger: Thank you for your vision, your courage, your generosity, and your trust. Thank you for showing us that healing is not a destination but a journey, not a formula but a relationship, not a dogma but a living, breathing practice that must evolve to meet the needs of each new generation.
Your legacy lives on—not in the preservation of the past, but in the courageous evolution of those you inspired to keep growing, keep learning, and keep serving.
With profound respect, deep gratitude, and enduring love.
Dr. Cloe Couturier
craniosacralqigong.com
Passing of a torch. John Upledger and Cloe Couturier
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