Interview about me | energywithnutrition Jozef in Dublin

About me

I am strong believer that almost all disease begins in the gut.

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Interview for the Global Yogi by Michelle Taffe (I was featured on her website)

Josef Jurkulak is a healer originally from Slovakia, now living in Ireland, who works with the ‘Bodytalk’ method of healing, as well as with nutrition. I met him in Bali, and then had a Skype healing session with him. I caught up with Josef to talk to him more about his method of healing and his journey as a healer.

How did you become a healer originally? Was it initially about healing yourself?

Yes, first it was about healing myself. I was working in Bratislava for one of the best catering and event companies, and I was working such long hours. So I was not getting enough sleep, I didn’t eat properly, and I had a lack of energy. Then I started to have knee problems. So I went to the doctor, the doctor didn’t find anything, and they then prescribed me painkillers. So I was taking painkillers, and they didn’t work, so I went back to the doctors and they gave me stronger painkillers.

Eventually I realised that this taking painkillers meant that something was not right, so I gave up the job and I went to Ireland and I started in the hotel industry again, and I bought a whole lot of supplements that advertised that they helped with joints and pain reduction.

And why did you move to Ireland? Was that to take a break from your stressful job?

Yes, I wanted a break, and I wanted to start afresh. And I always wanted to go abroad, so Ireland was a good opportunity. So I came here. And I started observing myself, and I started to watch my symptoms, investigating why I had the pain in my knees. And then I found out that certain foods aggravated the symptoms, so I tried to eliminate them, and I found out that this was working very well for me and I healed my knees and healed myself.

So you did a kind of process of elimination with the food, to work out which foods had and effect on your knee?

Correct. So I wrote everything down as I went, and it worked very well. And then I decided that in my work I wanted to get a promotion, but it didn’t go well because they instead hired someone else and trained and paid him more, so life then brought me to somewhere else. Because I didn’t find satisfaction at work, I decided to study nutrition. And I was thinking to open a small restaurant with healthy food.

OK, so that was before you started doing healing work?

Yes, so I studied at the College of Naturoropathic Medicine here in Dublin. And then in the third year we started to see clients, and I saw the result: what nutrition can do.

And from then how did you transition from the idea of setting up a healthy restaurant to becoming a healer?

All because, when I had the first client at school and they got amazing results. So that was all about nutrition, but I felt that something was missing, so I started doing bioenergy. And I had a client with migraines, and she had several migraines from noise and light, and she had migraines once a month and she couldn’t go to work for two or three days. And suddenly after bioenergy sessions, her migraines went away.

I was curious, and I thought, wow, this can really help people, and so I started to become more curious. And then the healthy restaurant idea kind of dropped off my radar.

Right, and I am interested, what was the food that you stopped eating to recover from your knee problems? What foods were harmful for you?

So I was observing myself. So, for example I went out and had a pint of beer, and the next day I had my knee pain, and I wondered – Hey I had only two beers! Hello! And then the following day I had a glass a wine and everything was OK. And then I thought, perhaps gluten was causing the problems.

Because you have gluten in beer but not wine?

Yes, gluten is in the beer, so I tried to eliminate gluten, and I found out my knees were better.

So was it only gluten, or did you eliminate other things as well?

I eliminated dairy also, because I had spots still on my face, and I was in my late twenties and i was thinking that it is not normal to have spots at this age, so I eliminated dairy, and I found my skin was much fresher and the spots went away and I felt much better. So when I gave up gluten, I started to think clearly.

Before I was crying at night because my knees hurt so much. When I was working in the hotel I had to get special shoes because it hurt so much to walk on the carpet. It was a crazy busy hotel and there was so much pressure. Then over time I removed gluten, and it took me a while because gluten is in so many foods. But eventually I recovered fully.

And what about vegetarianism, do you eat meat?

I am semi vegetarian. I eat chicken and I eat fish and eggs. But I think we are all unique. I have clients who have to eat meat and other people are very well without meat.

And have you stayed on that diet that you established then?

So, of course, I started to experiment. So I would have some bread here and a muffin there and I noticed that I had pain again.

So really noticing subtle effects of different foods on your body?

Absolutely. So now I am saying to my clients as well. They can live with pain, and have the foods they like. Or they give up the food, and they will have no pain, and no migraines, no headaches.

Do any of them choose to stay with the food and keep the pain?

My motto is just, remove a little from the diet, and then slowly add something extra – what the body is missing.

So just slowly remove the problem food.

Yes, absolutely.

So my next question is related to the healing session I had with you recently. So it lasted about an hour and a half, it was over Skype (I was in Bali) and you diagnosed my through looking at my body and feeling the energy?

So firstly I am not diagnosing. I am not a GP. I am doing investigations. So I went to study here in Dublin under Tom Griffin. And he wrote with Doctor Nuala Bent, the book ‘Hidden Mind: A Journey of Reconnection’. And basically, we were doing investigations looking at what is the story in the body. Why do people think like they think? And why is the brain causing the problems all the time? And creating the pain?

And from there to actually having a client, you feel into what is going on?

Absolutely, so when I am doing Hidden Mind work, I am using a pendulum, and I am asking yes and no questions. I start with the head, and I check the cranial bones and the structure of the head. The I check the spine. Then I check the auric field and the chakras, all the electrical fields – the chakras and the meridians. So for example when there is a meridian malfunction for example, the body can shorten itself. So let’s sat you have some pain in your shoulder but you don’t do anything about it, and suddenly your body starts moving, and you don’t understand why your body is changing.

And the body is very clever and it knows how to heal and how to protect itself. And we are not looking at our symptoms. The body is talking and it is telling us: Hello, do something with me! When you have pain, and you check on the meridians – different points on the body, you find out where is the weak link.

And the pendulum? You use that with your clients in person as well?

Yes, I am using the pendulum, and with Bodytalk, using the hands, so I am asking the body yes and no questions through the subconscious mind.

So you touch the body?

Yes, it’s like kinesiology when they do muscle testing, but I am doing muscle checking.

So, you touch and you get a response?

Yes I am using yes and no questions and i am using a protocol, with a series of questions.

And do you use this same process on your own body when you are experiencing problems?

Not everybody can heal themselves. But I can, so when I am still and I start tapping myself, and then my hands move and know where my body needs healing and how.

So I noticed you use tapping a lot..

With my clients, I am tapping and my hands and my energy will find the imbalance in the body. And I try and find out why the energy brought me there, to that place.

And it’s the same process with you when you do this for yourself?

Yes. For example, right now, my hands will start tapping at the back of my head, because this is what I need right now. So my hands move according to whatever my body needs.

And so do you do this process often?

Yes, so especially when I am tired, when I have a lot of clients, and when I start to feel a little down, I do this. I do loads of investigations with clients with chronic diseases so when they leave I have to protect myself, so I do these processes to recharge my energy again.

So do you do a preparation process also, before you see a client – clearing your energy field?

No not really, I just ask if I am the right person to treat this person. And if I get a yes answer, so I always take the clients and I am not worried at all.

So can you just tell us a little bit about the ‘Bodytalk’ method. Is that your main method you use in your healing?

I use a combination of things. So I always ask first what this person needs.

And Bodytalk this was founded by an Australian?

Yes, this was founded by John Veltheim, and Australian healer. He is an energy healer. His is a doctor of Quantum Physics, he has loads of titles. He was running a very busy acupuncture clinic. And he was helping so many clients. But he got ill – a virus, and the doctors told him that he was not going to live long. So he looked for an alternative. And he basically found a way to cure himself.

And that was through tapping – but I guess through a whole system?

It was a whole system. And this knowledge, his modalities, he developed into the Bodytalk system.

So you use that, and then also nutrition, and also other systems?

In Bodytalk? Yes, so Bodytalk is energy, and using the body chemistry and hidrations as well. So let’s say the body is taking too much water or too little water. So after body chemistry, doing hydratations, the person is going to urinate straight away, because they have loads of water int he body, or they are suddenly thirsty, because all the cells need water suddenly, so they need to drink.

And as well as Bodytalk do you use any other related modalities like that?

I am using Energy with Nutrition. So energy with my hands, and nutrition from good choice of food. So I have to first find out what caused the problem. Is it energy? Is it a virus? Is it the electrical field? Is it nutrition? And then I prioritise – what does the person need? And then by tapping over the body, I pick up where I have to go. And then I basically find out how many sessions the client needs with me. And then I have to send him or her for some tests, or to another therapist or I am going to help them.

So I guess you are getting clients with all different kinds of problems?

People that have traumas, that have emotional problems, that have anxiety, that have depression – all different kinds of things.

And those emotional traumas like depression and anxiety, would you say they are equally affected by nutritional problems – by the food you are eating or not eating?

Absolutely. It has to be nutrition and energy together. Sometimes you are losing your memory, so you are missing B12. And if you have addictions to drugs, it is low vitamin B1. And then alcoholics they have low vitamin B2.

And what about genetics? Do you thin there is some kind of genetic predisposition for addictions as well?

It is interesting – I have different clients and I was wondering why certain people have addictions. And I discovered in the middle brain there is a part that is not functioning properly. And then I found out with alcoholics and people with drug problems, I found out that this part of the brain is not articulating correctly. And so then I wanted to find out when this happened. What was the trigger?

So is that a disconnect between the right and left hemispheres?

As well. And I can give you and example. One Mum told me her son was an alcoholic. So I went with her to rehab. And I found out that something happened when he was born. So I asked his Mum what happened in the delivery and she told me he had a big head, and it took three doctors to pull him out.

So a trauma?

So this was a strain on the body and on the structures of the brain. And then I found that something happened between the ages of one and seven and she said, she tried every single doctor to try to find an answer. She said he was banging his head on the wall until he fell asleep. So all his neurotransmitters are affected. And then he has migraines and headaches but nobody is looking at this. And then he becomes an alcoholic. But nobody around him looks at what is behind his alcoholism. what is really going on. What is the trigger. So first we have to bring this injury from when he is born to the fore and release it.

So how is he going now?

So far as I know he is three months without any alcohol. But of course it is up to him, because all of his cells – they smell alcohol so if he starts to drink again, it will be triggered.

So what are some of the main reasons that people come to you for healing?

So people are fed up with medical systems. They go to GPs and are prescribed painkillers. And this doesn’t change anything, so they are looking for a second opinion.

And do you get many people who have been sceptical before about alternative medicine?

Yes, because for example in Ireland and in Slovakia – before it was the priest and the GP. But now people are more open minded and are more aware of what it going on around. Thanks to the Internet and to alternative therapists – they are doing a great job.

So I met you in Ubud a few months ago when you were on a trip there – what was you experience working with traditional Balinese people?

It was a very interesting trip for me. So I basically went there to find out more about how this spiritual healing is working. So I was learning from them and I would then share what I knew so we would be learning from each other. And then I was working with one Balinese healer and I found out he had a stroke a couple of a months before i cam there. So I gave him two sessions in a row, because he needed the sessions – because healers need the sessions as well.

And did you find that being a very spiritual culture, that Balinese people are better at healing themselves?

I was thinking that this would be the case but sometimes it is an illusion. I was working with Chokorda Rai, a Balinese healer who is eighty three years old and is very well known. Many tourists go to see him. And I went there to see how he is practicing – how he is working. And he had one French lady and is checking the head and suddenly he was shouting – I can’t feel anything! Why did you come to me? Why did you want to see me? And I told him that she had a trauma. And he said ‘trauma?’ I said yes, she had a trauma. And then he had a wooden stick and he started to point in the reflexology points on the feet. And he said – ‘yes, you are right, she had the trauma.’ And then he was doing praying and blessings. But these are ten minute sessions. So she was disappointed, so she stayed behind, and she waited for me and asked me – how did you find this? She told me that he didn’t want to go deeper with her to find out what was the cause of the problem.

So do you think that because there are so many healers in Bali maybe they are not doing a thorough job?

Oh they are doing a great job, but because there are lots of tourists there, and they don’t need to go for deep healing. So the healers are taking advantage of this. Of course there are very good healers there. But they approach it like a business.

So do you think most people could benefit from a visit to a healer like you, even if they don’t have very obvious problems in their life? That pretty much everyone can benefit from a session from a healer.

Yes sure because people have emotions stored in their body, trauma – they don’t know how to help themselves. And then there is physical structure as well. One leg is shorter than the other leg, or the spine – the electricity is going through the spine. And we can do the lower back release and the upper back release.

Because it’s about more than just healing problems. Ultimately we want to all live our optimal lives…and be as happy and healthy as we can.

Yes, it is a changing experience, because I am looking at the body, mind and spirit, and the client is working with me. We are working together. And there has to be feedback and then I give some homework. I give exercise, I give nutritional programs and we are working together, and together we get the results. But the body is designed to heal itself. So you cut yourself, and it heals.

Yes, but for things like emotional blocks and trauma, it is not so easy, you don’t know how to heal these things sometimes. So you get an energetic, emotional block and you feel bad somehow but you don’t know what to do.

So you have to remove from the subconscious mind, bring it to the conscious mind, and they will deal with it together. So sometimes people have a release on the table. People start to cry or start to laugh and start to scream because all the emotions are released from the body.

So suddenly it all comes out?

Suddenly it all comes out and they feel lighter – they feel much better.

And how do you – so after a session, are you basically trying to teach people how to heal themselves?

Yes.

And what about things like yoga and meditation?

Meditation is fantastic. Because it is great for your posture, for your spine, you are selecting thoughts so you are thinking clearly . Your posture is better, your skin is better – yoga and meditation are a big part. You are doing a great job!

So how do you approach the business side of being a healer?

So I am not a business person. So I developed a web page and a business card. I tried to do a few advertisements but it didn’t work for me, because people are sceptical.

So when people come to you, and they get results then they will tell somebody else and somebody else will come to you.

Yes, like i said I am not a business person, but I have to pay the bills. And i want to study mind body and spirit for my whole life, and these workshops cost money. So yes sure I am comfortable. But then if I have clients that don’t have money then I ask them to give a donation to a homeless person or a charity on my behalf and come and show me the receipt. And that’s OK, so I can do this once or twice. But you know, if somebody is painting the house, then you have to give him money.

So you help people when you can but there is a limit?

Energy has to be exchanged. So people have to realise that they are paying for their heath. If they are getting something for free then they are not taking it seriously, and the healing is not happening as fast as it should be.

Josef is located in Dublin, just ten minutes from the airport so its easy access for flying in from Europe. He does distance healing as well. To find out more about Josef and his work, visit his website Energy with Nutrition. (www.energywithnutrition.com).