Healing power of polar opposites
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Marlene Macmillan was a successful health and fitness exponent before a riding accident broke her back. Now, thanks to holistic treatments, including magnetic field therapy, she has become a healthy and glamorous guru of well-being.
When she broke her back in a horse riding accident eight years ago Marlene Macmillan feared she'd never walk again.
In the Eighties she was Scotland's answer to Jane Fonda - a successful aerobics pioneer and sports saleswoman who moved into marketing.
Fitness had always been her life and when she suffered her accident it was a traumatic blow.
She spent the next five years in terrible pain. But after fighting back to health she's now on a mission to help others and has launched the Academy of Wellness from her home near Strathaven, Lanarkshire.
As a wellness consultant she runs courses to help companies combat ill health and stress in the workplace, as well as aiding individuals with advice on nutrition, exercise and health.
She's a personal trainer, teaching a holistic approach to exercise called the Chi Ball Method. She's also a follower of magnetic field therapy and drinks 'living water', which has been filtered and magnetised through a special system in her home.
Although at first glance some of her theories seem a little New Age, she's being taken very seriously by big business.
She's been working with top Scottish law firm Bishop's, where she's helped install anti-stress stations for staff. The lawyers will also apparently be wearing magnetic insoles. She's also worked with Scottish Enterprise.
The 48-year-old looks healthy, glamorous and much younger than her years so she's certainly a walking advertisement for what she preaches.
She instinctively puts her hand to her back when she recalls her accident.
'When I fell from my horse onto rocks I felt the vertebrae in my back snapping like someone was clicking their fingers,' she recalled. 'I was terrified I'd never walk again and passed out.'
She was relieved when doctors told her even though she'd broken vertebrae she should recover and be able to walk again.
But she suffered terrible pain and was forced to take a cocktail of painkillers and walk with a stick. She had to wear a corset support and a lift in her shoe because her body was out of line. She also underwent regular physiotherapy sessions.
'Some mornings I couldn't move my jaw. I'd get out of bed feeling like an old woman.
'I was this fitness fanatic and loved horse riding, then suddenly I couldn't do anything. Even standing would hurt,' she explained.
Then a friend suggested she try a magnetic sleep system with a mattress, pillow and duvet infused with a magnetic field.
'After three weeks I was able to walk without sticks, bend over, jump around without the dreadful stiffness and pain I'd had for years,' she said.
The success set her on a path to explore other natural healing methods and she launched the Academy of Wellness.
Now Marlene also wears special magnetic insoles in her shoes.
'It's not like a fashion statement. I'm not saying you must get a pair of magnetic insoles because it's the latest craze. You must get a pair of magnetic insoles to look after your health,' she says.
She believes magnetic energy products stimulate the earth's magnetic field to help your body heal itself. Far from being quirky, magnets are gaining widespread recognition and are used by Olympic athletes and doctors.
Marlene also drinks 'living' water. She said: 'Water is so important to the body. It's what makes everything work. It pumps nutrition round the body, detoxes it.
'I'm on a mission to get everyone hydrated by drinking enough water. Everyone should drink eight to 10 glasses of water a day.'
Although Marlene now feels in optimum health and is amazed at the difference magnets have made to her life and clients, she believes she discovered the benefits too late in one sense and wonders whether magnetic therapy could have helped her have a child.
'I could never have kids and it was a big pain in my life. I tried IVF seven times but it never worked. Then my husband and I divorced.'
Now she's dedicating herself to improving people's health and she's set up a charity to help people who would find it difficult to afford some of the treatments.
There are a range of magnetic products available, from insoles at around £45 a pair to the magnetic mattresses which can cost from £400 to £1000.
Marlene believes people should try to prevent problems arising - rather than waiting to treat the difficulties.
'It's prevention not intervention. If you don't prevent things happening to your body you'll have to have intervention, such as operations,' she says.
Marlene also recommends a macrobiotic diet of fresh fruit, vegetables and wholegrains, as followed by Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna. But she also believes in nutritional supplements.
She added: 'But there's nothing wrong with letting your hair down. I couldn't be a purist. I will have a gin and tonic or some wine. To me, having fun is doing what you enjoy in moderation and in a balanced way.'
Marlene uses a biophotonic scanner, a non-invasive system to check antioxidant levels in the body. She said: 'We want to have an abundance of antioxidants to protect against free radical damage.'
The scanner measures the levels of carotenoid, a powerful antioxidant found in fruit and vegetables, in a few minutes using a low energy laser on the palm of the hand. It's another tool in Marlene's armoury in the battle to get people to better health. A low reading reveals the body is less able to fight life-threatening diseases like cancer and heart disease.
From the test results she can suggest a course of action through healthy eating and superstrength supplements.
'We should all aim for a healthy diet, drink good clean, living water, supplement our diet with vitamins and minerals if we feel we're not getting them from food, and take exercise,' she said.
'I'm not a doctor, I'm a humanitarian and I want to share what I know,' she said. 'I provide energy medicine and see myself as an information broker.'
by Maria Croce
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