Jacob Caldwell

I have a doctorate degree in physical therapy, an advanced certification in Functional Manual Therapy™, a bachelor’s degree in biology, a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and a bachelor’s degree in history. My interests and education may seem diverse and unconnected, and they have sometimes seemed that way to me, but I always sensed there was a connection to my pursuits, and I was right. Over the years they have coalesced into a common theme: that of revitalizing life by specifically revitalizing the body. My studies in biology, physiotherapy, and manual therapy took me deep into the body, and what I found is that we as a society are missing the life that is in the body. We treat our bodies like machines, but they are so much more than machines! They are wild, living animals!

All ancient peoples had a notion of the poetry of the body, of the body as an expression of the soul within the person, and our Western tradition has a rich history of a deep relationship between body and soul. Unfortunately, we have almost completely forgotten this in our modern world. It is my job to bring the body back to life, to revitalize it. Aches and pains are not just dysfunctions to be fixed, but the cry of the body for attention.

My life is about caring for my body and the bodies of others, otherwise I would be ignoring my soul. The brilliant American psychologist James Hillman said, "In your symptom is your soul." This is a very important statement, and it applies to all of the aches and pains in our bodies as well. If the soul is in the symptom, then my soul's calling is to care for the body because as a young athlete I suffered just about every pain for which my patients come to see me. I strive to give the body the attention that it deserves in my work as a physiotherapist, in the Body Tune-Up service that I offer, in my ACTIVE100™​ DVD series, in my work as a Vitality Coach, and in my books.

Man has no Body distinct from his Soul; for that call’d Body is a portion of Soul discern’d by the five Senses, the chief inlets of Soul in this age. - William Blake, from the poem The Marriage of Heaven and Hell