My first experience with Jim Sullivan was
light on words and heavy on physical touch. I had heard about
Sullivan’s skill with bodywork and went for a massage —
a satisfying experience in which he practiced a variety of
techniques. But it was after hearing bits of his personal history
that my real interest was piqued. How does a former combat pilot
end up practicing and teaching a variety of alternative healing
techniques?
Sullivan grew up in Joliet. As a child he had
aspirations of being an astronaut. At the same time he was
spellbound by television’s Kung
Fu series, which tracked the
adventures of a character named Caine who, as a child, was taught
martial arts and mentored by a Buddhist monk. Like the show’s
main character, Sullivan says, he “wanted to travel the
countryside and have adventures.” He graduated with a
bachelor’s degree in communications from Eastern Illinois
University and was promptly commissioned as an officer in the Army.
He flew Black Hawk helicopters during tours in Central America,
Asia, and the Middle East and saw action in the first Gulf War.
Sullivan lights up as he reminisces about his military adventures:
“There was a three-year span that I slept outside every
night.” He had realized his childhood dreams of adventure.
When Sullivan began experiencing physical
problems consistent with Gulf War syndrome, he left the service.
His continuing maladies, including rashes, bowel problems, fatigue,
and joint and muscle pain, prompted him to look beyond mainstream
medicine for relief. “Western medicine is about a
cure,” Sullivan says. “Eastern medicine is about
healing.” Take the example of a bacterial infection: Sullivan
says that although Western medicine prescribes antibiotics to
attack bacteria, the underlining causes that allowed the infection
to take hold may persist. Sullivan found that alternative practices
— acupuncture, bodywork, and detoxification — did a
better job of addressing these root causes. He described his
experience several years ago in an article in Massage and Bodywork magazine.
It’s available online at
www.secretsofisis.com/article/jim/gulf.html.
The profound results Sullivan experienced
with the use of these complementary and alternative practices led
him to immerse himself in their study. Sullivan harked back to his
jujitsu training before the Gulf War — before earning a black belt, he had had to learn to give massages. His
recipients thought that he was gifted.
Sullivan shies away from being thought of as
solely a massage therapist, and one look at his
résumé tells why. Over the past 11 years he has
acquired training in many areas, including a master’s degree
in acupuncture from the Northwest Institute of Acupuncture and
Oriental Medicine, massage training from the Alexander School of
Natural Therapeutics, and advanced training in areas such as
craniosacral therapy, Zen body therapy, Korean hand therapy,
somatoemotional release, and Feldenkrais, among them. Sullivan
began his practice in Washington but, after 13 years, left Seattle
for Springfield.
After Sullivan began practicing his bodywork,
one of the nation’s top defensive strategists, Kelly Warden,
was referred to him for complications from a motor-vehicle crash.
Warden recruited Sullivan to become an assistant combatives
instructor, training Green Berets in hand-to-hand, knife, and stick
combat. “Ironically,” he says, “I had to get out
of the Army to do what I really loved to do for the service.”
Since his arrival here, Sullivan has worked
to develop a relationship with the local medical community, apparently with success.
Sullivan’s practice is now located within Mind-Body Medicine
Services, which is part of the Prairie Heart Institute at St.
John’s Hospital. Prospective clients may request a specific
service or meet with Sullivan, discuss symptoms, and work with him to
develop a plan of treatment. Sullivan is also the incoming president of
the Illinois Acupuncture Association and teaches arnis, a Filipino martial art,
at St. John’s Lutheran Church in addition to teaching
craniosacral therapy for the Upledger Institute.
Sullivan’s personal health practice
includes yoga, qi gong, and meditation, which complement his goal for
clients — staying healthy and in balance.
To contact Jim Sullivan, call 527-5537 ext.
2.
This is the third in an occasional series of profiles of area holistic and alternative health-care practitioners.
This article appears in Apr 28 – May 4, 2005.
