Living from the heart

Dolphin assisted therapy

Living From The Heart is a pioneer in the field now known as "Dolphin Assisted Therapy". Living From The Heart, a 501C(3) non-profit organization, was founded in 1988 for the purpose of providing alternative wellness options to those with physical, psychological or emotional challenges. Since that time, Living From The Heart has taken over 2.500 people on wellness awareness trips, highlighted by swimming with dolphins. Of those 2.500, some 800 have had physical challenges or other chronic or life altering illnesses.

Dolphin Assisted Therapy has shown to:

♥ Significantly improve and increase motivation, attention span, gross fine motor skills, speech and language.

♥ 95% of the children experience lasting long-term effects.

♥ Two week sessions of dolphin assisted therapy are more cost effective than other therapies, because the results manifest faster.

♥ Dolphin assisted therapy is to compliment other treatments, not to replace them.

♥ 75% of participant’s parents have indicated an improvement of eye contact and emotional behavior.

♥ Sonar induces alpha brain state, which may be responsible for strengthening the immune system.

♥ 50%-70% of children with phobias, enuresis, stammering and other manifestations of infantile neurosis, night phobias, and depression decreased these conditions and some disappeared completely.

♥ 80% of autistic children were characterized by attempts to pronounce words and expressions, as well as more normalized sleep intervals and patterns of determined behavior.

♥ 90% of children with weight bearing and motor system disorders showed improvement in sleep, mood and general state of mind.

♥ 75% of people who are suffering from mental stress benefit from dolphin interactions and hearing dolphin sounds.

MANY STRONG, HEALTHY PEOPLE PARTICIPATE IN THESE ADVENTURES.

Living From The Heart was co-founded by Macy Jozsef and Stephen Jozsef, MD. At the age of 30, Macy was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her healing and wellness included traditional as well as alternative therapies. Included among these therapies was dolphin interaction, which she felt compelled to share with others. The late Dr. Jozsef was a psychiatrist, and throughout his medical career combined traditional and alternative therapies, including biofeedback. It was on his first visit to the dolphins that he recognized the parallel between his work with alpha biofeedback and the benefits of swimming with dolphins.

Macy and her late husband were pioneers in the field now known as "dolphin assisted therapy". Being in the presence of dolphins induces alpha brainwave, a state which promotes relaxation and creates altered brain states. These states promote a calmness, which has been shown to significantly help those with Autism, Down's Syndrome, learning disabilities and other challenges.

DOLPHIN DAY CAMP

Our dolphin assisted therapy is no longer limited to individual treatments. We now offer Dolphin Day Camp 6 days a week for children of all ages. Day camp consists of 5 special dolphin therapy encounters, a stuffed dolphin (or age appropriate dolphin gift) and ice cream socials to share our dolphin experiences. The cost of the 5 day program is $1.050 USD per child. There are 2-5 in dolphin day camp per week, which makes it much more fun and affordable. Individual therapy sessions are $1.050 for each session, making dolphin day camp 1/5 of the cost. Dolphin Day Camp is available every week Monday - Friday.

KYLE'S DOLPHIN STORY

Kyle is an amazing little boy who lives with autism. He is severely disabled by his condition. Kyle cannot talk, does not hear more than 30% of sounds, and his sight is limited. Due to the fact that he cannot hear very well, he often screams and yells to communicate.

Kyle's fine motor skills are very minimal, and he is still in diapers at the age of 8. He often has mood swings, and is known to bite, punch, hit and kick his family members. He is also a restless person who is constantly moving.

His dolphin story begins with his mother Cathy being introduced to Macy during a vacation to Puerto Vallarta. The summer of 2005, Kyle and his family consisting of his 3 older sisters Briana, Mikayla, Dakota and his mother, came to Puerto Vallarta for six weeks. During their stay Kyle received 10 individual dolphin therapy sessions. There were immediate results following his first therapy sessions. He was instantly calmer, less hyper active and was much quieter.

Kyle continued to improve with each therapy session with the dolphins. After his 10 encounters Kyle improved his fine motor skills, which was shown through the new found ability to grasp fish to reward the dolphins.

His attention span and focus increased dramatically, he now watches TV and can track birds and butterflies. He is generally calmer and began to sit in chairs for up to 10 minutes at a time without moving. He verbalized "mom", "nana" and "good job" for the first time since he was 2 years old. In the classroom his teacher reports that he is participating more, is focused, calm, and generally doing better. Kyle and his family returned 2 months later for more therapy, because of all the exciting new results. His family has decided to make at least one trip a year for dolphin therapy. Kyle's amazing changes have made a permanent positive affect on his family.Kyle's oldest sister Briana was so impressed with dolphin therapy, she offered to join Living From The Heart.

	JEREMY'S INCREDIBLE DOLPHIN ADVENTURE
	"The magic of the dolphins is still with him, and thus, still with us. I feel like a miracle happened for us... and boy, did we need one." Jeremy's incredible dolphin adventure began in Denver, Colorado --- his anticipation about swimming with dolphins so high, his body wouldn't be still. But then, Jeremy is never still. His body and mind always racing, always in motion. Jeremy is bi-polar, and has multiple learning disabilities. Ultimately, the names of his challenges don't matter. The effect of his disabilities matter constantly. Rebecca and Brian knew something was different about their son by the time he was 1-1/2. The constant noises and incoherent speech, mood swings and constant motion made them aware that something was not quite right. So their lives began an unexpected path of doctors, appointments, therapy sessions, multiple drugs in different combinations, trying new treatments -- all with hopes and prayers to find answers and help to cope with the daily activities of life. Rebecca, Jeremy's mom, knew about Living From The Heart dolphin assisted therapy trips. She had heard that Autistic children often experience changes after swimming with dolphins. The Universe was listening --- Rebecca spoke once with Macy Jozsef, founder of Living From The Heart, and the decision was made to sponsor a trip for Jeremy in June, 2003. New experiences are very difficult for kids like Jeremy, and two new things needed to happen for Jeremy to swim with dolphins in Mexico. He needed to get on an airplane and he needed to learn how to swim. He took swimming lessons for months before the trip, and through all his difficulties with being in the water, he learned to swim. June 10th, 2003 finally came and Jeremy finally got on an airplane, knowing that he would get off that airplane in a different country. He always enjoyed learning about different cultures and languages and he thought about experiencing those things in real life. It was time for Jeremy's first dolphin swim. There were seven of us in the group besides Jeremy and his parents. Our first dolphin swim was with three dolphins: Amiscle, Tinda, and Aclina. Amiscle is an 800-pound male dolphin and Jeremy had an instant sense of trust with him. This instant connection seemed to calm Jeremy and help him ease into the entire dolphin experience. Dolphins respond to each person in a different way. Around kids with challenges, they are extra gentle and slow. Amiscle treated Jeremy very, very gently. It didn't take long for Jeremy to have a huge smile on his face, and the magic began. He played with Amiscle and fed him large handfuls of squid. He laughed out loud, and when the time came, he held on to Amiscle's pectoral fin and went for a ride. Immediately following that first swim, Jeremy was much calmer, spoke more softly, didn't chew his fingers, and had relatively normal conversations with the other people in the group. His physiology even shifted. Normally, he would go into a blood sugar crash every two hours if he did not eat. When lunch was delayed unexpectedly, Jeremy continued to sit calmly, talk with people and play games. Rebecca and Brian expressed their amazement at the difference in his behavior. We had a total of three days of dolphin swims and special encounters, which involved therapists working on Jeremy in the water with Amiscle. It didn't take long for Jeremy to feel totally comfortable in the dolphin's world. In the encounter pool, Jeremy would lie back in the arms of the therapists, and allow the dolphins to touch him and swim around him. It has been documented that being in the water with dolphins changes brain wave levels from a beta state to an alpha state, which promotes a deep state of relaxation. Jeremy's original biofeedback studies showed that he functioned in high beta state, keeping him constantly in motion and thought. It was apparent from his first encounter that his brain wave levels had changed. He was able to feel his mind literally relax. All watched in amazement as his behavior shifted throughout each day. To begin the next chapter in Jeremy's life, Mom Rebecca writes: "I am amazed, grateful, and speechless. This is the best Jeremy has ever been in his short life. A calmness, more clear focus, and better insight. The magic of the dolphins is still with him, thus with us. I feel like a miracle happened for us... and boy, did we need one." Today (March, 2004) Jeremy has continued to improve in many functional aspects of his life. His teachers are amazed at his progress. For the first time ever, he has started to work at grade level. He has appropriate organizational skills, and there are seldom outbursts or self-destructive behaviors. All who knew Jeremy before and know him now agree that truly a miracle occurred.

	MARK'S STORY
	"Mark is so much more laid back, gentle and softer. We're all so much happier and content with life" Mark Stickland, a 16-year old with severe Down's Syndrome, and his parents flew from London, England to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in February, 1999. Following the trip, Mark's parents reported that, for the first time ever, Mark walked up and down stairs unassisted, and poured his own drink for the first time. Mark started to put words together in sentence form, also for the first time. He began to help his parents with chores, such as carrying wood and doing dishes. he had never performed simple tasks before. In 2002, Mark graduated to a higher level school. His teachers agree with his parents, that the dolphins deserve much of the credit! "Mark is so much more laid back, gentle and softer. We're all so much happier and content with life," says Ron, Mark's dad.