In his book Outliers, social scientist Malcolm Gladwell presents a compelling case that it takes 10,000 hours to become a master at whatever you do. Examples: Bill Gates would sneak out of his parent’s house after bedtime to use the computer at the University of Washington. By his late teens, well before founding Microsoft, Gates had booked 10,000 hours in computer programming. Similarly, before the Beatles cut their first album in 1964, they racked up more than 10,000 hours playing clubs seven nights a week, eight hours per night in Hamburg, Germany.
Also by way of Germany, another master of his craft has come to America, and landed in Coronado.
Bahman Djalali is his name and the title of his company, Global Holistic Solutions, reflects the therapies that Djalali has studied at their sources throughout the world. He brings 19 years and at least 10,000 hours in restorative bodywork to Coronado and is board certified as a Holistic Health Practitioner, (HHP), a national certification in traditional Chinese Medicine. He’s a licensed massage therapist (LMT), a certified massage therapist (CMT) and an NKT for Neurokinetic Technique, which focuses on the body relearning old patterns of behavior.
Through the Upledger Institute of Florida and Palm Desert, Djalali (pronounced Jalali) studied cranial-sacral technique that incorporates massage traction to gently separate the C2 vertebra from the base of the skull. “Doctors will use big machines and computers to do the same thing,” Djalali said. “But human touch is better. With a machine, people can never ‘let go.’ But I can feel when my clients relax, and that’s when bodywork becomes most effective.”
Djalali regularly works with athletes who have sustained sports injuries. He also works with auto-injury victims, and those suffering from sciatica and lower back pain. The latter ailment brought Dr. Robert Gelb, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, to his doorstep.
“I was impressed with his knowledge of anatomy, with his massage technique and with his ability to transform my pain, making it manageable and allowing me increased function,” noted Gelb, who has since referred several of his patients to Djalali.
Djalali has treated patients with problems related to plantar fasciitis (foot pain), carpal tunnel syndrome, migraine headaches, pain associated with pregnancy and range of motion issues, including rotator cuff injuries.
Djalali was born in Iran where his father was an army officer assigned to guard the shah. But the family sensed upheaval was coming and moved to Germany in 1975; the shah was deposed in 1979.
In Germany, Djalali earned a master’s degree in electrical and industrial engineering. “You can make a lot of money in electrical engineering in Germany,” he said. “I saved up a good sum to be able to do what I really wanted to do.”
Twenty years ago, Djalali began to pursue his life’s passion for healing and holistic therapies. “I was influenced by my grandfather who was an MD in holistic medicine,” Djalali said. “I hung around his practice and saw that he really helped people. I liked the natural road to healing.”
Upon retiring from his engineering career, Djalali spent a year in New Delhi, India, studying ayurvedic medicine and yoga. (He teaches free classes in beginning yoga at Martial Arts America on Saturday mornings.) In China he studied tai chi and in Thailand learned Thai massage.
Djalali’s sister, Maryam Moshir, moved to Coronado 30 years ago and owns Luxury Cleaners. Djalali first came to Coronado in 2002 and lived for two years in the Coronado Cays. His wife, Susan, also a certified massage technician, is a project manager for a biotech company; the couple has a daughter who is a high school senior.
Global Holistic Solutions is at 1309 Ynez Place. Djalali takes appointments all days of the week at (619) 957-3114.
