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Master Aytug Izat in his Caroline Street business, Integrated Holistic Healing Arts. |
On the Spot looks beyond regular newsmakers to highlight the varied residents who make the Fredericksburg community what it is.
Aytug Izat, 61, of Spotsylvania County is a healer.
But not like the guys on TV during the '80s, he said.
He doesn't touch anybody's forehead and make them fall over to a chorus of hallelujahs.
His healing lately takes place in the back room of a new shop on Caroline Street in downtown Fredericksburg.
That's where Izat and business partner Marcia McFadden opened Running Buffalo Trading Post and the School of Integrated Holistic Healing Arts a couple of months ago.
Izat’s healings involve relaxation techniques such as massage, meditative breathing and discussion, among other treatments.
His work ranges from helping people trade wheelchairs for walkers to helping a heavy smokers kick the habit. Some of his clients also suffer from headaches, other pains or more serious conditions such as heart or kidney ailments.
Much of his treatment addresses anxieties and fears. Izat was living in New Jersey during 9/11, for instance, and treated countless area residents for stress.
His broadest work, however, may have come after a major earthquake struck Istanbul in 1999, killing 13,000 people. Izat, who is Turkish, estimates he saw thousands of people in Istanbul who were struggling to deal with the tragedy.
No matter the patient, however, he said his model is roughly the same.
"I teach them how to get better," he said, "by showing them they have more power than they think they do."
Describe the energy of the Fredericksburg area?
It is two kinds. One is sorrow for the wars. But people are nice for the most part and are very friendly. We are getting along.
In short, what is your job?
I help people to understand themselves and that they have the healing power inside. I don't accept "no" as an answer. Connect yourself to the creator's power, be aware of it and you never fail.
What's the best advice you've ever received?
Be yourself. I'm trying to become myself.
How do you separate yourself from some of the more prominent TV "healers"?
I don't overexpose myself. I would rather help people quietly, nicely. When glamour comes, people have a tendency of using it to your favor. You never abuse your power.
The secret to life is ...
To enjoy what it offers. Life offers so many good things, and if you enjoy them, you'll be free of your troubles.
What celebrity do you most identify with?
Myself. I'm a celebrity. Not here, maybe, but in Turkey and all of Europe. I used to be a hot shot, an important man. I used to be like a diplomat. [But] here I am more important, because I am helping people.
What's your favorite guilty pleasure?
Sometimes I overindulge. I love food.
George Bush, John Kerry or somebody else?
I wish somebody else, because I would like to live in a safer place.
What one thing would you change about yourself?
I'm a little bit too lazy. I would become more productive.
What's your theme song?
My song is in Turkish. It describes life from the view of a traveler. You come for a short period, and you go. It's a transition. The song describes that, and I love it.
What good books have you read lately?
"Jihad vs. McWorld," and "Qi Gong Empowerment"
How do you want to be remembered?
As a nice guy, an easy-going guy.
