As with many active people, a seemingly debilitating injury can cause extended periods of despondency and self-doubt. Whilst many individuals experiencing this sort of ailment tend to seek advice for the immediate symptoms, others pursue an alternative path in determining the cause via various complementary methods. This journey often results in their desire to share their experiences thereby helping others.
Dr. Sibis Mouton can certainly relate. As one of South Africa's original elite triathletes, Sibis experienced a relatively injury-free sporting career. But after pulling up lame with a recurring running injury and experiencing the ensuing layoff, she sought out the help of a kinesiologist to determine the true cause of her lingering ailment. Experiencing the rapid turnaround in her own healing inspired Sibis to pursue a career in kinesiology, which she now practices in conjunction with her lecturing in mathematics at one of Cape Town's tertiary institutions.
We recently caught up with Sibis and chatted about her journey from elite triathlete to healing-mathematician.
Nature Gym: Sibis, you are a mathematics lecturer at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology as well as a practitioner of kinesiology. Talk about your eclectic career and how you manage to balance your academic work with the more health and spiritually-oriented practice of muscle testing and body alignment.
Sibis Mouton: Having been an international athlete for so long - in other words just a jock - it was always good to combine my training with some left brain effort that is teaching maths at a High School. Now I am at CPUT and teaching Civil Engineer students the art of Mathematics. This keeps my left brain working! I did a spiritual course in Florida in 2002 and this launched my career as a kinesiologist and workshop facilitator – this again keeps my right brain working. I am also much more in touch with my feelings than I was while I was competing for South Africa. It is great to see how people get on with life in a much better space after a kinesiology consultation.
NG: Having been a teacher in various forms throughout your life, do you see the practice of kinesiology as an extension of this vocation and how has your teaching philosophy evolved over the years?
SM: My teaching philosophy stems mostly from the PhD I did in Didactics of Mathematics – I have learnt a lot from that and still apply most of those principles in my lecturing today. I have always loved people and my kinesiology has given me a chance to really get to know human kind and how difficult life can sometimes be for some people.
NG: Many complementary health practitioners start out in the industry after experiencing an ailment or health issue of their own. Tell us about what led you into this sphere and the lessons you have learned along the way.
SM: Firstly I went to see Sue Myers, the behavioral kinesiologist from USA to get my power back in personal relationships. I went to see the local kinesiologist Kevin Campbell before that because I was injured and could not run- my hamstrings seized up after a physio treated my too harshly and literally injured me – my body is very sensitive and responsive.
NG: For the layman, what exactly does the practice of kinesiology involve? What are the common denominators with respect to health issues/physical ailments that you experience when dealing with patients from all spheres of life?
SM: One has to be very humble and also in touch with the Higher Power that is visible in the beauty of this earth and its inhabitants. If one treats somebody you should be totally non-judgmental and also of course very neutral otherwise the kinesiology will not give you the right answers to help the client. A lot of clients have to learn to love themselves again after a less than ideal childhood or some other trauma they have experienced. As is well known – the top success factor in life is the core value “I like myself”.
NG: With endurance events in Southern Africa becoming increasingly popular with the “mainstream,” what would your advice be aspirant Ironmen and women with jobs and families? Is it really practical to train for ultra-distance events with a busy work and family life?
SM: Anything is possible in this life – it just depends on how much you want to put into it. I am glad to see that nowadays the youngsters have much more opportunities that we had in the eighties and nineties. I am also glad to see that trail running and the off-road triathlons have grown. There is definitely a need to go out in nature and compete there to get away from our increasingly technological lives.
NG: You had an elite triathlon and modern pentathlon career spanning over a decade yet took regular sabbaticals to travel and/or study. Would you say that this was a contributing factor to your athletic longevity as opposed to “living for the sport” year after year?
SM: I guess so – I was and still am somebody who loves to travel and my sport gave me the opportunity to do that. Even now I go on regular adventure trips. I have just come back from a fantastic trip in the Okavango Delta where I spent a week in two camps - Gunns Camp and Xakanaka. I found my soul again after being in such peaceful and beautiful surroundings.
NG: Being part of a generation of South African triathletes who raised the bar in all aspects of the sport, talk about some of your fellow athletes of that time.
SM: KeithAnderson was a lovely boy; it was so sad that he lost his life so young. He was a great leader and our Western Province team spent some great times at his family house in St Francis Bay. Of course I was part of the squad who trained with Tim Stewart and we went on many a 100 kilometer bike ride together. I can still remember his wedding here in Newlands; it was Medieval-themed and we all had to dress up looking the part.
NG: You won Ironman Nice as a veteran and spent a few months in France building up to this event by racing for a French club. Talk about this experience and the differences in sporting and social culture whilst living amongst the French.
SM: This was one of the best times of my life and the first time where I could just train and enjoy life without working! I love the French way of living, enjoying all the sensual pleasures in life from eating good food and drinking excellent wine. The French adore their sporting heroes, so I felt very special when I won the Nice Ironman in the veteran category in 1998 and 2001.
NG: How did your Nice experience differ to that of racing the in the Elite category at Manchester 1993? Could you draw any similarities between the two?
SM: Manchester was the very first World Championships that I could take part in. I was already 38 then and the oldest in the Elite category. So in Manchester is was just an honor to compete. In Nice I was racing in my age group so I could really be competitive. I love the Nice event and the French certainly know how to organize a great race and party afterwards.
NG: Given your busy life nowadays, what are you up to athletically? Any comebacks on the horizon?
SM: Definitely no comebacks! I am enjoying life with my friends now and am in the fortunate position to have enough time and money to travel. I am still reasonably fit – swimming, mountain biking and running – but I’m really just doing it because I like it and for my own well being. I still ride horses and did a four-day horse riding trip along the Transkei Wild Coast with a friend from Wales about two years ago. My book on my sporting career and subsequent spiritual journey is nearly finished and I hope to have it published by the end of this year. To all of you still doing triathlon competitively: enjoy it and may you have a lot of fun!
