Victor's Frozen Shoulder

Sometimes people come to work with me after an accident or injury.  Sometimes what brings them to me is a chronic complaint, and what transpires in a session is an accident or an injury that preceded the appearance of the particular symptom the client complains about.

Such was the case with Victor (not his real name).

Victor was an active man who, like many Canadians, liked to spend his summer weekends at his cottage, puttering about (is this a word?) - doing things, chopping wood, repairing broken bits and parts of the cottage. Victor's frustration was that for the past twenty years he had a frozen shoulder, and he could only lift his right arm up so far, less than shoulder height, so he could not do all the things that he once did and loved doing. He tried every conventional and alternative method for his shoulder, from physiotherapy to chiropractic to acupuncture and nothing helped with his mobility problem.

When he came to me, he had given up hope, and the sole reason he tried my work was because we both belonged to a business by referral organization where members were encouraged to build relationships and get to know each other's businesses. In the group where Victor and I networked, I was known as the Reiki Lady, but the fact is that I rarely work with one specific method in my client sessions, such as Reiki or Reflexology, unless it is specifically required by my client; instead, I listen to the person's story and body and use an integration of methods to accomplish change. 

Using body awareness guidance, I walked Victor through a safe re-visiting of the accident, integrating mental images and sounds with feeling body-felt sensations. Victor was able to recall bits of the event that were previously blacked out.  After that I guided Victor through an imagination exercise of envisioning his life if the accident didn't happen at all. Each session ended with twenty minutes or so of hands-on Reiki focusing on his shoulder and upper back, while Victor was following my hands with his attention and breath. 

And then the "miracle" happened: Victor was able to lift his arm up above shoulder height with ease and comfort, and without pain. He was able to resume his favourite physical activities, and was so glad that his public testimonial in front of our networking group was an enthusiastic: "It fucking works!"

For healing to take place it is necessary that the methods used are comprehensive to integrate biology with psychology. Chiropractors and physiotherapists only address the body, while most psychotherapists only address the thinking, a fragmentation that doesn't solve psycho-somatic problems. Accidents and injuries are remembered by the body, and it is at the intersection of disciplines, in integrative methods, that healing can occur.