Example #1 - Vern

Vern had a pain in his right hip for many months and came to me for help. When he sensed inside his body, the image he saw in his hip was a “black baseball of goop” that hurt and would not move. Our work was improving the intense pain over time, but the pain still intermittently lingered. I recognized it as an implicit memory. Something forgotten from his past.

Vern went to visit a friend in the hospital when he noticed a county van that brought inmates there for care. It caught his eye because he had been in that van when he was younger.

After the hospital visit, Vern got on the elevator to go home. There in the elevator was a man seated in a wheelchair with shackles on his arms and legs, big metal handcuffs, and chains on his legs, keeping him in place. The man was accompanied by three very attentive corrections officers carrying clubs and guns. Vern immediately recognized all of this; he had been in that same position many years ago.

When it was time to exit the elevator, Vern waited to let them leave first. But a corrections officer motioned for Vern to proceed. As he was walking away from the elevator, Vern noticed that he was not in that wheelchair with those metal chains holding him anymore, and he began to walk freely. The pain in his hip disappeared. Next time he came in to see me, we worked with the walking ability in his legs. His “black baseball of goop” was gone and his hip felt better. In truth, so many of us live with these kinds of virtual chains.

Example #2 - Name

The following story is just one example of the many unexpected experiences that are possible. 

This story has so many elements of what we will be learning in the program. 1. Pain can come from many events. 2. Pain can linger for many years. 3. The person will almost always deny that anything went wrong. Hope you will join us!

One student complained that her shoulders were always tight and hurting, especially on stage. As she sat, I noticed that her feet were not resting flat on the floor, but lifted onto the lower bar of her chair.

She told me that she could never keep her feet on the ground. She said that no matter how hard she tried, her feet always wanted to pull up. I asked her to just “be with” the feeling of always holding her feet up. I asked if she had any traumatic experiences. She said no. After a few moments her face lit up.

“When I was eight years old, I fell off the monkey bars, but it was no big deal.” I asked, “Did you fall backward?” She said, “Yes.” I said, “Maybe it was a bigger deal than you thought.”

I asked her to stay with the feelings of that fall, and her legs coming up as she fell back off the monkey bars. As she was being with these sensations, her nervous system shifted, and her feet dropped to the ground. She said, “My toes aren’t numb anymore. I feel a breath of fresh air, like I’m coming outside for the first time.” From that moment forward, she began to sit with her feet on the ground, and her shoulders were finally able to drop, in her personal life and on stage. She felt awake and alive.