How I Fixed My Frozen "50-Year" Shoulder

"I'm no arm-fixer!" Marj declared.

We were sitting in two chairs as she worked with my aching arm.

Readers of my previous Daily will know the shame I was experiencing - as a teacher of Alexander's Discovery - having difficulty holding up a cup of coffee without intense pain. I had what they call in Japan "50-year Shoulder". In English, we call it "frozen shoulder."

It was a double whammy.

1. I had recently dislocated the Geno-humeral joint of my arm;
2. I was emotionally rocked by the recent death of my father.

And I was about to debut as an "expert assistant" of Marjorie Barstow (1899~1995) in London. The hall would be full of 60+ "Alexander-style" teachers, many of whom were colleagues from my London training in the 70s. I was so embarrassed.

How was I going to teach when I couldn't even lift my arm without pain?

MARJ! 

HELP!

Wilfred Barlow once claimed that he could sort out a case of frozen shoulder in one lesson. Well, I was about to find out what Marj was capable of doing…

She sat me down in a chair and at first insisted that I rock forward and back while she guided me with her hands and her eagle eyes - catching any unnecessary additions to the movement. This exercise happened intermittently throughout my lesson. As I sustained the weight, Marj started guiding my arm in a series of intentional actions; then, she began to wiggle each of my fingers, doing the same on both arms.

Readers must understand that my usual length of a lesson with Marj was barely a few minutes. In that time – using her keen observation, magical touch and Socratic questioning – Marj often delivered lessons that stay with me all the time.

It happened with many people like this: you were left with the idea that haunted your consciousness for life.

This time, my lesson lasted 40 minutes!

In Marj-time, that was an eternity.

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By calling Frozen-shoulder "50-Year Shoulder", the Japanese seem to have hit upon the fact that this common condition hits most adults in the menopausal life period. At the time I was 33, but then I have always been a little ahead of the curve. Alexscovery teachers are not trained to diagnose and treat clinical conditions; however, many desperate people still arrive at our doorstep looking for solutions.

There is a solution – I can testify to that anecdotally – and I discovered that it takes time and mental effort to implement this solution. I still have no idea why it starts, but I do understand how to unravel the complex confusion that produces this condition.

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At the end of Marj's unprecedented 40-minute lesson, I could not say that I experienced a huge difference. And my surprise was genuine. I had expected more, much more.

However, I was not to be disappointed.

About 40 minutes later, a remarkable and totally unexpected thing happened - an event that led to an entirely new understanding of my frozen shoulder, and how to help others with this pernicious condition…

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