My job entails working with the body. Because the job is so sensation oriented it calls for a high presence and attention to how the machine (the body - that functions as our support) is carrying itself and; if it needs a tune up. While paying attention to your body can be overwhelming at first, eventually it becomes mechanical. Your left eye is feeling strained? Time the check the surrounding muscles and develop a theory as to why.
I was at my Doctor's not too long ago to have my ears and nose checked because of intense pain behind my eyes, a low pounding headache and fullness in one ear. The physician's assistant wrote down "asthma" as the primary reason for the visit. This was incorrect. Later, I heard the same nurse speaking with her friends about the medical quirk that I have. When I go to the doctor's office I usually stand with my back to the scale so as not to see the number (I refuse to be ruled by that number). I also ask the attending physician to reset the scale to blank. She didn't and not that it's any of my business but I think if you want to talk about your clients you should probably do so quietly. ...But I digress.
I was there because the largest and most prevalent pain in my body was coming from the back of the neck. The week before I had tried self massage and found a lump on the right side of my Occipitalis muscle. The doctor found nothing except a fever and sent me home without antibiotics and a shrug. I couldn't imagine not having insurance and having to pay for that visit.
I started massaging the tight area with my thumbs whenever I remembered to. There was no way that it could be solved in a single session. I worked with the back of my neck and it became apparent that my jaw was also tender and craved attention, it was in some way connected to TMJ. I had have dentists tell me that at some point jaw pain could cause a problem. They suggested surgery with two rounds of braces. It was an expense that my single mother and I did without and pushed out of our heads to be sorted later and later had finally come.
***I have since found some cheap medical devices that have given me some relief. One is a neck traction device that looks like an inflatable neck pillow and the other is Gua Sha.***
Gua Sha worked miracles for my pain - both physical and emotional. Let me explain how, I pinpointed the tiny spots of tension in my face and neck - you can feel them - but applying pressure was more than I could take. At first. It wasn't just the surprising amount of pain, it was also the memories that came into my mind in sharp succession. Most memories would be completely benign one like getting ketchup out of a bottle in a diner, but a few stuck out as being profound.
The most profound memory that arose was the first time my jaw locked and refused to open. I was sitting at home with my father and step-mother who were going through a very complicated and messy custody battle with my real mom. I was trying to pry my jaw open with my fingers and panicking while my father told me to relax. When that memory surfaced the trigger point I was working released. After releasing that memory I was free to go deeper. Just like my neck being the starting point to discovering my jaw pain, my first memory was the catalyst to the root issue which was the custody battle. At that at that time in my life I was under enormous pressure to testify at court which would pit one parent and against the other. I knew that anything I said was going to impact my life and the lives of people I loved, and so.... It refused to open at all. Understanding that made me understand what my body was telling me on a deeper level and acknowledging it gave me permission to be there for myself and let it go.
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