“Life is like a box of chocolates……” –Forrest Gump
I said goodbye to one of my patients last week. She came in a couple months ago merely with the hope of healing her painful hip. She certainly didn’t expect to also go on a journey of self-discovery that ultimately would heal a void inside of her. Yet when she left my office that final time, not only was her hip pain gone, but she felt, in her words, transformed and happier than she’d ever felt before.
The hip pain had been nagging her for almost a year. She had tried the gamut of therapeutic options from physical therapy, chiropractic, stretching, rest, ice, and even massage. Nothing alleviated the pain. We began our treatments focusing on her hip. Using a combination of acupuncture and shiatsu massage, we were able to help loosen the muscles and alleviate some pain within a couple treatments. However, our pre-acupuncture conversations increasingly were about a deeper subject matter; emotional, even spiritual unrest that she had felt for many years.
Now, understand that while I am a healer, I only treat what the patient is asking for. I don’t treat what I think they need or what I feel is best. In other words, it was only after the patient asked for me to address this unrest that I began to incorporate it in with the treatment for the hip pain. Because acupuncture and shiatsu treats all three levels of the patient (physical, emotional, and spiritual), we began to have the treatments deal with her emotional and spiritual pain as well as the physical. As the needles worked their “magic”, she began observing herself more fully and then dealing with that spiritual pain that was every bit as painful as her hip.
Soon, she noticed that she was feeling more positive and patient with herself. Life seemed more simple and less tiring. She felt empowered to simply be herself. As well, her hip was feeling steadily better. Then one week, she had her “Ah-ha!” moment in which everything became clear to her. She found her answers to all the questions she was asking. She finally had her hope and faith again. She was healed on the inside. And, of course, her hip pain was gone.
She never expected to receive all those gifts, but then that, my Friends, is the beauty of this medicine.
“…..Ya never know what you’re gonna get!”