I was slowly losing the range of movement in my right arm. ‘No problem’ thought I, ‘I had this before with my other shoulder. Some Bowen Technique sessions resolved it, so I’ll have some more’. However, after several sessions my shoulder movement was even more restricted. I tried various self-help techniques, and had sessions from some healing masters, with no long term improvement.
By the time we went on holiday in June I was no longer able to do my morning exercises which involve taking my clasped hands behind my head, and I was waking up at night with pain in my arm and shoulder.
By late October I was at a loss what to try next. I’d more or less given up.
One evening, while browsing my bookshelf, John Sarno’s book ‘Healing Back Pain’ jumped out at me, and I was reminded of his premise that most pain is keeping us safe by diverting our attention away from an emotional issue it’s too scary to address.
I felt I had nothing to lose, so the next morning when I woke up in pain, I said to myself ‘OK, there’s pain in my shoulder. Now I’m going to step aside from the pain, and see what emotion this pain is hiding.’
Immediately I felt very strong anger welling up in my chest. I used the Sedona Method to welcome the anger just for now, and then ask myself if I could let it go. My response was ‘yes’. Then more anger surfaced, and I repeated the process several times for about twenty minutes. I was aware that some of the anger was directed at specific people, but didn’t try to analyse where it came from.
When I got up I found I could raise my arm up to my ear. Whoopee! And the process wasn’t scary at all.
I was now highly motivated to repeat the process, which I did for a couple of days by which time I had regained 90% of the movement in my arm and shoulder.
I had let go of the anger which had locked up my shoulder!
Three steps to unfreeze your shoulder
- Be open to the possibility the pain is keeping you safe from emotional pain.
- When you experience physical pain, allow your attention to step aside from the physical pain, and notice the emotional pain which is present.
- Let go of the emotion, perhaps using my Quick Start for the Sedona Method, EFT or your own chosen technique.
Repeat the above steps as long as the pain persists.
The Delicious Nugget: Your frozen shoulder may be diverting your attention from a suppressed emotion. Try stepping aside from the pain, noticing the emotion it is masking, and simply let the emotion go. Chances are your shoulder will free up too!
