Client Story – Shoulder –> Lung –> Brain

 

During a session for shoulder/elbow pain, we ended up at the lung – lung often seems to be a factor for the shoulder.

 

Commonly lungs relate to taking up space (i.e. not taking up enough or taking up too much) and/or boundaries (having too loose or too strict boundaries). (source: Barral Institute, and this rings true in my work as well)

 

A question came to me for her:

 

‘Why aren’t you allowed to take up the space you’re meant to take up?’

 

She immediately had a few answers pop up – I’m not worthy, I’m not good enough, I’m not the right size, etc.

 

Then, another suggestion: ‘the memory related to these beliefs are in her brain – go look there.’

 

 

I’ve gotten pretty good at ‘playing ball’ with the suggestions I receive, so I let go of her arm and went to her brain.

 

‘Okay – ask your body where in your brain this memory lives’

 

She immediately pointed to her right forehead above her eye.

 

I put my hand over the spot and guided her to connect to this area.

 

A visual memory from when she was 3 appeared. While she didn’t remember it, it resonated as true in her body and the person in the memory looked how they should have looked if it was from that time period.

 

The area under my hand got VERY warm – usually a sign that we’re releasing something important.

 

 

The client knew what the memory related to, even though she hadn’t had this particular scene in her conscious memory before, and a bunch of feelings she felt in that moment, as a 3-yr-old, came up and out – sadness, grief, shame, a feeling of withdrawal of love.

 

When it felt resolved, we moved back to the lung, with me holding her arm/shoulder in the chest stretch position I’d had it in as before.

 

I asked the question again: Why aren’t you allowed to take up the space you’re meant to occupy?

 

‘Nothing. I’m not getting any answers to that now’ she said.

 

Checking the forearm, elbow & shoulder at that point, the pain had improved by 60-70%.

 

The muscle on the forearm no longer felt sticky, hard, or achy – just a bit of pain left in one line, and her shoulder felt lighter on re-testing.

 

 

(There was still a bit of a click that needed the rotator cuff release).

 

The theory I’ve got from this session: That situation was a big factor in the ‘not right, not enough, not worthy’ to take up space feeling, which then led to the energetic hold in the lungs, and because of the way the nerves and tissue related between the shoulder and the lung, created that tension/resistance.

 

I would NOT have guessed that before.

 

But time and time again, if we just listen to the body (and know our anatomy!) the body can show us.

 

Just so you know, this client doesn’t feel she has a great connection with her body, so if you’re ever feeling like you wouldn’t be able to do it because you don’t either, that’s not a pre-requisite.

 

Shared with permission from the client (anonymised).