A couple of weeks ago I went to see an osteopath. It was mostly an intake session where I listed all the "bruises" over the years: Vehicle accidents, getting kicked in the head by a horse, motorcycle mishaps, broken bones, etc. Turns out the last half century has been a bumpy ride!
At the start of today´s appointment, I told her about an additional three incidents, one of them a situation in Grade 9, almost forty years ago. It was the start of school and I was standing making conversation with a few guys in my class, when someone walking by sucker punched me real hard in the abdomen, just under the sternum. It knocked the wind out of me. I dropped in a heap on the ground. I didn't have any air, nor could I breath. It was a horrible feeling.
The osteopath had already noticed that I breathe quite high up in the chest, so after my story she figured she´d start with a look at my abdominal area. Turns out my liver was totally compressed and stuck to my diaphragm.
After about an hour of visceral work it released. It was a lovely sensation. I could feel the breath going so much further down. Breathing into my belly, which has always been very difficult was absolutely effortless. I felt like I was getting 30% more air with each breath. Belly breathing is now a piece of cake. My yoga teacher will be impressed!
On my seventeen-year journey toward being cancer free, I have had dozens of MRIs PET scans, CAT scans, X-rays and ultrasounds. I have tried a wide variety of approaches: reiki, healing touch, chiropractic, accupuncture, as well as over 100 hours each of rolfing and cranial sacral therapy. In all that time, my liver issue was never identified or addressed.
I´d like to share some thoughts on that in my next post.
