Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/867515
A B M P m e m b e r s e a r n F R E E C E a t w w w. a b m p . c o m / c e b y r e a d i n g M a s s a g e & B o d y w o r k m a g a z i n e 83 For example, one of our clients suffers from muscular dystrophy. Her husband noticed that when she is alone, she stands more easily than when she is around others. Because the muscles do not change from one setting to the next, we know something must be happening mentally. The practitioner working with this client asked her to imagine that when she stands up, she's doing it on the moon, where no one is watching. The client liked this idea and tried her best to implement it. Since then, her ability to stand, walk, and move has improved tremendously— whether she happens to be on the moon or not. Choose specific visualizations for the client's personality and needs. Challenge Your Client's Limits Years after I worked with Vered in Israel, she came to the United States to visit me and attended one of my lectures. I realized how I could illustrate the role of the mind and spirit in many cases of paralysis. At this time, Vered still could not lift her foot higher than an inch from the ground. During the lecture, I put a stool in front of her, about 1 foot tall, and asked her to lift her foot on top of it. "Are you crazy?" she asked. When she realized I was serious, she was a little angry. I pushed further, and pointed to the massage table, which was 3 feet tall. "Lift it up to the massage table," I said. "You're out of your mind," she said, but she tried. She didn't succeed in lifting her foot to the massage table, but she lifted it high enough that she could put her foot on the stool. Everybody opened their mouths in amazement. Then I pushed again. "Lift your leg all the way up to the massage table," I said, and she did it. Vered was so shocked that she fell backward onto the mat. The point is that Vered had convinced herself that she was much more limited than she actually was. When we managed to break that idea and confuse the mind out of its paralysis, the body responded unexpectedly. Every individual can't have this level of sudden improvement, but we must always remember that quite often there is room for great recovery. These moments of clarity provide great motivation to continue our work. Deep, conscious breathing is integral to improvement, and breathing exercises and practices can help manage the mental battle and improve recovery speeds.