Gary Odell
Back to radical sports
I have always considered myself as a very worldly type of person, always keen to experience new experiences, and this is an account of an experience that happened to me recently.
I was away for the weekend when I felt a twinge in my back whilst unloading my car. The following morning I was in so much pain that, after literally crawling to the bathroom, I had to take pain killers to get up onto my feet to get mobile. I knew that the day I had been so looking forward to would now be totally different as I would not physically be able to Wakeboard - Gutted
On my return home the following day l was still no better so I went to the doctors, whose advice was, “just carry on taking the pain killers!” Great. I tried in vain to get to an osteopath with no joy when it was suggested by my other half that I give Douglas, a healer, a call.
I had no preconceived ideas and did not really know what to expect at Douglas’s. As I entered Douglas’s treatment room, still bent over in pain, I was asked to simply lay down on his couch. “I am just going to place my hands on your shoulders for ten minutes, now just try to relax ..”
The first thing I noticed was that I was finding it hard to breathe regularly and my breathing was quite irregular, then after a few minutes I felt as if I had just sunk into the couch. I felt a warm glow in my left shoulder and a growing dryness in my throat. I tried swallowing several times to lubricate it, but ended up having a coughing attack, at which point Douglas, told me this was quite common, and to sit up and he would get me a drink of water. After a drink I was told to lay back down, but this time Douglas put one hand on my lower back and the other on my stomach, again I was to lay there and relax. After five minutes or so passed, Douglas asked me to sit up again, I tried to do just that but the pain was so intense I could hardly move: it was as if the painkillers had been removed. After several very painful minutes I struggled to my feet, hobbling around like an old man. Again Douglas placed his hands on my stomach and lower back and applied some pressure. This time, after a few seconds he released the pressure and asked me to stand up straight. There had been no change, so once again Douglas repeated the procedure, only this time with extreme pressure on my back. I was just about to ask him to stop when he pre-empted this and stopped. Again I was asked to stand straight, only this time I was able to stand taller. He repeated the procedure four or five times more and after each time the pain eased. By the end I was walking tall and with no pain.
When I was leaving Douglas said that my back would probably be stiff in the morning and that because of the severity of the spasm I might need a further treatment. At this time I asked him why I had felt warmth in my shoulder and he asked me if I had injured it recently. It was true I had really torn the ligaments in the year before while Wakeboarding, and Douglas said the warmth I felt was the Energy healing it still further.
In the morning I swung my legs out of bed and, sure enough, my back was very stiff, but there was no sharp pain and after a few minutes of walking and stretching I was back to normal, walking tall.
So, I had just experienced a new life experience. I felt great, and no thanks to my doctor. After a 20 minute treatment, I was back in action again and without pain killers. Douglas advised me to take it easy for a couple more days but after that he said that it would be fine to continue to do all the things I love doing in life - so the following week, I was back to Wakeboarding, Mountain Biking and playing Badminton!
Thanks, Douglas.
August 2004