Ouch, My Life Side Hurts!

From various lifting activities including lifting Grace (in heels), pouring gigantic bags of mulch in the garden, and hoisting other too-heavy objects into the air, I have created a good deal of pain in my back. It goes from my shoulder and neck - twisted up from stress, through my lower back - yanked and unhappy from weight, down through my too tight IT band - pulling on my knee, into my calf which has formed a new knot making it impossible to stretch my hamstring when bent over because my calf pulls instead.

“Stop complaining and go to the masseuse” is likely what you are thinking, and that is exactly what I did. I returned to The Healer for another round of grinding out knots and discussing the wisdom of hope and love applied to real life.  

As soon as I laid down, I told her my left side was messed up, starting with my neck and shoulders. She said “Your left side is not messed up - your shoulders are stiff so they are stuck. Sometimes we think we are stuck because of things we feel and we forget we can evolve and heal and feel better.”  (I swear, I don’t even think she meant that as an overarching nugget of wisdom, yet there it was!)

As she kneaded her way down my back she told me that in Chinese medicine, the body has 2 halves: The left is the feminine, it is where we hold vulnerability. The right is the masculine.  What a coincidence that my left body is wracked with pain and tension!  I asked how I could fix my left side to get rid of the pain and she said “you have to let it go”.  She suggested that once ready, I hold a ritual-type ceremony to acknowledge that which I am holding tightly on to, that which I am ready to let go of because it is no longer necessary and no longer is a part of me. She went so far as to say to write it down so each pain that is literally entrenched in me is articulated so I am clear as to what I am letting go of.

The idea of a ceremony was a beacon of light shining through. Letting go of the painful things that I’m holding onto so tightly - why didn’t I think of that?!  I invite you to hold your own private ceremony and let go of the pains you have been holding on to.  And I’d love to hear if you experience any lightening on your left side once that weight is lifted.