Topic: The appointment

Knee pain and herbs

Posted on October 3, 2022 by - Appointments, The appointment, The body, The herbalist, The herbs

If you have read my previous blog on Knee Pain you will know that I used tapping to begin to address my mysterious knee pain!

You might be wondering why I didn’t raid my huge dispensary full of marvellous herbs ideal for such a situation…

Well, the honest response to that is that I simply didn’t know what was going on and where the injury was. Yes, in my knee but which part? Which kind of tissue was hurting?

So, I felt a bit stumped.

I had a trip to my osteopath to see if that would help. As a result, I now understand that there are postural things I have probably been doing for a long time which leave my knee under a constant stress-irritation. I habitually rotate externally from my hip and my foot pronates excessively, all of which leave my knee stuck in the middle.

It’s a wonder that it hasn’t hurt before.

Does that render the emotional things irrelevant? No. But, it certainly gives me a few more things to consider.

When I was tapping, I ‘felt’ my way into my knee, the surrounding areas and asked what was going on. I was aware of a constriction across the top of my thigh which I felt unable to let go of (stubbornness anyone?) and the pain itself was localised to a ring around the knee. Revising my knee anatomy, I saw that the tendons form a ring around the patella and ultimately they are attached to the thigh muscles. And, the thigh muscles are connected to the hip flexor which I know to be tight on me.

So, what to do now? Begin by bringing attention to the position of my foot and leg. Think about the hip rotation and foot pronation so that I can think them into a position which is more anatomically aligned. Not ‘trying’ to move anything but thinking into it, feeling it in different positions and generally having greater awareness.

Then to the herbs.

  • Pain relief? Topical mint and chilli.
  • Soft tissue repair? Topical comfrey
  • Anti-inflammatory? Topical lavender and arnica

I created a very strongly mint-scented cream. It is dark grey from the comfrey root tincture I made and contact with eyes must be avoided as chilli and mint in the eyes is not funny!!!!

I love creating creams. They are one of the many pleasures of my job. I am a creamy person! I love hand creams, face creams, lip balms and anything to smooth into my skin. I have dry skin so my skin laps it up! I was once told by a massage therapist that I was absorbing the same quantity of oil she’d’ve expected for a 6 foot hairy man! Not exactly flattering to my 5’4″ unhairy 20-year-old self but I know now what she meant. Dealing with that is a whole other blog post!

A bespoke cream in addition to internal herbs can make for a full spectrum of treatment. Things on our skin end up in our bloodstream and consequently, I take very seriously what I put on my skin and give to my patients to put on their skin.

If you are struggling with your health and feel you would like a complete treatment, get in touch. I would love to create the cream for you.

Knee pain

Posted on October 3, 2022 by - Appointments, Change, EFT, Emotional health, My Story, Self care, Tapping, The appointment, The body

After intending to be more active this September, embedding routines in more firmly, I find myself hindered already!

For the past few weeks, I have had an intermittent right knee pain. I have not injured myself nor done anything knowingly. It has woken me in the night, disturbs me whan I am sitting working at my desk and when I am cooking or going about normal chores, the pain can swell in magnitude that it brings me close to tears. And, like a wounded beast, wanting to lash out. Wow.

So, what’s it about?

In true Lucy-style, I recognise that my body is capable of a powerful resonance of my internal workings. The idea that our bodies reflect our emotions has always been resonant with me, even before I began to see it occurring in myself.

This is why to view emotional state as distinct from physical state is something I cannot comprehend.

This is also why I believe that the medical profession is generally omitting something really important – and missing a trick – but recognise that it’s something which can’t be addressed in a 10min appointment.

My body powerfully somatises my emotional world. When something is happening in my emotions, it happens in my body too. I am not usually aware that this is the case initially. And, I don’t seem to have any control or influence over it, but, as I grow in my ability to turn and face my emotions, I hope that the need for my body to alert me quite so strongly will lessen. It is certainly true that during my recent deeper explorations into the feelings I have had buried deep inside of me for decades, that my body has become louder and more outspoken. Severe neck pains, more pronounced muscular tensions and pains, aching joints – such that it’s hard to know whether it is lowering oestrogens or reverberating somatisation that I am experiencing!

I frequently refer to Louise Hay to gain a greater insight into the possible root of my most recent physical experience.

So, to Louise I did turn after a couple of days where this didn’t seem to be abating. I looked at the following ideas:

  • Joints – representing changes in direction in life and the ease of these movements
  • Knees – pride and ego
  • Knee problems – Stubborn pride and ego. Inability to bend. Fear. Inflexibility. Won’t give in.
  • Right side – giving out, letting go, masculine energy

Not everything resonates. Why would it? I am not a textbook and this is the reflections of one woman’s experience working with other humans. BUT, so much of it feels relevant that therefore, it is worth exploring.

I began to tap. Tap on the statements and the corresponding affirmations which Hay suggests are the antidote. [I am not always a fan of affirmations believing that we often respond with some form of ‘Yeah, right’ which undermines their efficacy.] But, the beauty of tapping is that the somatic expression of the process draws heart, mind and body into a single collective, allowing the release of the negative and space for the positives to begin to take root.

Was it easy? Yes and No. Yes, because I understand that the path may not be as I anticipate and I have taken those paths on many occasions. No, because the paths can be rockier, hillier and feel, at times, treacherous. Is it worth the risks and the treachery? Absolutely.

Did I wake with knee pain last night? No. Is it still there? Yes, but much less. Might it have been less anyway? Maybe. The point is that I have a tool I can call upon in my hour of need. I can take a positive action which will soothe my physical and emotional distress.

Do you recognise this? Does it allow you to slot together pieces of a puzzle? Would you like to explore your somatisation? To find out whether your bodily sensations are alerts to a deeper, perhaps more private experience than eg a joint pain, digestive discomfort or more? Get in touch with me to see whether our joint alchemy will be the way forward for you.

Change

Posted on September 29, 2021 by - Change, How seeing a herbalist works, The appointment

I talked in my blog on joyous practise about playing the violin. I have played since I was a child of just 8 years old.

Recently, I used my lack of playing during the Covid-19 lockdown to wipe the violin slate clean. Going back and picking it up after not playing for over a year meant I could really feel the bodily contortions I inadvertently get myself into. All the habitual tensions, the “oh no, this will sound really dreadful” downward negative judgements beginning before the bow hads even hit the string. 

And, I’ll be completely honest it did sounds dreadful. It sounded awful because my ear was not as out of practise as my fingers and my musician’s critical faculties were in fine fettle. And, it sounded dreadful because I was not able to offer myself the compassion I would to others.

How to wipe the slate clean?

I’ve started Alexander Technique lessons with Julia Duschenes in St Albans. Alexander Technique is a form of body re-education, a way to ‘get out of your own way’, to notice tension and release what’s not needed. Julia’s marvellous AND she plays a stringed instrument AND she works with lots of string players. She is helping me re-build my body and change my body’s reflex response to the violin. I don’t have to take up a ‘violin posture’ before I’ve even lifted it out the case. I don’t have to assume it’ll be hard work, tense, self-critical, not good enough. What joy it is to begin to remove those things from my playing. 

During a recent weekend of playing, I’ve noticed the “argh, that’s a lot of very fast notes” tightening in my left hand and aimed to let go of as much of it as I could. I’ve released the “got to be perfect” self-pressure and whilst the habit is not yet gone, it was so joyful to have those moments of freedom, enjoyment and a sense of largesse in my playing.

And, beginning to be freed from my own fearful sense of being ‘not good enough’ I could enjoy being what I am. Fancy that. Enjoying being what I am, in this moment.

So, what am I actually doing?

I’m inviting change. It’s not easy. There are a lot of years of withheld tears in those muscular habits, lots of time suffering from the ‘not good enough’ belief and years of believing that musicians strive for something they’ll never attain: perfection. In truth, I won’t reach that place of CD perfection because I’m a human being not a robot, I don’t practise 4+ hours per day, every day and I don’t want to. It’s simply not that important to me. I have chosen another path. So, my musical mind, my musical body is learning to let go of that pressure and accept that good enough really is.

Why change?

As with any change, noticing a way to be positively different is key. Start interrupting the usual pathway and asking how it could be different. I learned this from Julia. What now sounds soo obvious, and just wasn’t a few short weeks ago, is changing from self-flagellating for a mistake and feeling worthless as a result of that mistake to asking how did it happen and what could I do differently to avoid it next time? Using curiosity rather than harsh self-judgement. Being my own teacher rather than judge and jury.

Why write about change?

I ask my patients to be ready to, and support them in becoming ready for, change. It might sound obvious that there’ll be change but it’s generally the hardest part. We like the way we do things. That’s why we do them that way. We might not see the connection between the outcome and some of our actions and choices. So, it is my job to aid in seeing things differently. Or, we might feel powerless to make positive changes as we feel as though we are losing something important, secure and familiar. But, it is only in adopting changes that we can bring about change.

If we want our bodies to BE different, we have to DO different

Lucy Blunden

My role is to engage you in those changes, enable you to feel it’s possible and help you notice that it feels good when you stick with it.
Having spent years fighting myself over habits which were doing me no good, I really understand how hard it can be to being about change. I recognise that change requires all sorts of different parts of us and sometimes those around us to be on board. Coralling all of those things can be tricky as well. Taking baby steps with my guidance will help you find your way forward moving towards those changes you desire. This is one of the things which I love about my job; helping people to find that a-ha moment enabling them to step into the new concepts positively and with confidence.