Years ago I had a client who had torn his rotator cuff during a simple movement.  The funny thing was, he didn’t even know it until he got an MRI on the area.  He had come to me with some shoulder pain and I did what I do and strengthened the area, thinking he had simple tendonitis and it resolved in a few months and he went back to regular lifting.

The “holy crap” moment came when he got the results of his MRI, and his orthopedic surgeon said that he actually had a full tear in part of his rotator cuff.  What the surgeon also said was that his shoulder was so perfectly strengthened to within millimeters of the tear that his shoulder could function without a problem even though he had an injury that should have required surgery.

Over the years I’ve had many examples of this type of thing within my practice.  Hip replacement?  Golfing within four months.  Achilles tendonitis?  Took four weeks.  Massive spinal trauma due to getting hit by a truck twenty years prior?  Resolved issues and can perform at work and home without issue.  Four herniated discs?  Skating and lifting things again within six months.  Powerlifter with a chronic hip issue that wouldn’t allow her past parallel?  Competed in provincials several months later.  I had a woman come in with a diagnosed tennis elbow she had for over a year and resolved that in 40 minutes by popping it back into place.  She’s still good months later.  Bodybuilders who have shoulder issues?  Retrained and fine after a couple of weeks.

I actually got an email a few months ago from a client with two knees that were essentially destroyed due to lack of cartilage I worked with three years ago – who said she is still walking 20 miles a week and her knees are totally fine.

Here’s the funny thing – sometimes I still feel like I don’t know what I’m doing.  I know a lot about the body and how it responds to force and how to strengthen things really effectively.  This is simply a confidence issue stemming from years of bullying and neglect at home where I had to fight to prove that I was good at anything and even then got ignored so gave up a lot.

Recently though I’ve had a bit of a mind shift.  I’ve taken a look at the success I have had over the years with clients of many shapes, sizes and ability levels and realized that while sometimes I keep putting myself down, I have actually affected and helped a ton of people in a very positive way when it comes to “fixing” injuries and getting people moving without a problem again.  I’ve also encountered some incredibly rare conditions that I have had the luck to be able to work on and gain experience with.  My brain just seems to work in line with movement and force so that I can make logical sense of things and actually get to the root of the issue.

So what’s the point of this?  I guess it is a simple statement that I’ve realized that I can embrace this skill.  It is something that I was meant to do.  Something I’m really good at and can help people with.

Last year in a course they asked us to generate something called a “sankalpa” which is a yoga word for a simple statement that you use to focus yourself and discover your inner being.  The first thing that popped into my head after thinking about it was “I am a healer”.  My other inner voice pushes that away and tells me I’m not good enough, but recently I’ve been able to shift into another way of thinking finally.

So there is is:  I am a healer.

The exciting thing about it is that there are still many avenues I can explore, directions I can take and methodologies I can learn in order to increase the level of skill I already have.  I’ve gone down a couple of those paths, but now it is time to make it a direct focus and really get into the practice (not that I wasn’t already).  It feels good to have that type of mind shift, even though it has taken a long time.

We are all on the Earth for a reason, and as much as I tried to push it away and ignore it, this is simply my calling.  I’ve known it for many years but now I’m just declaring that it is time to stop that and embrace it instead.  Expect to see some changes to the practice in the near future.

Got a problem?  Injury?  Strange condition that you want to improve?  Come at me bro.  Want to feel better, move better?  Tried everything and nothing seems to work?  Try this.  And the great thing is that it can be applied to many communities from heavy lifters who tweak something to the elderly who have been living with problems for years.

With the support of my amazing family and community and clients I know that I can make some changes that will only enhance my ability to help people and make them well physically again.  And with any luck help more people that recently thought that there was no help for them.  Wish me luck and of course, if you know of anyone that might need help please just let me know.