It happened in a split second. The countdown is on until I leave for Thailand and one moment of carelessness has put “the land of smiles” in jeopardy.
Monday morning, I went to salt my front steps after the icy sleet we received Sunday night. One step and down I went. Hard. My left leg bent behind me and my head banged my third step so solidly it broke the wood.
I thought I was being careful. I was wrong. Flat on my back, and my first thought was about a good friend who died from a fall like this. Lying there, I began to assess. Was I hurt? I thought I might be. Was anything broken? Hmm, didn’t think so. Could I get up? Yes.
My head hurt, I could barely walk, and my elbow was bleeding. Needless to say, it wasn’t a positive moment. Matter of fact, not only was I unsure of my pain, I felt really stupid. It’s wasn’t a good feeling.
Nothing seemed broken so I finished salting. But I knew something was wrong. Not with my head thankfully, but I felt a throbbing pain in my leg.
Jan was there with Advil and Arnica to immediately reduce the inflammation. After a more complete assessment we decided to set an appointment with my doctor for later on Tuesday. Jan then provided me with ice and helped me elevate my leg.
Now it was time to do what I do.
A healing exercise that actually began years ago in Hawaii. The night before we were leaving for a big hike, Jan went down with an ankle sprain. We were in the middle of nowhere, without an urgent care center or pharmacy to be found. We were desperate. Hope springs eternal and the beginnings of a wingman healing process were born. We loved, praised, adored, and iced that ankle well into the night. By mid morning we were hiking.
With my tumble this morning I knew I needed to bring out the big guns. The practice that began in Hawaii has become a favorite wingman process I call “Heal Thyself”. I use it with clients who are ill or injured. It’s based on the belief that by thinking positively about our bodies, we can mend ourselves. By flooding our body and our psyches with positive, loving, kind, healing thoughts we can activate our cells to do what they do best, heal.
It comes from a combination of my teachings from Dr. Bernie Siegel, and a few different books, most notably ‘Mutant Message Down Under’ by Marlo Morgan and ‘Ask and It is Given’ by Abraham Hicks. It involves practicing feeling better by reminding yourself that your body knows how to heal itself. My practice went something like this.
“My leg’s been great to me”.
“You’ve (talking to my leg now) served me well”.
“You helped me run a marathon”.
“You helped me run and play with my children when they were small”.
“You helped me take walks all over the world”.
“You helped me take morning walks with Monte these last 15 years”.
“You helped me hike up ‘Observation Point’ in Zion National Park”.
“You helped me climb Mt. Masada in Israel”.
“You helped me ski some wonderful mountains”.
“Thank you for being such a great leg to me, I look forward to many more adventures”.
And then I went onto my body’s wisdom.
“It’s natural for my body to be well”.
“Even if I don’t know what to do in order to get better, my body does”.
“I have trillions of cells with individual consciousness, they know what needs to be done”.
I don’t need to know how to heal my leg quickly, my body knows”.
“Let go of the Pain”.
“It doesn’t matter that I caused this, I can heal it as well”.
“It’s natural that it will take a little time for my body to align with my thoughts of well-being”.
“There’s no rush, I’m not going away until Saturday”.
“Well-Being is natural to me”.
“My wiser self is very aware of my physical body”.
“My cells are asking for what they need to heal me, and my source is answering those requests”.
“I’m in very good hands”.
“I will relax now, and allow my body and my wiser self to work it’s magic.”
“My only work is to relax and breathe”.
“I can do that”.
I can do that easily”.
“The sensation of pain is an indicator that my Source is responding to my cellular request for energy”.
“I will relax into this sensation of pain because I understand that help is on the way”.
My visit to the doctor didn’t go as well as expected. My GP sent me instantly to an Orthopedist who immediately put me in a full leg knee splint and sent me for an MRI.
My positive vibes were taking a beating.
When I mentioned I’m leaving for Thailand, he said surgery was more like it. He’ll know more after seeing the results from my MRI tomorrow.
“Doc”, I asked, “Have you ever seen this type of thing heal by itself.”
His answer was right up my alley, “It would be a miracle”.
“Awesome”, I responded, “I’m a big believer in miracles.”
As I lay in the MRI scanner, I began my healing practice again.
I know too many stories of people healing themselves, from every imaginable disease and injury, to lose faith now.
Today’s practice is for you to try it for yourself. Do you have something keeping you from feeling your physical best? Try getting out of your own way and letting your body take care of itself.
Btw… No Build Your Inner Team class in March because I plan to be walking all over Thailand. Next class, Monday, April 20th.
If you would like some individual coaching on how you can help yourself feel better, send me an email. Include your phone # and best time to call.
To feeling better and better,
Michael
