Sciatica is pressure on the Sciatic nerve often, but not always caused by a contracted lateral muscle called the piriformis. This muscle forms an energetic line which relates to the Gallbladder. This meridian starts on the lateral edge of the eye and has a partner organ which is the Liver. These two organs on one level relate to foresight, clarity of vision and direction. The Liver relates to where you are going and the Gallbladder relates how you get there.

How you get there, in life, often means casting about, which means lateral movement. The piriformis is a lateral muscle and, if tight could mean that the sufferer is in a bit of a bind about which way to go on a subject relating to life.

If someone is stuck with this they could have a laterally related condition such as sciatica coupled with an inability to see a reasonable distance forwards (myopia).

On an holistic basis Shiatsu may address both conditions over a reasonable period of time ie 6-18 months but would involve some changes in lifestyle. Although I have no experience, nor know of any practitioner who has had this experience of treating myopia, I do know that some of my clients have experienced improvements in eye conditions subsequent to my treatments.

Posture has a huge effect on the human condition. The question has to be asked, whether the human condition causes the postural imbalance, by this I mean lifestyle and life attitudes, or whether an incident in the life of the client has caused the imbalance and this has not been addressed subsequently.

My course on Sciatica and Back Pain is on 17th and 18th November PLUS if you book before 17th October, I’ll give you a special discounted price.

Here’s the LINK: danstrettonworkshops.com

When I say things like this, people think I’m antisocial and can’t enjoy a good celebration. Actually, there’s nothing further from the truth. Gathering together in celebration of life, good health, love, endeavour, achievements, it’s all life affirming. It reminds us of why we get up every morning, why we keep going.  It’s good for the heart. Warm red blood flows in these veins too, I understand all this.

What I hate is how commerce seeks to feed on that impulse and what that does to human beings.

Every year, the anxiety of Christmas starts to creep into peoples lives at around this time in October. Expectations start to become artificially inflated as shops bombard us with tinsel, cards, presents, even bloody minced pies when we are still hoping for an Indian Summer. The anticipation, the fear of failure, the worry about where the money’s going to come from, is it going to be perfect etc. wears people out and creates a sense of dread.

…this Summer I was struck by the amount of people that told me how lonely and empty they felt

Switching back to the Jubilee and the Olympics, this Summer I was struck by the amount of people that told me how lonely and empty they felt. This was odd because, normally I hear this coming up to Christmas. Such statements have made me reflect on how this Summer has been like previous Christmas phenomena, but writ large.

In TCM terms:

Firstly, the Jubilee and Olympics on an external social level:

This was characterised by lots of Yang activities over an extended period with much, much commercial “hype”. The time of the year was Summer, hence an excessive extended period of Fire

Now look at Christmas:

Winter, a time of quiet reflection and Yin activity, solid food and much time spent indoors.

Christmas festivities invariably involve the aggressive promotion of excessive consumption on a commercial level, and increasing unrealistic expectations for personal happiness and peace.

(This celebration is a short burst of Fire in the depths of Winter)

Therefore, in my view the external, social aspects of these two situations:-

Yang is generated from Yin
Looking at the Yin of the Jubilee / Olympics
If Yin is the stored energy, where is the Yin?

The country, already experiencing the “Winter” of deep national austerity and has borrowed even more money to pay for the celebrations. This has increased the subconscious sense of emptiness within the population. Add to that, the pervading sense of insecurity over jobs and shortage of financial fluidity, there is a palpable sense of isolation as people suffer constant worry, usually in silence.

At Christmas we experience Winter, the darkest time of year. During the most Yin period of Winter, the “spark” of Winter solstice and Christmas are there to celebrate and mark the Sun’s journey back to the Northern hemisphere. Instead this has become the long drawn out “explosion” of the over hyped, exploitative Yang of Christmas as a commercial entity.

For health, balance has to be maintained. The Yang of the Olympics and the Jubilee was a period of empty heat, fire burning without substance just as the Yang of Christmas commercialism also creates a sense of empty heat.

It follows that excess Yang, based in lack brings about the collapse of the psyche into “emptiness” “loneliness” and “disconnection”.

We can’t stop for breath before retailers are propelling us prematurely into Christmas, but not before they’ve tried to flog us fireworks and halloween candy first!

This year, take a step back and when the pressures of “The Perfect Christmas” start to crowd in on you and the impulse to run amok in John Lewis is proving irresistible, remember that Christmas Day only lasts 24 hours, just like all the others. All that matters is good food, in sensible quantities and the time to relax and enjoy yourself.

If anyone else has different ideas, then to hell with them!

The Psoas and muscles of the pelvis provide movement and support for the whole of the body on a physical, emotional and psychological level.

What is its function?-

It is the muscle mainly responsible for lifting the femur in order for the leg to make a step forward. Energetically it would not be too bold to say that its movement creates the ability of the organism to progress through its life at all levels. I think of the psoas as the thirteenth organ. Looking at the meridians it follows the pathway on either side of the Chong Mai from Ren Mai/CV1 through to Du Mai /GV4 from where the belt channel originates and joins to CV6.

Where is it?-

The psoas is a large, thick, powerful bilateral muscle situated deep inside and mainly within the abdominal cavity. It runs from T12 diagonally over the pubic arch and inserts into the posteriomedial aspect of the lesser trocanter.

Contained WITHIN and on the muscle itself are the nerves of the lumbar plexus. The Psoas Major attaches to six vertebrae T12 to L5 and passes over two joints. It contracts and relaxes in sections depending on the work required of it. It is basically a hip flexor and encourages the FREE SWING of leg in walking and transfers weight through the trunk into the legs and feet. It is also like a guide-wire, a tensile structure, stabilising the spine.

It provides a shelf to support pelvic organs and viscera and it’s tone determines whether or not the abdomen has room for these organs.

The processes I use do more than strengthen or loosen. They create overall body awareness. This, more than any specific exercise allows the receiver to know whether what they are doing is beneficial for them.

So often we work on muscles that can be SEEN, to strengthen or relax them. For instance, we rarely if ever, exercise or even talk about the coccygeus muscle! Yet the muscles in the pelvis and psoas are “floor” to our bodies, antagonists to the diaphragm and throat.

Many back, knee, foot, shoulder and neck problems can be solved with correct attention to the functioning of this area of the body.

I like giving students tips on getting results fast for their clients but to date I have found no “quick fix” for this area. The simple fact is that years of bad habits are not changed quickly. People continue to do things that are bad for their bodies. It is not until they are compelled to recognise how uncomfortable their existence has become, that they sometimes do something about it. If they are ready to commit, just a little bit, the rewards are deep and lasting.

What I’m talking about is proprioception. Proprioception works not just in a physical, but also a mental, psychological and emotional way. A mind set can be changed but often it is a slow process and the client must be ready,on some level, for this change.

Teaching people to be aware of the psoas and pelvic muscles is like asking someone (who can do it) to describe how you lift your arm by activating different individual muscles. Try it sometime!

See if you can describe lifting a hot drink to your mouth by using individual muscles before the drink goes cold:

1. Tense the frontal fibres of the deltoid;
2. Relax the back deltoid fibres;
3. Tense the serratus anterior muscle; relax latissimus dorsi and teres major,

…and so on…

The interplay of muscles is complex, each muscle will hold movement memories of possibilities and restrictions which are good and bad, ie. its memory of R.O.M. (range of movement) and be limited by its A.M.B (anatomical motion barrier).

Now, translate this process to an area of the body which is just accepted as “being there”and rarely, if ever, specifically worked on.

The difficulties of getting clients and, even ourselves, to be body conscious are plain to see.

Next year I am running a course on working the Psoas and the whole of the pelvis and Lower Burner. Details to follow…make sure you are on the mailing list to receive updates. CLICK HERE to sign up 

In this video I show you how to move the entire body just through the toes. It is uncomfortable at first as a lot of blockages are addressed in this one technique BUT it feels wonderful!

I use this, among other techniques to clear the Lower Burner, so it’s a good one for working with migraine sufferers.

Here are some images to help you get the grip on the foot correct.

1. Take the toe between the knuckles of the 1st and middle fingers.

2. Place the thumb of your other hand on the METATARSAL on the sole of the foot.

3. Place all of the fingers on the top of the foot.

For the full foot shake at the end of the video:

1. Place the palm of the hand against the ball of the foot and the toes.

2. Place the other hand on top to get more power into your hand.

I want to thank Carina Andersson who taught me this technique.

Here’s a few thoughts on the subject based on my experience and a short suggested treatment plan to try.

There are no nerves in the brain to register pain. Excess pressure is the reason for all types of headache/migraine. The pressure comes from the fluids which flow into and out of the brain not having “smooth flow”. Those are my favourite words for describing Liver Qi.

Pain in the eyes indicates some blockage to the optic nerve, once again caused by pressure. Releasing this pressure is where you need to start. Look at the 3 TCM causes of disease.

a. Accidents and Parasites

b. The 7 Emotions

c. The 5 Climates

Decide in your clients, what are the combinations of a b and c?

Find out the client’s priorities.  From the 3 Causes of disease,  what is really affecting them negatively?

Start at the feet, holding the big toe and rock the whole body from this joint. CLICK HERE to see how to do this.

Clear the lower legs, this will probably be painful.

Clear the thighs, front and back.

Open the lower burner via the buttocks and perineum.

Now soften the muscles for necks and shoulders (remember they start from the PSIS)

Now focus into creating flexibility on G.V. Move into the neck, start in prone and move to supine.

Reduce sinus pressure via Bladder 10. Work Stomach 6 to reduce tension in the masseter.

In my experience the big problem is going to be the concept of Liver Qi. People are either controlled or controlling, usually both in different measure. In a situation where the Liver drains Kidney Qi, the courage to move into a different space is not available.

Whatever the emotional, psychological causes you may encounter, on a physical level you are looking at incredible tension in lower legs, buttocks, lower burner, backs, shoulders and necks.

So simple really!

This blog post was inspired by a great question from a practitioner. If you’d like to help me write a blog post, please email me info@danstretton.com with a question.

I’m calling this account a case study but in fact it focusses on the changes and revelations experienced by the client and how a diagnosis reveals itself over a number of sessions. As I am trying to get across my own way of working, you will see that I omit diagnostic models. But,if you want to discuss these below, I’d be happy to hear your opinions. I have called the client Lucy although this is not her real name.  Here’s the story:

“Lucy”

A female client presented with the usual low back pain, tight shoulders and neck. She also complained of digestive problems, and the inability to cope with pressure changes in the atmosphere. This latter caused pain in the ears and gave her frontal and side head pain and often brought on the reflux.

She had seen all the relevant western medical specialists for the pressure pain in her head and was told that there was nothing wrong and that possibly the pain would eventually go away. In so many words, ” Clear off, there’s nothing we can do.”

She is in her mid thirties with three children, the first two were born with no problems and naturally, the third by caesarian section. At 7 and a half months into her third pregnancy she developed a large cyst in her right inguinal crease. She thought she would lose the child and that the growth was cancerous. The cyst was surgically removed and she had a c-section to avoid possible further internal damage during a normal childbirth because the surgery had left weaknesses within the gut.

The child was born fit and well 18 months ago.

She works 9-5 in front a of a computer and rarely takes any breaks.

Shortly after this third birth she was travelling on a high speed train which entered a tunnel and the pressure change of this brought on the first incidence of pain. This has since become the norm for her when this happens, e.g. closing the door after getting into the car, riding in the lift and air travel is impossible.

Physical examination revealed the following:-

1. Anterior rotation of the right ilium
2. Rotation to the left of the sacrum in the sagittal plane
3. Extreme tension in both gluteals creating lateral splaying of the feet but worse on the right
4. All the muscles of her back were board hard
5. Pain on palpation of Yu Points at Heart, Liver, Gallbladder, Stomach, Triple Heater, Kidney, Large Intestine
6. Governing Vessel showed blockages at Small Intestine, Kidney and Heart at the level of the Yu Points

Because I felt that this was a “special case” I broke my own rule of NOT doing a Hara diagnosis on a first appointment, did one and found Stomach full and hard and Kidney very active but bottomless and cold.

The First Session:

Concentrated on getting her to feel safe and comfortable with me, (working GV/Ki). I wanted to find out what her body was holding. I also released the gluteals, lower back and re oriented the ilium and sacrum.
She experienced warmth in her back and her headache disappeared. Both of these sensations were a first since the birth of her third (yes, she has had a headache since her third child was born).
I told her that this bodywork process would take several if not many sessions and that within the process she would have to make changes in her life

The Second Session:

On arrival, she reported a lessening of headache frequency and greater general flexibility. Very positive about outcomes and reported that she was now taking a break every 20 minutes when in front of her computer, was eating better and involving her partner in more childcare when they were both at home.
This session continued work via the Kidneys and into Small Intestine along the iliocostalis muscles. This latter was extremely painful even with the light touch of fascial work to assist release.
She became very emotional and burst into uncontrollable floods of tears. I stopped the session and allowed her to recover somewhat and she then told me her emotional story.

In brief:-

Controlled by parents on an emotional level, i.e. not allowed to express her emotions. As a small child she was distressed by continual parental arguments, was afraid of a family breakup but controlled her anger and fear at the restrictions placed upon her.
She moved away from her home area as soon as she could, but found relationships difficult due to her fears around them. She has, however had a stable, if somewhat one-sided relationship with the father of her children. But she is now frightened of further pregnancies since she has been told by her gynaecologist that this would be dangerous, due to the surgery to remove the  cyst and c-section leaving physical weakness in her lower abdomen.

She has a long term hormonal contraceptive device fitted with which she is not at all happy. Her partner is very resistant to having a vasectomy. The train journey which initiated the pressure pain was to see her dying father.

Third session:

She reported fewer incidences of head pain when in pressure change situations. Back pain in shoulders and neck were troublesome intermittently. Overall she is a changed person, smiling, agile and positive that her condition will continue to improve and is also experiencing fewer incidents of reflux.

“So how did the bodywork create the change?

The release of pain in her lower back from readjusting the pelvis and softening quadratus lumborum via deep Kidney work also released some of the fear.
There is a strong correlation between the muscles of the lower burner and the shoulder girdle. Releasing the lower burner including the diaphragm of the perineum assisted the other three diaphragm releases. This allowed her breathing to slow and deepen further supporting kidney function.

Her long held emotional blockages in Small Intestine, when released, allowed the deep pain in her heart to be expressed via the tongue (telling her story) . This allowed a dumping of psychological baggage further freeing her.

The train journey was taking her back into a situation which would not bring resolution to old emotional situations, and there would be no time to talk to her dying father to resolve these. Her apprehension toward the impending but inevitable death created a subconscious terror. This terror was controlled like all her previous emotional experiences.

It was simple deduction, if some might say “cod psychology” to relate the fear (Kidney) to the malfunction of her ears.

The reason I have written this partial and incomplete history is to try to explain my approach to this client.

So many people have a carapace of protection which they have created over long periods of time. This shield is often not against the outside world, although it may be, but mostly about not allowing themselves to experience their painful memories in the here and now and resolving them. It’s what talking therapies are mainly about.

However, as body workers, we know that the body memory is just as powerful as the mental one. This memory has a limit, and when full, dis-ease and its symptoms often manifest physically in areas of the body psychologically connected to the causative factors. If we are to make a difference for our clients we need to find a way through this carapace and find the relevant ongoing support for them.

In this case, I have used extremes of contact. Very light fascial unwinding to allow some muscle softening and deep, often painful work into the gluteals legs and feet.

Clearing the lower burner has been paramount, in conjunction with opening the four transverse diaphragms. To allow a re-integration of the information systems via the deep organ fascia. This will I hope lead to a cleared flow of energies at all levels.

I have no idea whether the pain caused by atmospheric pressure change will resolve, but I am heartened by the fact that during a further session she experienced what she called a “panic attack”. This happened whilst I was holding, very gently the adjacent points of Small Intestine 17 and Triple Heater 18, both of which have effects on the chest and hearing.

Why heartened ? Because, for me, this indicated a connection between her painful hearing experience and the deep fascial work I had been doing earlier in the treatment.

I have not given Zen or TCM diagnoses but feel free to comment on this. I would love to have your observations and any questions you might have.

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