Pain Archives - Wolf Healing Ottawa

June 25, 2019 By admin Emotions, Energy healing, Pain

Can Emotions Affect Joint Pain?

Emotions-affect-joint-pain-wolf-healing-ottawa — **Lose the pain and find joy again!**

There can of course be many physical reasons for joint pain, including injuries and auto-immune diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis. But have you ever considered that emotions affect joint pain?

As an Energy Healer I work with numerous clients, and many of them complain of pain. This can be joint, back, hips, feet or anywhere else in the body…

How Do Emotions Affect Joint Pain?

The Physical Impact

On physical level if you are stressed, angry or upset your posture will be affected and your muscles become tense. For people who already have an underlying joint injury, or damage from arthritis, these physical changes leave the injured area unsupported causing pain to be increased.

Histamine and Inflammation

In addition, emotions affect joint pain on a chemical level within the body. The emotions increase histamine (inflammation). For anyone whose joints are already compromised this can really aggravate symptoms such as pain, heat and swelling.

Dr Jonega writes about emotions and their impact on histamine.

So, yes, emotions affect joint pain on a physical, chemical level.

Which Emotions Affect Joint Pain on the Energetic Level?

That’s easy, all negative emotions can adversely affect your joints.

For example, anxiety, fear, shock, trauma are associated with the kidney meridian. They are also associated with the root chakra. When we experience these emotions the resulting blockages can cause low back and hip pain. In addition, the need to “protect” can leave you with tight, inflexible hips.

Here are some other examples:

Arms

So shoulders, elbows, hands. These can be linked to a need to reach out, to either ask for help for yourself, or to offer help to someone else. If you have pain in your arms take a moment to connect and see if you feel this may apply to you.

A few years ago I came across this on a personal level. I developed tennis elbow for no apparent reason.

The next time I visited my healer I complained of this and she pointed out the reason. Someone close to me was seriously ill and I was in no position to do anything to help them. My desire to reach out and help was getting stuck in my elbow.. She recommended that I bring them into every healing session I did and include them in the healing. In addition to take some time to bring them some distance healing.

My elbow completely cleared up after a few days. I still find this spooky despite what I do!

Legs

Hips, knees, ankles, feet. Are you stuck, unable, unwilling or apprehensive about going forward? Afraid to take the next step?

Shoulders

For someone who carries the weight of the world, in a position where everything falls onto them, it can mean sore, tight shoulders. As if you are literally carrying a burden.

Neck

This often relates to finding your voice. Many of us have been brought up unable to really express who we are, our needs and to be heard. Finding your voice will often resolve neck pain and along with it some headaches.

Where Do The Emotions Come From?

It can be ‘now stuff’ in our lives, or from past events, genetic memories (our parents, grandparents etc) or even soul memories. Sometimes it is clear, other times we have no idea..

For sure our upbringing will have an impact. I see so many clients where they have tried to be the “good child”, conform to parent’s expectations. This continues with being a good spouse, employee and then parent… there is never a time to find out who they are and to learn to express their true self and needs.

In addition, events in our lives play a part. Witnessing or being a part of a traumatic experience at school, university, a bad relationship etc can all impact the emotions we carry.

In the case of genetic memories and soul memories we all carry these and they can be triggered so that our body remembers trauma from a previous generations and lives.

It is not important to know where the emotion originates, it is enough to identify it and allow it to be released, to be replaced by something more positive.

So How Do We Resolve These Emotions?

For the ‘now stuff’ Meditation and Mindfulness play a part. Allowing the mind to be calmer, for us to become less reactive and better able to deal with day to day stresses and events.

To resolve those deeper emotions, from traumatic events in our lives, the genetic memories, the soul memories we need to utilize other methods.

CBT (Cognitive behavioural Therapy) can help, along with EFT ( Emotional Freedom Technique / Tapping), as can Hypnosis.

You may also wish to seek help from Shamanic Healer, or a practitioner who uses Energy Healing such as Reiki or Pranic Healing.

In choosing your approach be mindful of the fact that most of us will benefit from a team of healers and techniques.

Allow yourself to be guided by your intuition. Even if it does not make rational sense, go to the person or pursue the technique that really calls to you at that time. You may see one person for a while then go to someone else, and perhaps come back to the first person.

Healing and resolving the emotions we carry is a process, a very fluid process with no rules, it takes as long as is needed and every one of us is different. We can take a break at any time. Do not compare yourself to others, and above all Enjoy the Journey!

February 24, 2019 By admin Concussion, Pain

Concussion Treatment: The Autonomic Nervous System – The Missing Piece?

There are many articles, a wealth of information and numerous opinions available on the topic of Concussion Treatment.

Most treatment revolves around the physical aspect of the trauma. Whilst this is essential, there are other aspects that should be considered.

The Autonomic Nervous System

Concussion and Traumatic Brain Injuries result in a complex process that has a systemic effect on the body. In particular, there is an impact on the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS).

The ANS controls the automatic, unconscious processes in our body such as heart and respiration rate, blood pressure and digestion. It also controls our being in a state of relaxation or of fight / flight.

Dysregulation of the ANS has been shown to trigger an inflammatory response, arrhythmias (irregular heart beat / palpitations), depressed immune system, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, anxiety, as well as being a factor in psychiatric disorders.

It may also contribute to generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorders or a tendency to be over-reactive to external or internal stressors.

More information on Autonomic Dysfunction after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5575620/

Conventional Concussion Treatment

Conventional concussion treatment usually involves the following pieces, and will be complemented by the addition of the above modalities to address ANS dysfunction

Rest
Exercise
Manual Therapy – Massage, Chiropractic, Osteopathy, Physiotherapy
Diet and Nutrition – reduce inflammation and feed the body and brain
Vision and Vestibular rehabilitation
Professional emotional support, Counselling and Talk Therapies

More info on standard treatment approaches can be found on these websites:

http://www.braininjuries.org/

https://completeconcussions.com/2016/06/29/top-5-evidence-based-treatment-concussion/

And in this article about rehabilitation for concussion:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4387881/

Concussion Treatment: The Missing Piece?

Dysfunction in the Autonomic Nervous system impacts so many aspects of our health. Providing treatments and strategies to address this is essential for complete healing to occur. The ANS needs to calmed and brought back into a state of homeostasis in order for all other systems of the body to function normally.

What can be done?

There are many ways to address the dysfunction. Every person is an individual and may need one or more approaches.

Sleep

Probably the most important! Making sure to rest when needed, to go to bed at a reasonable time and to sleep as long as your body needs. Try to make your bedroom dark, quiet and not too warm. Remove all electronics from the room and stop using them at least 2hrs prior to going to bed.

In addition, allowing space and giving yourself permission to nap whenever required can be extremely beneficial.

Mindfulness and meditation

Working to calm the mind, to bring focus and to take time to consciously slow the breathing affects the body in a profound way. It can bring the ANS into a state of rest and digest. Breathing techniques such as Somatic breathwork can be used at any time throughout the day to bring a sense of calm.

Meditation: there are many approaches and styles so find the one that works for you. You can introduce a daily practice starting with a few minutes, use an app, or go to a class.

Yoga

If done correctly yoga is an exercise in breathing, mindfulness, and a form of meditation as well a physical practice. Choose a teacher who is sympathetic to your limitations and always work within your own comfort level. It is not a competition, there will always be someone in the class who is more flexible or more agile than you.

You may wish to seek out a teacher offering private yoga classes who can provide a program that is tailored to your unique needs. I recommend Michael Dynie in Ottawa.

Energy Healing

There are many Energy Healing modalities such as Reiki, Pranic Healing and Chakra Balancing. They all work with the energy in your body and bring a deep sense of relaxation. They can also work on a deeper level to release the shock and trauma of your injury from the subconscious and your body.

Massage and Reflexology

Although massage is usually thought of as a physical treatment for the soft tissues of the body, it can be highly affective for calming the nervous system. Reflexology also brings deep relaxation.

Conclusion

Anyone suffering from concussion or traumatic brain injury may benefit from the addition of modalities to calm the ANS and bring about a state of homeostasis. In particular, where a more convention treatment protocol is not bringing results and healing, this may be the missing piece.

Simple-Ways-to-Sleep-Better-Wolf-Healing-Ottawa

August 28, 2018

By admin Alcohol, Alcoholic, Drinking, Emotions, Energy healing, Pain, Reiki, Stress, Trauma

Stop Drinking Alcohol

So you want to stop drinking alcohol.. Tried already? Maybe several times with no success?

It can be extremely hard to quit this addiction and it is important to realise that we are all unique, and that no one approach works for everyone…

Studies have shown that addiction is due to both genetic factors and also to poor coping strategies and environmental factors. “Genes and Addiction”

First and most important make the intention not to judge yourself, not to feel guilt and shame.. drinking a lot is often a way of coping, it is a need. Once you can discover what drives you to drink it becomes much easier to make the necessary changes to stop drinking alcohol.

Why do you drink alcohol?

When we are unable to reduce the amount we drink, or to stop completely, there is always an underlying need for the alcohol. Unless we address that underlying reason we are unlikely to be successful.

There is of course the chemical addiction to the alcohol. However, having the genetic predisposition for addiction does not mean that you will get that disease..

I have had many clients who confess to an inability to moderate their drinking. There is always a pain in their life. The emotional stressors that I see most often when clients are finding it hard to stop drinking alcohol are loneliness, rejection, physical / emotional / sexual abuse in childhood and / or adulthood, and fear. Some may have very low self esteem, a sense of having no value, no self worth.

Anxiety and depression can also be factors, along with physical pain caused by injuries, and conditions such as arthritis and headaches.

How to stop drinking alcohol

As I said earlier, there is no one size fits all.. you need to look at the options that are available, try different things and accept there is no magic bullet, one time quick fix. Most people need several different approaches to successfully stop.

You may wish to consider one or more of the following. They are in no specific order.

Admit the issue, the fact you drink too much, to yourself and to those close to you. It is not important to label yourself as alcoholic, just accept the need to reduce / stop.
Seek help from professionals. Resources include your family doctor, counselling / talk therapy, other healing modalities, AA meetings and other support groups.
Avoid comparing yourself to others. We are all different, what works for one will not necessarily work for another.
Decide whether you want to stop completely or try to reduce your consumption. Maybe as a start designate just one or two nights a week for alcohol instead of every night.
Avoid temptation – Choose to spend time with friends who don’t drink or who are happy to avoid it when they are with you and go to places where alcohol is not served.
Replace the alcohol with something else. E.g. If you always drink in the evening find something else to snack on, or to drink, or find an activity you can do with others.
Look at the benefits – better sleep, less wasted time, more connected to others, more meaningful conversations, money saved.. etc..

Addressing the underlying pain

Accepting that there may be underlying emotional issues connected with your drinking can be hard. Mental health still has a lot of stigma attached to it. We all have baggage that we carry, from our own lives, our genetic memories passed down from parents, grandparents etc, and, some believe, soul memories too.

When you are ready to “go there”, or to take a look and see if that may be why you cannot stop drinking, it is important to seek help from a health professional. There are many options available including psychological services such as counselling and psychotherapy, as well as energy healing, shamanic healing, church ministers and more.

Remember healing is an ongoing process. Don’t judge yourself if you slip, accept the relapse and move on, get back on track. It is quite normal to slip a number of times before you reach a point where you are satisfied with changes you have made.

Withdrawal Symptoms

Depending on how much you are drinking and how quickly you reduce your intake you may experience withdrawal from the alcohol.

These symptoms can include psychological symptoms such as irritability, poor concentration, feeling shaky, feeling tired, difficulty sleeping or bad dreams.

Physical alcohol withdrawal symptoms including trembling hands, sweating, headache, nausea, vomiting, palpitations and lack of appetite. Severe physical side effects include convulsions, confusion, fever and even hallucinations. If you experience physical withdrawal symptoms of any kind, you should see your doctor as soon as possible.

I wish you success in your journey to stop drinking alcohol!

June 17, 2018

By admin Back pain, Emotions, Energy healing, Pain, PTSD, Reiki, Stress, Trauma

Reiki For Stress

Have you ever had a really stressful week or a period in your life when everything seems overwhelming and you react to the silliest things? This is the perfect time to use Reiki for Stress.

Why are you reacting?

It may be “now stuff”

The reactions may be obvious, and due to current, everyday stresses such as your ignorant boss, the pressure of deadlines at work, relationship issues (work or home) or events in your family life. Try taking the time to sit and to be still, look at what is happening in your life and bring awareness to any issues that are triggering you. Are they worthy of the response they trigger? This can help bring an appreciation of why you are stressed and is often the first step to doing something about it.

Maybe we are simply overloaded with ‘stuff’ in our lives at that time, and the small event that triggered that huge response was the final straw, the one that pushed us over the edge.

Or it may be “old stuff”

We all carry memories and emotions from past events in our own lives, our parents’ lives or maybe soul memories. For some of us these can be quite intense and strong, for others less so. It does not always have any relation to the size / number of the trauma / emotional events. I have met people who have experienced the most terrible traumas who have been able to let it go, and to put it in the past, and others who had apparently less traumatic experiences who cannot move beyond them.

Choosing not to react

Whether its “now stuff” or “old stuff”, or a combination of both, I recommend that you try Reiki for Stress.

I have had quite a number of clients who say, “I have done years of counselling so it can’t be anything to do with that trauma..”

But it can.. the talking works with the mind, and rarely addresses the emotions and memories stored in the body. It is a wonderful modality that helps you to develop coping strategies and to move on, to live your life, to function and often achieve successes. For some people it is all they need, and it resolves the emotions in the body too.

However, for others it is less effective at addressing those emotions held in the body. It can be likened to packaging things up in boxes, and storing those boxes in the closet. They are out of sight, out of mind, but they are still there, festering. At any point another event in your life reminds you of what is in those boxes and out they come..

Reiki for Stress

Reiki is a wonderful tool. It brings deep relaxation and grounding, Helping the body to release the current stresses and events. People report feeling more calm, more ‘Zen” and better able to cope with things that were overwhelming prior to the session.

It also goes much deeper. Reiki is all about facilitating whatever the body needs at the time. It is not about forcing anything to happen. It helps the body to open the closet and to bring out and dispose of the boxes stored there. It is not necessary to open the boxes, to go back and relive the event / trauma in the way many talk therapies work. It is enough to acknowledge the emotions involved and to let them go.

I am honoured to have had the opportunity to work with quite a number of clients with PTSD and serious trauma in their lives, and to be a part of their healing. It is often an amazing journey we take together.

Case study

I have had a client recently who had experienced terrible abuse in childhood. They were suffering from acute anxiety and a lot of physical pain, particularly in their back and legs. A simple journey to run errands was an ordeal of anxiety, and if family were coming to dinner they were exhausted before anyone arrived just from the stress of organising the dinner. We have worked together now for several months, releasing the emotions and shock stored in the body. There have been sessions where there were tears, and some when they shook violently as the body let go of the tensions created by all that fear.

Their friends have noticed a softening in their face, a relaxing, they can now do an errand to a new place with just the normal amount of anxiety, and having family to dinner is a breeze, something to be enjoyed not endured. And the pain? Well, that is so much better. Fear and trauma often relate to back and leg pain.

Using Reiki for Stress For Yourself

We can all benefit from regular Reiki sessions (me included). You may wish to come once a month or so for maintenance to help you remain calm and relaxed. Many of my clients do this, booking every 3-5 weeks.

For deeper traumas it is often more beneficial to come weekly at first, however, this is a process and we both need to respect the time required in between sessions to allow the body to process. There is no set frequency, no expectation of how often you will come, and we will discuss at each visit when would be best to return.

Find out about what to expect in a Reiki session HERE.

CLICK HERE to book a complementary Discovery Session with me; find out more.

Category: Pain