Namaste Mukunda
I have been working with a woman now for about one month (once a week). She came in with roving pains in her back. She has a herniated disk in the lumbar that was operated on successfully but continues to have pain. the pictures show her structure is sound, but she is still in pain. The pain in mostly in the sacrum, radiated down the legs, sometimes in the perroneous, ankles, feet, mostly back. The first time she came in I couldnt even do an assessment b/c it caused too much pain. We did wave breath instead and as soon as she breathed into her hands on her belly she began to have shudders and kriyas, described a pulsing in her back, and left a very happy camper. I asked her to do SI series, #5 JFS, belly breathing and Yoga nidra (she bought a cd I have to listen to) at home.
Second session still very delicate, did more breathing and had more kriyas. I did the preliminary work for a glute release (person on back, I moved knee side to side slowly to calm vata). She had lots of resistance that kept moving as I moved her leg. She left again very relaxed and serene and happy, more kriyas. she shared with me this time that she is in phsycotherapy and was sexually assulted by her brother when she was a child. She bought some essential oils from me and we talked about her beginning abyanga at least on her back, hips and if time belly and breasts in the mornings.
next session she reports feeling very wonderful and serene in general. She is an OR nurse and has not been able to work too much b.c of her back. She worked a stressful shift that week and it did not destroy her like it had in the past. good news. I gave her a visualization to use in the SI series so the one hip that feels stuck felt freer like the other.
things are going fine I think. My question is, do I just continue manipulating her legs as I have been doing (I have raised the leg to be able to circle the femur head in the socket in all directions). I also gave her another asana to add (vamp pose, if you recall my paper : ) ) She responses wonderfully to visualizations, breathing, relaxing… Perhaps I wouldnt even be writting to you if she wasnt an incest survivor and was just someone with back pain. So maybe this is my own stuff as I consider all of the suffering she is holding in her body. Do I just continue, or is there some direction I should be moving towards with her. I know to move slow, she seems to trust me and I suppose that is the most important.
Also she sees a massage therapist once every two weeks who does trigger point work on her that leaves her sore the next day. I wonder if that is the best thing for her.
Thanks!