As we age, we face a never-ending array of challenges, many of them health related. So, when I heard about Julie Stone, of Mind-Body Healing, (www.mindbody-healing.com), I was intrigued. Originally from California, she had rapidly developed a reputation in Apex and Greater Raleigh, NC, as well as throughout North Carolina, that attracted eager clients.
After hearing the stories of several of her clients first hand, I posed questions to her about how, exactly, she is able to help them to achieve rather remarkable results. Here is what she told me:
Julie’s Approach
My primary focus is on helping people to recover from a devastating medical malpractice injury or illness. My clients are often surprised that we take a wide-angle examination of their situation, which starts even before the major, negative event or illness. My method is to first explore the root cause of the condition. When did it begin? What factors triggered it initially and what factors exasperated it over time?
We strive to understand what could lay in the foundation of the condition. We then use mind-body processes to discern the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the situation. We peel back “the layers of the onion” until we arrive at a place of inner peace.
In helping people to heal, I also have been blessed to be able to work with a wide variety of clients with various ailments, each of whom faced unique challenges. Over a long period of time, I discovered that there is no cookie-cutter approach which is right for everyone, at all times.
We each have different physiologies, life experiences, and eating habits, all of which play into our bio-uniqueness. Our bodies are literally road maps, but, unlike Google maps, the body can be bit more challenging to read.
In sessions with clients, I start by taking an inventory of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual states. Our quest is to better understand how various factors have unfolded over time, to yield an understanding of the current condition which the client seeks to alleviate.
Long Term versus Acute
Some conditions have manifested over time with many layers and complexities. Others have occurred when someone experienced an acute condition, possibly from an accident, an illness, the breakup of a relationship, a drop in income, and so on. The approach to long time layering requires peeling back the root cause, one layer at a time, versus acute situations which are more clearly defined and easier to tackle.
In all cases the goal is to select the best tools to achieve measurable improvement, in every session. My approach takes into consideration the whole person, which allows for more than simply recovery of an ailment. There was a reason why the symptoms cropped up, so we don’t want to short-change the process with a quick fix, or it will crop up again in another form.
I guide clients through a journey of discovery to understand the purpose of the condition and to gain wisdom on what’s out of balance in life on the path to creating more inner peace, harmony in relationships, and an understanding of their life’s purpose.
A Mind-Body Connection
One woman with whom I worked was a mother of three sons. She came to me because she had carpal tunnel syndrome, surprisingly in both wrists, with lots of pain, stiffness and lack of mobility in her wrists. She could barely move her hands. After her initial intake, I began using mind body healing processes on the right hand and within minutes we got that wrist free of pain and limber.
It was exciting to see how quickly she responded, so we moved on to the other side. We addressed her left wrist in the same manner and, once again, she became limber and completely free of pain. For a couple of fleeting seconds, “I thought okay great. That worked quickly enough.” However, the moment we got her left hand and wrist to be fully functioning, her right side stiffened up and the pain returned. I realized there was more here to the story.
We re-focused on her right side and, shortly, we were able to re-mobilize it, again with the pain dissipating completely. Immediately her left wrist and hand stiffened painfully. Now, I viewed this as not merely a physical problem – something else needed to be addressed here.
Emotions at Play
A deeper emotional issue was at play, an issue that equally impacted both wrists. I asked her more probing questions to uncover what was blocking sustained healing in her wrists. I discovered that by having painful, immobile wrists she was able to get help at home. She was exhausted. She couldn’t handle all the work at home – the cleaning, cooking, taking the kids, etc.
What I learned next, seems a bit shocking: The only way her husband would agree to let her have help at home was if she was disabled. So, she became disabled. It then became clear that she needed to have a vital conversation with her husband. I coached her on how to approach that conversation. The next day, she spoke to him. It went well, and not-so-surprisingly, her ailment cleared up.
Without addressing the root of her affliction and or having that key conversation with her husband, who knows how long in her life she might have endured those painful non-functioning wrist?
On the Right Path
In understanding her situation, it was evident that her husband had never said to her, point-blank, the only way I’m going to bring in a helper is if you become disabled. That is the message, however, which evolved in her mind. She interpreted cues and clues, which to her indicated, “If I can’t physically do such work, then we’re going to require hired help.”
I’m happy to report that after checking back with her three weeks later and then three months later, her wrists had remained completely limber and pain-free, which is the desired result: It is my personal mission to help more people understand these mind body principles to increase their quality of life.
Relief on the Spot
All cases are different, as are the rates of healing. When a client and I are able to achieve rapid healing and pain relief, it’s truly a feeling of intense relief and joy. I worked with a woman who had suffered for years from sciatica, with significant pain from her back to down one leg. She was married with a family who, obviously, knew of her pain, and tried to help.
As happens in many instances, she had been to a variety of specialist doctors and then several chiropractors, and had spent several thousand dollars. All the while, she did not experience any significant or lasting relief. Occasionally, yes, she would attain some level of relief, but always with residual pain.
When we starting working together, we uncovered that her affliction was related to a childhood trauma – she had been raped. It had never been clear to her that her current misery was related to that incident so many decades ago.
How long had she had sciatica? Years. If you think sciatica often eases up on its own, yes it can. In her case, there was no let up. After she had gone to the round of doctors, with each of then employing their clinical, western, one-dimensional type tests, she felt nothing but disappointment. How could any of these practitioners be effective if they never came close to knowing about her childhood trauma?
What a Feeling!
We were able to take her through processes that allowed her to experience a sense of resolution with the issue. She now knew how her sciatica had developed, why it lingered, and its purpose (yes, unresolved pain has a purpose).
At that moment, in my office, you could see on her face the sense of inner peace that was gently brewing. At the end of our session, she departed completely pain free and had the ability to walk with an even gait restored.
Youth Must be Served
Young people, of course, have their challenges. They haven’t lived 50 or 60 years with all sorts of possible, intertwined issues. What they often do experience is very intense reactions to unfavorable situations. Remember, the body is a road map of what’s going on in someone’s life.
I work a little differently with children because they can’t always articulate their concerns, and might not have the ability to express deep level thoughts and feelings. Thus, it’s not often fruitful to ask a child, what do you think about this? Or how do you feel about that? Often times their answer is, I don’t know.
To work around this impediment, I use pictures, symbols, and drawings, or talking about pets, animals, or other objects which is so much easier for them, from which they can project their feelings.
Part of the Clan
Remember the body is like a map of a person’s life. Typically when someone is prone to constipation, it’s the body holding things in, or said another way, not wanting to let go of something. Yes, it could be as basic as someone not drinking enough water, but often there is more to discover. I had a client, a young man in his 30s, with digestive issues.
We worked together to uncover the root of situation. When we explored his upbringing, it turned out that his brother and his father greatly resembled each other, whereas my client did not. He always felt like the odd man out: his brother also talked and acted like his father did.
He told me he felt like he came from another family. In his subconscious, he was tapped into a primal survival mode, a mode which feared being left out of the tribe. Now the kicker: his father had digestive issues. As you have surmised, he “took on” this ailment to have a connection with his father.
Fortunately, we created a way for him to be connected with his father in a different manner so that we could disconnect the relatedness through digestive issues. In the following days, the young man’s digestive issues improved markedly.
Aiming to Succeed
Every case, indeed, is different. The common denominator to all of them is that the person who comes to me with an issue fervently wants to resolve it. From there, all things are possible.
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