Lorna Clansey is an Amatsu practitioner based in South London, England. I recently spoke to her about the amazing impact Amatsu has had on her clients. For many this therapy has offered relief from pain where conventional medicine has failed them.
Lorna told me about a male client who came to her with persistent and debilitating headaches. “It’s not something I would normally treat. I normally work with joint pain, neck and back pain, frozen shoulder and other musculoskeletal issues” she admitted “but he had been recommended to Amatsu by a friend who had had a treatment with my teacher.”
Lorna learned that the man worked as a landscape gardener and his condition was affecting his work – he was having to take time off and leave jobs early when the pain of his headaches became too much to bear. He had seen a mainstream doctor who had referred him to a neurologist but even specialists had been unable to help. He was reliant on painkillers which could only offer him limited relief, and the side effects of these drugs were becoming a problem so Lorna began a series of Amatsu treatments.
The results were amazing. After 3 sessions the headaches became less frequent. After 6 they had gone. This client still goes to Lorna once a month for maintenance treatment to ensure the misalignment that triggered does not resurface and so far the headaches have not returned.
Lorna explained how her training in Amatsu helped her to identify the cause of his headaches and eventually, how to treat them. “He was very stressed, dehydrated and his posture had left the muscles in the back of his neck extremely taut. This tension was triggering the headaches.” Changes to his diet and ensuring he stayed hydrated along with Amatsu sessions were able to relieve this tension, removing the cause of the headaches. The client was able to get back to work and get rid of his reliance on painkillers that had dominated his life.
“Every client is unique – I will take a full history and notes but I must also be aware that the person who comes in may have changed between sessions. The body is capable of healing itself most of the time so a lot of the work happens between sessions as the body continues the unwinding process. I can’t take full credit! The body is always attempting to realign itself. As a practitioner I just help guide the process.”
Lorna explained that imbalances in our bodies are inevitable – they can be caused by simple, everyday actions, not just severe trauma “We carry bags on one shoulder; we carry children on the hip. The body is made of several layers – an injury from years ago that has gone unresolved can continue to cause problems decades later.”
For Amatsu practitioners, Lorna explained, the story that the body tells can be even more important that the history the patient gives when asked. “Many of us will experience a twinge, ache or pain and have no idea where it came from or why. While we do take history into account we are also aware that the verbal history we receive is not the whole story. The body has its own story to tell.”