“I’ve been laying in my bed for days now.” Mike said as we started our call.
“Why are you laying in bed?” I asked.
“I hurt my foot some how and it got so bad I could hardly walk. So now I have to take all my coaching calls in bed!” Mike said with a hint of dread. He wasn’t the kind of guy who liked to lay around all day. He was more like the kind of guy who would get up at 5 am in the morning to go work out in the gym.
“When did this start?” I asked.
“About ten days ago.” Mike said with a sigh. “I tried my best to plow through this foot pain but finally it was too sore for me to even stand on it.”
“Anything that happened in the last two weeks that may have stressed you out?” I was wondering if there was a precipitating event that led to the foot pain.
“We are getting audited by the Tax Man and my wife has been largely preparing the documents for this audit.” Mike said as I noticed an sense of tightness in my heart.
“How do you feel about this?” I asked, knowing that the tightness I felt in my heart meant that I should inquire some more.
“I feel guilty letting her deal with all the work.” Mike said.
“Ah! I see…” I paused for a moment. “Would you like to know the reasons behind your foot pain?”
“How do I do that?” Mike asked.
“I believe I have trained you very well in connecting to your own inner wisdom haven’t I?” I smiled.

I used a memory recall exercise to help Mike explore related memories that were associated with his present foot pain situation. Mike remembered a time when he was around twelve years old when he cut his knee wide open from a bad fall. He felt stupid and uneasy that he had needed all kinds of help from his family and friends. Mike then remembered a time when he was a little baby and he ran straight into a counter, cutting his forehead so badly he had to get multiple stitches. Mike remembered feeling scared and wondering why his parents and caregivers let this happen to him. This made him feel not worthy and deserving of anything and feeling neglected as a baby. Mike recalled several other memories in which he was seriously injured over and over again, eventually feeling like bad thing always happen to him and that he is not deserving of good things happening in his life.

Finally I connected Mike to the Light and his own inner wisdom. They showed him that he was truly deserving to have a great life and that even if he was a strong guy, everybody needs some help some times. I asked the Light why Mike’s foot was hurting him and the message was, “The reason why he is experiencing foot pain is because he is not fully loving himself and his experience of life regardless of his circumstances (run in with the Tax Man). He always thought that he had to prove himself worthy of love, that he had to get to an ever increasing level of success and achievement in order to love himself.”
“What suggestions does the Light have for Mike to help him love himself more?” I asked.
“Choose to feel joy even in the face of the challenges he may face in life.” The Light responded.
“Can you give him a feeling of what it feels like to feel joy?” I asked.
“He feels relaxed and happy, light and easy.” The Light responded
“Can you heal the foot pain now?” I asked.
“Yes, we are now cleaning it, resting it and giving him his power back.” They responded.
“How will Mike feel after this has been done?” I asked.
“He will feel better immediately but he will notice a bigger difference by tomorrow morning.”

The next day I messaged Mike to follow up on how he was feeling and he wrote:

My foot is doing MUCH better! Thanks!
It was definitely getting better and I definitely believe the work you did had an impact. Keep giving your gifts to all those the Universe is sending your way!

This inspirational story reminds us that sometimes we encounter nagging injuries in our lives because we need to stop, listen to our bodies, and nurture ourselves. It is a reminder of the importance of putting ourselves first. This isn’t about being selfish, this is about loving ourselves so we have enough love to give to others.  So what are you doing to nurture yourself today? Go ahead, pamper yourself, you deserve every bit of it!