Dave Taylor 2

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Part Two – ‘Whiplash, Tears and No More Cigs’

I learned a new Spanish word in the moments after the crash.

‘Tranquilo’

Is what the woman said as she ran towards me.

It means ‘calm down/relax’.

I was surprisingly calm. Just busy on the phone to the hire car company. 

I needed a replacement car.

I had a Hotel to visit! Work to get on with.

A new car was delivered and I went to work as though nothing had happened.

It was later that afternoon that my boss tracked me down and insisted I went to hospital.

I guess you could call it an ‘intervention’!

By this time was neck was beginning to hurt. I had a headache. I also felt quite emotional.

I was diagnosed with ‘whiplash’.

The Dr gave me a neck brace to support my head and some Ibuprofen to mask the pain.

Every day the pain got worse.

Holding the weight of my head was a struggle.

(I have quite a large head)

I asked the Doctor for more help with the pain and I was given Ibuprofen and some Diazepam (also known as Valium).

A Physiotherapist gave me some stretching exercises. That was it. The only help I was offered was some stretching exercises and pills. 

The first change in my approach to life was thinking more about my health in general.

I felt lucky to be alive. 

Life felt thrilling. 

I knew I had a lot to cram into my life before it ended. 

Life felt like a privilege.

I quit smoking. 

I went from 60 smokes a day to nothing and have never smoked again since.

It felt wrong to be harming my body on purpose when I felt like I had been given this gift of life.

Osteopaths
Chiropractors
Massage Therapists
Acupuncture
Reflexology
Acupressure

Are just some of the therapies/therapists I tried.

Some brought short-term relief from pain.

None of them fixed my problem.

I was still in a lot of pain. And I was drinking more and more. Bingeing on a cocktail of Chardonnay and Valium.  Years passed and I just got used to living with pain. Still working hard. Drinking more than ever. Taking any drug that I thought would make me feel better. 

Or as I now know, I was using drugs to stop me from feeling.  Not just feeling pain.  Any kind of negative emotion I had I was pushing down. Masking with drugs. 

I stopped working in entertainment and got a job on North Sea Oil Rigs.

The money was great but I was just feeling:

lost
and unfulfilled.
and in pain

​​​​​​​I was still trying different therapies.

​​​Randomly I booked a massage in London.

When I arrived the therapist told me that she practised Raynor Massage.

I’d never heard of Raynor Massage before but it sounded interesting.

I loved it from the beginning.

It was such a deep massage and every move felt meaningful.

She worked into my neck. It just felt great. And she spent a long time working into my hands 
and thumbs! 

I had no idea how tight they were. 

Who knew you had tension in your hands?? And the tension in my thumb was linked to my neck…Connected through my arm.

I booked another treatment and another.

It was on the fourth treatment that everything changed.

The massage of my neck was deep and powerful. I was concentrating on my breathing. My stomach was getting massaged too. Then my feet and back to my head and neck.

My breathing was more intense and then suddenly.

It happened.

In my mind I was back in that car.
I could hear the tune on the radio and remember every details of the car spinning.

​​​​​​​Memories I’d never had before.

Feelings I’d suppressed with booze and pills. Thoughts I’d never dared to revisit were there in such clarity.

I started crying.
Deep powerful sobs.

​​​​​​​It seemed to go on forever. Like I was releasing every bit of anger and grief and frustration that was stored in my body.

Eventually there was nothing left and I opened my eyes and it was just so bright and fresh.

I knew at that moment that my neck felt different.

​​​​​​​My whole body felt loose and my mind was clear.

I also knew at that moment that I wanted to be a Massage Therapist. 

​​​​​​​I wanted to help others feel release in this way. To be free from pain.

I was no longer in physical pain. My neck felt free and loose.

Long term relief.

I honestly believe that I had shoved the sheer horror of my car crash deep down in my psyche.

And releasing these emotions released physical tension in my neck.

Where from here? Read Part 3 of Dave’s challenging journey next month.

Course information here

[https://davetaylortraining.co.uk/graduates/]

Dave Taylor