WARRIOR
POSES
HUFFINGTON
01.13.13
“I’M STRETCHING — EVEN THOUGH
THAT LIMB IS NO LONGER THERE.”
said, touching her chest.
Much of her work is with amputees. “I always tell the guys, ‘Your
brain still thinks your leg is there,
so we are going to speak to your
brain as if your limb IS still there,’’’
she said. “I tell them to flex the
foot — spread your toes! — and the
brain goes, ahhh, that feels good,
I’m stretching — even though that
limb is no longer there. It settles
the brain down, because it’s doing
its job, the blood flow increases,
guys can feel their body again, the
trauma fades. It’s beautiful!”
Working at Walter Reed, she
once came across a double, abovethe-knee amputee, who had been
wounded by an IED. He was
huddled in his hospital bed, his
mother perched beside him on the
edge of a chair, and for weeks he
had refused to move, even for his
physical therapy sessions. He admitted he was ashamed to be seen
with his stumps twitching. Okerlin
sat with him, leading him through
some gentle breathing exercises.
She could see him relax, and after
a few minutes he fell asleep.
The next day he showed up for
his physical therapy appointment
to begin the healing.
With partially-paralyzed patients, Okerlin often has them lie on
their back, put their hands on their
rib cage and feel their breathing.
One patient told her he was amazed
to find he could feel a rush of energy toward his legs even though he
still had no sensation in his legs.
Ok \