Odette Slater is a body worker and teacher of Yoga, Pilates, CranioSacral, and many other energetic and body modalities. She learned Eden Energy Medicine (EEM) techniques by studying Donna’s books and used her knowledge of EEM to aid her recovery from a painful and debilitating bone infection.

In January of 2010, Odette began driving her mother’s car and due to the unfamiliar configuration of the seat and door, she banged her knee and shin many times getting in and out of the car. One day after a Yoga practice, she noticed a painful bump just below her left knee which got worse over the next couple of days. She visited a doctor and was told that it was bursitis which she could treat with Ibuprofen and plenty of water. She tried this approach, but had an allergic reaction to the Ibuprofen. With her immune system overtaxed, the pain in her leg worsened and grew into a full bone infection. After several weeks, she couldn’t walk or even bend her leg.

Odette began a series of visits to doctors, emergency rooms, and clinics. Almost all of the doctors recommended antibiotics and surgery, although none of them could explain why the infection had taken root. She elected not to pursue surgery right away and decided to treat the infection with oral antibiotics. She felt adrift at this point, with no answers from the doctors she had seen. The pain and discomfort were so intense that she was ready to die.

Finally, she sought alternative sources of information about the condition, including guidance from friends, professionals, podcasts, and books. One of the books was Energy Medicine for Women by Donna Eden. She’d been given the book a year earlier but had not read it. By then, she was unable to walk across the room.

Although Odette was too incapacitated to perform the movement exercises of Yoga and other body work modalities, she was able to perform the Three Thumps and Homolateral Re-patterning she found in the EEM book. She could not move her legs, but could reach down to touch them. She began to feel changes almost immediately and within days she was working with other techniques in the book. Her vitality was returning. Within a couple of weeks, the infection had abated and surgery was no longer considered necessary. She continued taking oral antibiotics and increased her EEM exercises.

Soon, she was hobbling up and down the stairs. She continued to use the EEM exercises in combination with her other body work practices. After a short while she was moving with ease and even dancing again.

The list of Eden Energy Medicine exercises that she included in her healing protocol are:

Odette’s leg has continued to heal and she now incorporates EEM into her own teaching and dance performances. In the spring of 2011, she presented a workshop at the Seattle World Rhythm Festival facilitating drumming and dancing to a room filled with about 90 dancers and drummers. One of the participants recognized the EEM influence and talked with Odette about it. 

Odette thinks that, although she’d been exposed to some of these exercises 20 years ago though the practice of Tai Chi and Aikido, she tended to dismiss them because they were too simple. And now, she realizes the power of simplicity, a lesson she is emphasizing in her own teaching. Thank you, Donna!

Odette is available for questions relating to this case history. Click here to email Odette.

(Compiled by Jeff Armstrong)