Somatic Work & Energy Healing
"The modern individual is committed to being successful, not to being a person. He belongs rightly to the ‘action generation’ whose motto is do more but feel less"
– Alexander Lowen
We live in a world dominated by the head, the mind, achievement and work. Between daily action, structure, control and distraction to decompress, where do we find the time, or even the desire, to make room for what's going on inside, on a subtle level, for the emotions that dwell within us and remain buried somewhere?
This article explores the place of emotions and sensitivity at the heart of mental and energetic health. We begin by questioning the system of health and values already in place, and then offer new avenues to explore.
NOTE : Energy healing or Reiki is a hands-on healing technique designed to balance the body's energy. The Somatic Work uses body awareness and movement to release tension and emotional blockages.
Health in North America
Statistics tell us that North Americans are suffering from an overdose of stress, anxiety, burnout and depression. Action, pressure, depression, lethargy and the desire to die. But where does this mal du siècle come from, and what does it mean to feel ALIVE mean? What does it mean to be HEALTHY To be HAPPY ?
What lurks in the shadows of the structures set up by our system to prevent us from sensing and making damage control by introducing easy, artificial solutions rather than a culture of health? It sometimes seems that we SURVIVE more than we live.
Indeed, taking the time to really feel, to activate what has been locked away for so long, is a deep and sacred process. It can be vulnerable. And we're so afraid of being vulnerable under the yoke of appearances and success.
Anyway, " We don't have time for that ", right? No time to be Human...
Fear of Emotions
Life is scary. Feeling is really scary. At the same time, the only cure for suffering, in my opinion, is to walk through the painto walk through, to see the light not only on the other side, but everywhere. Especially in the shadows. Everywhere... The truth is, we often cut ourselves off from emotions so as not to disturb a fixed world that was created for us or by us because we were brought up that way. Nevertheless, we run the risk of missing out on both positive and 'negative' experiences.
« Emotions are made from one yarn, for they are moving energy currents. Blocking negativity, therefore, also blocks the positive primal emotions: faith, compassion, joy in other’s existence – love »
– Core energetics, John C. Pierrakos M.D.
It can be frightening to surrender to life, to feel your heart open, to feel your heart break, your pain, your anger, your sadness. Can we bring light, consciousness, into our humanity rather than crushing it? Choose to live with an open heart and feel, rather than live in an automated mode that will never surprise you. because everything has to stay under control, because we need to preserve what we have (or we think we have) because we are so afraid to lose. Why are we here if not to live our humanity, if not to love?
"Neurosis is not usually defined as fear of life, but that is what it is. The neurotic person is afraid to open his heart to love, afraid to reach out or strike out, afraid to be fully himself. We can explain these fears psychologically. Opening one’s heart to love makes one vulnerable to being hurt (…) We want to be more alive and feel more, but we are afraid of it. Our fear of life is seen in the way we keep busy so as not to feel, keep running so as not to face ourselves… We believe that it is bad or dangerous to be carried away by our emotions."
– Alexander Lowen
It's true, we're afraid of being overwhelmed by our emotions. And it can happen! We can be overwhelmed, we can freeze up and feel we'll be closed off '.à tout jamaisand, depending on the level of intensity and what our system is capable of handling, we can go as far as freeze, fight, fly or just end up at the hospital... I'm aware that it's not easy, and that each mental health system is unique and has its own needs and limits. Nevertheless, I believe that all emotions are valid and have the right to be expressed without being a danger to oneself or others.
Why not peel off some layers so you get more freedom... I'm also convinced that every system, organization and person has its own particular gifts. If we allow ourselves to dwell on them, we discover a world of possibilities. Someone from ” overly sensitive “ or hypersensitive, for example, certainly have gifts that can be of service to humanity. Oh how we see emotional sensitivity as a curse in our society… what if it could be a gift?
NOTE: Neurosis is a mental disorder characterized by anxiety, depression or other negative emotions, often due to unresolved internal conflicts.
The Inner Witness
" You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather. »
– Pema Chodron
Choosing to live life to the full also means developing your inner witness, i.e. greater self-awareness, to avoid falling into the trap of identification.
What does that mean? I can accept and allow sadness to flow through me, for example, without BECOMING sadness. Ironically, I risk becoming a sad person if sadness is so deeply and subconsciously imprisoned within me that I can't really see or feel it...
The equanimity spoken of by yogis or Buddhists doesn't mean feeling less, but rather accepting the feeling as it is without judgment, with love, and letting it go. What's more, the more we accept waves without becoming attached to them, the shorter they last. Why is that? Because we don't identify with them. Because they don't stick, they pass. This is the concept of impermanence:
" We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy. »
– PC
Look at children: they experience an emotion, it lasts a few seconds, and then they carry on playing. Sometimes I think they're the masters of emotional release and detachment! When did we unlearn to be living, spontaneous beings?
As we grow up, we need to unite the two parts: the spontaneous part and the reflective part, one at the service of the other. The inner witness holds our inner child in its arms, our child who cries, screams, is afraid; our larger conscience holds our beautiful human heart in its compassionate arms. Call it consciousness, call it God, call it life force or Nature, whatever resonates for you… We are so much more than our ego-mind.
Suffering is part of the human experience, it's inevitable, just as much as ecstasy, joy and happiness. And resisting the waves, I tell you, is even more tiring than letting them pass through us. We are the ocean, and there goes the waves. Let them be, hold them, let them pass… our true nature is so much deeper and vast.
The Crisis: a Breakthrough
" A moment of crisis can be a moment of growth, as the wounded self prepares to transform. From the chrysalis of my pain, I will forge my healing – the wings of my newborn self. »
– Marianne Williamson
Sometimes it takes a crisis. Some call it a spiritual awakening. Or just dissatisfaction, or a feeling of being beside oneself. Whatever it is that prompts a human being to embark on a path of consciousness, I feel like saying Congratulations and... Take heart !
Some of the people who come to see me have become so misaligned with their own nature and their deepest desires in life that they have developed illnesses; they no longer remember who they are. They suffer from great disorientation; and their bodies talk a lot! It's from this crisis that we can return to 'ground zero', go back to the source of who we are and why we're here, reconnect with our essence as human beings. To be reborn to ourselves.
It's the narrowest and 'least traveled' path, and yet I see more and more people around me who want to stop and feel, enter into the heart of life and stop wading on the surface. A community of souls eager to support each other in this psychosomatic and energetic exploration of the human being! It's beautiful to behold, it's bold, it's courageous
Living the human experience to the full, having the courage to exist with integrity and wholeness, is a choice. Letting go of emotions without becoming overly attached to them, also a choice... or a sankalpa (a resolution). And I would add, it's a daily practice (sadhana).
The Bypass Danger
Bypassing human experience through avoidance (whether spiritual or material bypass) is definitely a trend. What is Danger ? We're seeing this more and more, even in the spiritual world. It's all about DENYING something to escape reality and indulge in a superficial vision of ourselves.
Someone who runs away from their emotions because they've transcended everything and think they're God, for example, is a place where I call bullshit... Crushing your emotions inside is a ticking bomb, it will, inevitably, explode and might manifest as an illness... Nobody is superior to anybody and there is so much we don't know...
Saying I've forgiven everything, when inside I'm biting myself with resentment, for example, will eventually catch up with me. Yes, we want forgiveness, we want gratitude, we want peace - and it's a process to get there (if it's even a destination...). Anger, resentment, sadness, etc. will have to find a safe space to express themselves and be released before forgiveness or inner resolution naturally sets in.
Nothing to force or swallow here, be it pills or spiritual concepts... welcome and honor your personal process and find guides or companions who understand that it has nothing to do with them or social and moral principles.
Perhaps it's also time for education to embrace and integrate emotions and sensitivity, and for us to make room for the emotional and even spiritual dimension in our school curricula... but that’s a theme for some other time.
Comfort and Discomfort
But I think it's important to go at the pace of our nervous and parasympathetic systems. We can go gradually, because the instinct for self-preservation and the sense of security is strong and we need it as a human species. Just as much as the human need to grow, evolve, be surprised and amazed by life in and around us.
" Expanding your comfort zone gives you more room to operate and allows growth to occur. It creates freedom and dispels fear. (…) You expand your comfort zone by going right to the edge of it and noticing what’s there. With that awareness, you can examine your beliefs, release blocked actions, or express emotions, all of which serve to expand the comfort zone. »
– Anodea Judith « Charge and the Energy Body »
It's important to take the time to open up and decondition, to make room for healing traumas, to create new pathways in our beliefs and energy bodies. Everyone needs to find their balance between safety and adventure, comfort and discomfort, and sometimes be guided in this personal process of navigating our limits.
Integrating the energy that has shifted in the emotional and energetic body takes time, and it's crucial to respect your system's need to rebalance and realign with the new information that has been placed in the mental, emotional and subtle body.
For example, a great anger comes out of me that had been imprisoned for a long time and I feel a block of density leave my diaphragm (a tension leaves) and my throat opens for the first time in x amount of time (a space opens). I feel great relief and a new joy enters me. I'll need some time for this energy (coming in and going out) to settle back into my body, and for me to integrate, who knows, more freedom into myself, and so on. Every process is unique.
Get to Know and Love Yourself
Would you like to come and explore what's going on in your body, your psychosomatic, your subconscious? It's almost magical what we create in our lives every moment without realizing it. We can decide to explore our subtle, spiritual, emotional and energetic being, to live vulnerable and strong with an open heart, and to take breaks to integrate the movement and harmonize with the new light coming in.
I know, for example, that my energy body alternates between moments of connection and disconnection, that my nervous system sometimes goes into a response of shut down or anxious activation.
I can now go and explore the 'root causeIt's in my memories, my energetic impressions, that I can play with them. It lies in my memories, my energetic impressions, I can play with them, welcome them, make them dance, let them go into the air, into the earth, thank them, give them leave, I can embrace my human experience without getting too attached to it either, without torturing myself with it, I can bring myself into the light, with all my shadows, and find myself beautiful, and smile or laugh out loud. Life is beautiful, it's fragile - my soul is eternal.
Conclusion
In short, taking an interest in our global health means rethinking a chain of beliefs that invite us to shut down the emotional body or apply control solutions such as over-medication or self-medication, rather than encouraging openness, acceptance and curiosity. Let's rethink this society based on automation and functionality, not on LIFE. To be alive is messy and chaotic sometimes... Life is alive, an organism in perpetual motion, not a fixed entity.
Let's bring into the center what exists on the periphery: somatic and energetic approaches, family constellations, theta healing, mind-body, meditation, Chinese, Ayurvedic, native medicine and so on. There's so much wisdom in the world.
Let's continue to question the dominant systems and their hold on our individual and collective responsibility to choose a full and harmonious life, to welcome the emotional and the subtle, even the incomprehensible, with compassion. To choose to be human. Yes, I choose to take time for my health!
I wish you to love yourself completely as you are, to drop the masks and enjoy life in all its authenticity,
Happy exploring and see you soon!
Want to know more? We invite you to meet our collaborator!
E-mail: tremblayvilao.martha@gmail.com
Website : https://reikiandhealingfortheheart.com/
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