Trauma is held in the cellular memory of the body. It can be the result of an accident, surgery or an emotional or physical violation of our boundaries. In order to heal, more is required than merely reaching an intellectual understanding of what happened. It is necessary for the nervous system to release the fight or flight mechanism which got frozen and is re-experiencing the threat over and over again. This can be done gently and effectively through a combination of guided mindful awareness and energy work.
Emotion is energy. Energy moves in waves. Movement is life. When a strong emotion is not allowed to move all the way through the arc of its wave to resolution, it gets stuck in our system, creating an energy block. This block in the flow of our life force energy dampens down our aliveness and our inhibits our ability to experience joy, pleasure and passion. The more we block our emotions, the more deadened we become to life.
Through a combination of conscious awareness, visualization, breathwork and energy work, one can release the blocks and complete the fight or flight mechanism to allow the system to return to a state of relaxation, enjoyment and flow. Often what follows the release is a powerful sense of joy, aliveness, freedom and peace.
I recently had a powerful session with a new female client which illustrates the efficacy of this approach. She came to me to bring healing to her genitals. In our intake she shared that she had had pelvic floor surgery a year ago, and that it had brought up feelings of being violated physically and emotionally. I invited her to bring awareness to her vagina and see if it had something to tell her. I guided her to listen to a message – not from her mind, but from her body. The message she got was that her vagina did not want to be pressured – even by her. It wanted to SLOW DOWN and have its timing honored.
Some memories of feeling violated came to the surface and with my guidance she was able to release the emotions of anger and grief that had been held in her body for 30 years. We worked to release the energy blocks in her power center and throat, which allowed her to reclaim her voice and her power. She was able to have more compassion for the challenges she had been experiencing sexually and in her relationship dynamics.
Through this process she was able to connect with deep wisdom, increased self worth, personal power, a more whole sense of self, inner peace and a new level of freedom. It was the first time that she had ever listened to her body in this way. She was moved to tears to develop a more intimate relationship with herself and her truth. It was an honor and an inspiration to witness her reclaim her right to pleasure and commit to honoring herself.