Does it sometimes feel like you live in your head – always thinking, planning, worrying?  Does this endless mind chatter often stress you out?  One of the antidotes to living in your head is getting in touch with your body.  It is often easier to let go of stress and anxiety from your body than from your mind.  Since the state of your body also influences your mind, this leads to an overall experience of feeling more at ease.

 

Emotions happen in your body…  

Not sure about that?  Think about the last time you were feeling stressed and notice your body – notice inside.  Get a sense of how your body registers this stress (maybe in your stomach, shoulders, face, chest?).  Now think about lying on a beach on a perfect day sipping lemonade.  Notice what happens in your body now.  Did you notice a difference?

It is the job of our bodies to keep us safe – to keep us alive.  As such, when danger is present (even if it is an emotional threat, or even a fear about the future), your body mobilizes its defenses to protect you.  Sometimes, even after the danger has passed, your body is still mobilized to protect itself, not realizing that it is now safe.  All that energy has become stuck, looking for a way out.  This might result in all kinds of seemingly disconnected symptoms such as being quick to anger, always on the lookout for danger, difficulty concentrating, feeling spaced out a lot, difficulty relaxing or being around people.  There may also be physiological symptoms like hypertension, insomnia, digestive problems or other anxiety-related or immune-related illnesses.

It’s not “all in your head”

Sometimes people will say:  “it’s all in your head” or “just let it go.”  But the truth is, your head and your body are definitely connected (a prerequisite for being alive!).  Each one affects the other and "letting go" isn’t as simple as it sounds if you don’t know what to let go of, or how to do it.  From a body-centered perspective, there is no such thing as “just in your head.”  Using awareness, we tap into the body to find what needs to be let go and we give it an opportunity to release.  Learning how to let go and experience lightness and ease can be a very liberating experience.

Working with what is here now

Body-centered therapy concentrates less on retelling the events of the past and more on discovering how the past might be affecting your body and your life now.  Sometimes in talk therapy people dive into difficult emotions, like diving into the deep end of a pool.  But you wouldn’t dive into the deep end of a pool without first learning to swim, would you?  Body centered therapy helps to develop the ability to feel comfortable in your body now, so that if and when you access difficult emotions you are able to swim with confidence, knowing you have the skill to get out of the pool if you want to.  Francine integrates her training in Somatic Experiencing - a body-awareness approach developed by Dr. Peter Levine for healing trauma and refined over the past 30 years, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, another body-awareness approach developed by Dr. Pat Ogden, to make sure that you have the skills required to "swim with confidence." 

 

This gradual release of long-held emotions from the body is not done through physical manipulation, or catharsis, but through your own deepening awareness and skill.  The skills you will learn are simple tools that you can learn to use on your own, so that you can continue the process of healing outside the office.  Your body also integrates these skills so that they become part of your everyday functioning, allowing greater tolerance of stressful situations.

 

Body-centered therapy combines well with yoga which also helps to deepen awareness while increasing your body’s overall health at the same time. Like meditation, it helps to increase your tolerance for stress and deepen your appreciation of yourself, as you are.   While it is possible to work just with body-centered therapy, it is also an essential part of all the offerings in the BodyMind Therapy toolkit.

You don't have to swim alone
 
If you learned to swim you probably had a teacher who was with you in the shallow end at first, guided you for a time into deeper water, and then let you swim alone when you were confident and skilled. Getting in touch with how emotions live in your body can be like learning to swim.  First getting comfortable in the shallow end, then venturing, with support, into deeper water – if you choose to.  While you’re getting comfortable, it is helpful to have someone swimming with you.  

If you’re curious about how this could work for you, or just have questions, please call me at 773-531-8513 to arrange a free 20-minute phone conversation.  I look forward to chatting with you.