Your Body's CEO
Most of us live very cerebrally and assume that whatever our brains know or do is understood by the rest of our body. I like to think of my body as the corporation of Julie. My brain is the CEO and inside my head where I spend a lot of time, the CEO ponders, calculates, mulls things over, makes decisions, and manages a majority of the activities and direction that the rest of the corporation should follow (the rest of my body and its many organs, systems, and parts).
We all tend to operate this way. We, as humans, are quite cerebral creatures and spend a lot of our consciousness dwelling in our headquarters where the CEO resides. This body business model works about as well as a traditional corporate business model works. If the CEO is a good leader and is communicative and collaborative with the rest of the company/business/corporation then all other departments function well. Growth, productivity, job satisfaction, joy, and attainment of goals happens with a great leader. Similarly, inside our bodies, if we are “in-touch” with our entire being we can experience those qualities.
Your Corporate Meetings
Unfortunately, our brains/CEOs don’t always send out memos to the rest of our systems, organs, and body parts after they have processed something or come to conclusions on events that the whole body/corporation has experienced. Without regular updates throughout all departments and systems, our organs and body parts will often keep functioning under past paradigms and not-so-healthy patterns. Sometimes body parts get disconnected from the brain due to being overworked or overused. Much like an employee who has been overworked and swamped can get disconnected from the corporate updates, our parts do too!
Events from long ago can affect us into the future, even if we have completely forgotten the event until it is brought up. Also, some body parts end up doing everyone else’s job when one part goes on vacation. Our body parts compensate for each other after events, injuries, trauma, or disuse. We often need to readjust things and make sure every part is back to doing its job so nobody gets overworked and wants to quit.
For example, when someone has experienced a traumatic event, it is not uncommon for our brains to process those events and to move forward in a healthy direction. This in itself is a good thing. Our CEO may be settled and content with the new company direction but without relaying their memos to the rest of the body, we can still feel uneasy, anxious, and detached. We can feel settled in our heads and very unsettled in our physical bodies. This is not uncommon for someone who visits a therapist. The needs of the brain and our cerebral selves are in a better place. Without extending those realizations, growth moments, and healing into the rest of our flesh, we can often feel unsettled or that our bodies are fighting our brains.
Round Tables
One technique that I use in my personal life, as well as with clients, is to hold round tables with my corporation. By the way, the root of corporation comes from the Latin word corpus, which means body. I put myself in a comfortable position and imagine my body parts sitting around a round table. Every system and organ is present at the table. The CEO also sits at the table and leads a meeting explaining the “State of the Corporation” to everyone. The CEO explains the good, the bad, the ugly of what the whole has been experiencing. Traumatic events are discussed and what conclusions were drawn. Anything that is affecting the life of the corporation is fair game for discussion.
The next step is the crucial one; the CEO goes around the table and asks each member of the team how they are doing, nonjudgmentally. The round table is a place where everyone’s feelings, emotions, and experiences are valid and heard. It is not uncommon for me in these round tables to sense that an organ, system, or body part has felt disconnected or needs to process something in order to move forward. At that point I openly communicate with that body part/organ. Make sure it is heard and discuss the direction that the body corporation is moving.
These types of “updates” and memos help to clear out stuck emotions and allow our bodies to accept new realities. I recommend holding a roundtable discussion inside your body’s corporation at least once a month. Much like any corporation, you can choose what works best for your team. Maybe once a day or once a week meetings are needed (at least at first) for your body to get updated quickly, sometimes calling a meeting only when needed works, it is truly up to you and your CEO to decide.
Our bodies want to heal and function in a healthy manner. Help it to accomplish these goals! Want to learn more? Consider bringing up this topic in your next session with Julie at Posture Massage!
