The Body Records What Happens
As we experience life and everything it entails, our body records emotions and events in our tissues. Most people think of their physical body and their psychological body as quite separate entities whose interaction is generally independent of each other. It turns out that our bodies, minds, emotions, tissues, and being are very intertwined and affect each other.
We have all had times when we were super stressed and realized later that certain parts of our musculature were sore and tight from the tension that built up from our psychological pressure. Similarly, when we experience emotional distress or even physical distress, those experiences are recorded in the body. This phenomena is very obvious in the case of physical trauma like rolling an ankle. Our joints slip and tissues stretch/tear causing us pain that we feel in our ankle for a time until we heal and work out those pains or that event. When emotional bumps and bruises (or full on emotional wounds) happen to us our tissues can take on those emotions and lock those feelings and stress chemicals away.
As a massage therapist I frequently work with people on clearing these aches and pains out of the tissues, which were caused by psychological or emotional injuries. When tissues record events it can make tissues stick or stiffen up and movement in those tissues can be affected. We feel this phenomena as dull pains, aches, stiffness, or simply as a sense of non-well-being. In order to clear these events and help our tissues to heal, we often have to work backwards.
Working Backwards
By “working backwards” I mean, work through the tissues backwards from the injuries they have incurred. An example of this from my own life is from a time that I fell while dancing. I was doing a turn in ballet, fell on my knee, and continued to dance. I ended up with a bruised bone on my leg, hips, and my knee felt out of place. When I was getting bodywork done, one of the techniques I was learning had us follow the body to unwind. As the therapist was working with my leg, he was tracing how I compensated for my injuries and my fall. Then while working with another therapist, I worked on the emotions that were attached to that fall which helped my tissue fully release.
Our tissues record the pathways of the trauma that happens to them. Unless we work through those pathways, our tissues often will not let go or loosen up. Another thing to keep in mind is that we can use any medium to work through and process our traumas and tissues. For example, with my dancing injury, dancing has proven to be a great way to keep my body loose and to work through any past traumas that my tissues are holding onto.
Many people use song, art, dance, exercise, weight lifting, or other hobbies/skills to express themselves and to heal from experiences. Being alive means that our physical bodies will be stressed by outside stimuli our whole lives. Finding a medium that allows us to de-stress and express ourselves is one of the healthiest things we can do to keep our bodies and minds happy.
If you find yourself struggling to cope physically or mentally with past traumas or simply life’s daily stresses, consider picking up a new hobby/activity or reconnect with one you enjoyed in the past. Our hobbies/activities can help to rejuvenate our psyche’s as well as our physical bodies. Get the body or mind moving and you will help it to limber up.
Want help in loosening up your tissues? Have an old injury that still seems to be affecting you? Consider bringing up this topic in your next session with Julie at Posture Massage and seeing what she can do to help unwind things!
