TRAUMA RECOVERY: THE BODY HOLDS THE ANSWERS

TRAUMA RECOVERY:  THE BODY HOLDS THE ANSWERS

By Christine Palafox, L.M.T.

Serina was a competent, intelligent woman who had been recognized for her leadership in her job.  Yet, even though she was given important tasks and promotions, deep inside her–every day–when she would step out her front door to go to work, she would be racked by a chronic nervousness, the apprehension that something bad was going to happen, and a sadness so heavy that she couldn’t feel any joy in her life. 

She was plagued with the fear that at any point the “reality” of who she was on the inside would be discovered and that she was would be exposed as a fraud, bringing all her work accomplishments crashing down around her.

She marshaled great amounts of energy to hide what was going on inside her body.  She took great pains to look good. Despite all her efforts to get rid of those feelings, they persisted, almost with a vengeance.

As a child she had grown up in a household where she and her mother experienced frequent physical abuse and domestic violence at the hands of her vengeful father.

She sought out counseling therapy.  While helpful in many ways, it still didn’t stop the symptoms.  

She eventually took advantage of the Jin Shin TARA 8-session series and found this energy medicine body-based approach to be a whole new way of addressing her childhood trauma.  Through this work she experienced a decrease in her nervousness and apprehension and a rediscovery of her internal body-based sense of well-being. In time, she went on to become sucessful in her own business.

Is this you?

 

Have you experienced a traumatic, life-threatening event or repeated incidents where your body was violated by someone more powerful, or by a force of nature, or a vehicle?

If this sounds like you, and if you can answer yes to any of the following questions, chances are you are suffering from the aftereffects of trauma and could benefit from Jin Shin TARA energy balancing. Do you suffer from:

The shaking of fear?

Tightness in your throat?

Tight muscles in your jaw?

Flooded by overwhelm?

Frozen by helplessness?

A belly churning with agitation?

Collapsed chest?

While talking therapy addresses the mental and emotional elements of trauma, it may not work with physical symptoms, despite the fact that trauma has a huge impact on the brain, nervous system and hormonal system.  

The mystery about body sensations: riding the tidal wave 

   

Living in the aftermath of trauma, your body can feel as if it’s in the path of a tidal wave.  Here’s the good news.   Dealing with the body sensations doesn’t initially require dealing with the memories or the emotions or tackling them with a clenched jaw resolve.  You simply feel the physical symptom with neutral, curious observation, wanting to get to know its nature. 

Paradoxically, the amazing discovery is that, if you closely witness this tidal wave of sensation, it will crest, and its arc will diminish until the water simply rolls in to shore.  You weren’t dragged along the sandy bottom; you’re safe. You return to feeling stable, calm, and whole again.  This re-patterning may require a few repetitions before the sensations recede or disappear.

In Jin Shin TARA sessions you will be guided through this process gently and safely while in the midst of having your body energy balanced.

Let’s give it a try  

Here’s a simple exercise to apply this idea.  We’ll use your breath as the example of a symptom.

Sit comfortably in a chair.  

Place your three middle fingertips directly below the center of each collarbone.

Take an easy, gentle breath.

Now, just observe breathing happening in your body, without trying to do anything in particular to alter your breath.

What else do you notice?

Do this for 5 minutes.

What did you observe?

Did you, perhaps, notice that by simply witnessing your breathing it changed?

Perhaps what you have just read resonates with you.  Or perhaps you feel intrigued and riveted by the possibility that, rather than your body and its sensations being the enemy, they could, instead, actually be your ally. 

You can sign up for the free consultation to see if this work might be a match for your needs.

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