Story space
Subscribe
Somatic Nervous System Healing for a Body Trapped in Anxiety and Tension
Created by
- Lumen
Category
- Trauma
- Somatics
- Relaxation
- Energy purification
How high are your shoulders held right now?
I quietly notice the fist I had been clenching tightly without realizing it, and the shallow, rapid breathing I had been taking.
It's okay. Pause what you're reading for a moment and gently cast your gaze beyond the screen.
Feeling the cool air entering through the tip of my nose, I take a deep, slow breath in... and then exhale slowly.
With every breath that comes in and goes out, I quietly listen to the rhythm of life beating deep within my chest, that serene pulse.
You are alive and breathing right now, here.
The wounds and traumas we have experienced are waves of energy that once struck too quickly or violently, overwhelming our nervous systems to handle. While wild creatures shake off that fierce survival energy by trembling intensely when threatened, we often suppress that instinctive trembling and pulse in the name of reason.
Eventually, the massive energy, having nowhere to go, becomes trapped in the deep valleys within our bodies. Although the threat passed long ago, the suppressed survival energy continues to tighten the body's nervous system. As a result, our bodies don hardened armor in preparation for danger that could strike at any moment, paralyzing even their own life force. Thus, the wound remains within us not as words, but as an 'implicit bodily memory' consisting of stiffened muscles and stopped breathing.
Instead of repeatedly bringing up painful stories from the past to overwhelm the brain again, we must descend to where the wound first resided—that is, the 'body.' Healing that begins in the body, the somatic experience, is the act of making a frozen pulse beat very slowly and gently again.
The first thing you must do is help your lost nervous system find a 'safe sensation' where it can drop anchor. Recall the heavy, solid grip of your feet on the ground, the temperature of a comfortable space, or fragments of pleasant memories. When you focus on the subtle warmth flowing down your spine, your body will finally begin to pulse with a sense of relief, realizing, "Ah, I am safe now."
Healing never happens all at once like a storm. Just as water drips drop by drop with a dropper, it approaches that frozen sensation only in a minute amount that we can handle. It lingers briefly at the edge of the uncomfortable sensation, and just as breathing begins to quicken, it gently returns to safe breathing. In this slow and gentle pendulum motion, the stiffened nervous system gradually regains its elasticity and expands the rhythm of life.
Do not judge or suppress. Simply have complete curiosity about the sensations, images, and tremors arising within. If your chest feels tight, feel the texture of that tightness; if you feel an urge to push something away, gently allow that instinct to flow through your muscles.
A miracle occurs when the impulse of physical defense, which was left unfinished due to being overwhelmed by the past, is finally fully completed in the safe present. The rough survival energy trapped within the body and weighing down the nervous system is gently released into the universe as a burning sensation, a deep sigh, or a natural tremble.
By repeating the motion of consciously contracting muscles and slowly relaxing them, our brain and body learn a new path to peace. The thick armor of defense gently melts away, and the severed frequencies of body and mind reconnect as one.
Your body has done its best to protect you for such a long time.
Now, you may lay down that heavy burden and return to your whole self.
Feeling the firmness of the earth beneath my soles, I take one last deep breath.
The life force within you is leading you to the path of healing even at this very moment.
Right now, at what speed and temperature is your pulse beating?
Please quietly share that subtle and precious sensation in the comments. I will deeply resonate with the story your pulse conveys.