by Chaynne Herr, LMT, Meditation Instructor

Have you ever wondered about all the things that could be influencing you physically and what type of bodywork you could do to aid you in the best way possible on your healing Journey?

When we keep our bodies engaged in repetitive movements, it creates more density in the tissues. This applies not just to the physical habits that we create, like when holding our posture in a certain way throughout our day. But also, with other activities, we take part in. Working out, mastering certain movements, building muscle, and sitting, or standing for long periods of time all influence our bodies.

Therapeutic and deep tissue massage can be very beneficial in counterbalancing these physical holdings. By working through the layers of the tissues and stretching tissues stuck in a contracted state your therapist can aid in bringing back much-needed circulation to these areas, as well as increasing range of motion, and releasing trigger points.

What if the things we think or say could have just as much of an effect on the physical body as the things that we do?

Let’s take a look at some of the words we use to express how we emotionally feel either in thought or out loud. “I have a broken heart.” “He has cold feet.” “I’m exhausted.” “I’m so tired of dealing with this.” “They’re a pain in the neck.” We tend to think of our words only as in our heads. But when we use them in this manner, we are expressing our emotions back into our bodies.  This creates a feedback loop, and we can lock those emotions within using this language. Which could even result in long-term physical holdings, helping to create our “problem areas.” Changing our internal and external language could help with healing our bodies!

What about the things we can’t always control?

Sometimes we have events happen in our lives that cause a great deal of emotional and mental stress for us. And those events can manifest themselves in the body turning into long-term trauma holdings. Other times we are in states of stress for prolonged periods of time, which often shows in areas such as the hips, jaw, shoulders, and back. During stressful moments our breathing becomes shallower, and we tend to breathe from our chest instead of our diaphragm. This can elevate the shoulders and tighten the jaw and chest muscles, creating a state of contraction to all of the tissues that are attached to these boney structures.

Relaxation techniques help bring the body into a “relaxation response,” characterized by slower breathing, lower blood pressure, and a reduced heart rate. The relaxation response is the opposite of the stress response. In massage, this can look like gentle shaking of an extremity, light rocking of the torso, or slower, softer gliding movements. In order to work with the parasympathetic nervous system which aids in relaxation. Or sometimes your therapist will perform gentle holds which will allow the tissues to unwind on their own and release themselves. Or maybe your therapist will apply very light pressure or gentle pulling in order to allow fascial constrictions to be released. This could trigger an emotional response such as shaking, crying, or extreme physical pain. These are what are known as somatic releases and can be experienced with little to no pressure being applied.

Energy Healing techniques such as Reiki utilize working with the “life force energy” and can be a phenomenal modality in healing long-term emotional trauma.  Other types of bodywork that can aid in energy healing are Light Healing Touch, which works specifically with grief stored in the body. Chakra Balancing can help release stagnation or energy blockages in emotions corresponding to the specific chakra and physiological structures. CrainoSacral Therapy, which has countless benefits, can also help release emotional and traumatic holdings in the cerebral spinal fluid.  No matter what type of therapy you need, it’s safe to say there is something for everyone!