TO YOUR HEALTH
Embodiment: The Bridge Between... ...continued from page 9 two-way connection; however, this theory receives some criticism by researchers, due to its lack of scientific evidence. While the Polyvagal Theory may have provided another tool for mental health therapists to explore the mind/body connection, Peter Levine’s work pioneered the whole field for therapists. Peter Levine, PhD (in Biophysics and Psychology), is the creator of Somatic Ex- periencing , or SE, a body-based approach to healing from trauma by using techniques that create a deeper relationship with the body and how it holds trauma (Levine, 2016). His understanding of the hu - man body and its “life energy” gave mental health professionals both a foundation for and permission to explore new territory by introducing them to the idea that the body holds on to past traumas until we are able to create a safe container to listen to the body and “thaw” those frozen moments in time. However, much like the Polyvagal Theory, Peter Levine’s work is criticized for being too scientifically ambiguous. Some critics even go so far as to call Levine’s work “cult-like”. My personal criticism of both modalities is they are still too agen - da-driven and reductionistic in their approach to trauma recovery. Both the Polyvagal Theory and SE, as well as many other forms of so- matic therapy not mentioned here, use the mind to scan what is pres- ent in the body as a means to uncover what is subconsciously stored. If this information was so readily available, then why did it create hold- ing patterns in our body in the first place? The body is innately designed to stay functional and balanced, so we will create compensation patterns within milliseconds without breaking from our activity engagement. This recalibration to seek ho- meostasis is part of the body’s intelligent design. When we experience
a trauma — be it significant or a series of small repetitive traumas over an extended period of time — the body recalibrates in an instant. These adjustments happen on a biological level with no conscious awareness. For example: You fall down the stairs as a child and land on your tailbone. But, you get right back up, dust yourself off, and walk around with a sore butt for the next few days. That moment of impact to your tailbone as a child doesn’t just go away; it creates tension around the tailbone, which causes your tailbone to shift over time. That memory eventually fades and gets stored in the body. As you age, the tissue around your tailbone becomes fibrotic, causing all of the organs and muscles in your pelvis to shift as well. At age 40, you begin to expe - rience migraines, so you go to a headache specialist who prescribes medicine and asks you to keep a journal of your triggers. Eventually, you get frustrated with the lack of results, so you turn towards alterna- tive and holistic medicine like acupuncture or reiki. Each one of these interventions addresses a symptom of the underlying issue, and some of them may even clear the emotional blockages from that original trauma; but none of them unwind the tailbone and its surrounding structures. So, your body stays wound up and develops compensation patterns around that original injury. Over time, you even start to ex- perience pain in new places in your body. In addition, your emotions can’t flow when your physical tissue is restricted or twisted, so those sites become like a sponge for stress and emotion in the body. Fascial Therapies How do we unravel such a complex pattern of trauma, pain, and emotional stress? This is where bodywork, with an emphasis on fascial therapy, can be incredibly profound. Fascia looks like a spider web, comprised of three-dimensional hol-
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30—PATHWAYS—Summer 22
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