Over Coupling responds to somatic healing practices

Ever find yourself in constant muscle constriction? That’s an old response coming from the body.

It’s a nervous system defense response that was prompted by an alarming situation, and it got stuck. It didn’t get the chance to complete the trauma response cycle.

It never got to fight or run away from that situation successfully.

So the sympathetic energy got trapped in the body in the form of muscle constriction.

I have a tight spot in the back of my left shoulder that radiates to my neck.

When I listen to it, it’s telling me that it has to be on alert and prepared to respond to something that could happen any minute.

I can feel other parts of my body that are totally relaxed but this part is holding the fort for everyone and making sure that we (me and all of my parts) are ready for anything.

I’m doing lots of things to address it: movement, bodywork, somatic therapy.

As I’m creating more space around this part I’m also doing this other thing which is to be aware of this felt sense at various moments as I go throughout the day.

I don’t try to stop it. I keep an open communication channel with it.

I notice how it feels and it needs to be ready. Then I asked if it feels like it’s really necessary to brace in this moment, if there’s a logical reason for it in the here and now.

Sometimes the answer is yes and I try to see it from its point of view.

Maybe I’m about to present something or do something that I don’t like.

Sometimes the answer is “not really”. Maybe I’m even waiting for something that I do like but for some reason my bodymind thinks I need to be prepared with anticipation.

I remind it then that I’m actually looking forward for this thing to happen and there’s nothing bad happening. It relaxes a bit.

This ability to notice what’s going on as I go through the day, even if the sensation is mild and keep an open communication channel is not something that I’ve always been able to do.

I can do it now thanks to all the hours I’ve put into my somatic healing practices.