The Somato Emotional Release
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Therapeutic work carried out as part of a craniosacral therapy session to free the body and mind of the negative effects of past traumas.
Use is made of different techniques, such as the freeing of “energy cysts”, working with tissue memory, the use of images, therapeutic dialogue (using the word to free the mind), body untwisting, working with trauma and deep Rebalancing® massage.
Somato Emotional Release and deep curing of the body, mind and spirit!
The relationship between the body and the mind is already an accepted fact, even in orthodox medicine; we could even say there is an intimate relation between body, mind, emotions and spirit.
In the field of psychoneuroimmunology a link has been discovered between negative psychological states and their influence on immunological response. Our mental and emotional state can be read in our body.
Our emotional state –stress, excitation, repression, etc.– are reflected in our characteristic muscular patterns and postures. Even past physical and emotional traumas are reflected in our tissue in what we call energy cysts.
The Theory of Energy Cysts
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Biodynamic somato emotional energy cysts, a term originally coined in American craniosacral therapy, are areas of body dysfunction that manifest as obstructions to the efficient flow of energy and electricity through the body tissue (mainly fascial).
Normal bodily function is inhibited in that area and the body has to adapt to that disorganised activity. It can be the result of physical trauma, pathogenic invasion, physiological dysfunction and mental and emotional problems. Using physical trauma –an accident– as an example, the body has two ways of responding to the physical force of the injury: it either immediately begins to dissipate that force, allowing the natural curing process to take place, or the physical force is retained in the body instead of being dissipated.
If the energy cannot dissipate itself as heat, the body localises and concentrates it, encapsulating or isolating it as an energy cyst. The body adapts to the presence of the cyst, compromising its normal functioning; fascial mobility is hindered, there is a reduction in the normal electrical conductivity of the surrounded tissue and the flow of energy around the acupuncture meridians is reduced. All this debilitates body energy, creating tension and dysfunction.
Three important factors have to be taken into account in determining whether the body is able to dissipate the traumatic energy:
1º – The amount of energy
if the impact is too great, the ability of the body dissipate it may be compromised.
2º – Previous injuries in the same body area
it becomes more vulnerable and the ability to dissipate the energy may be compromised.
3º – Certain negative emotional states
such as anger or fear paralyse the body’s ability to dissipate the energy. If these negative states are dominant at the time of the accident or injury, the body will probably retain the force of the injury and develop an energetic cyst. Once the negative emotions have been discovered and relived with the help of the therapist, it will be easier to free the energetic cyst.
If the negative states are dominant at the time of the accident or injury, the body will probably retain the force of the injury and develop an energetic cyst.
Once the negative emotions have been discovered and relived with the help of the therapist, it will be easier to free the energetic cyst.
The Mind, Body, Emotions Link
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Our repressed emotions can result in suppression of activity and, in the final instance, chronic contraction of the muscles as a way of expressing those emotions. This can happen if we repress both positive and negative emotions: rage, fear, hatred, joy, frustration, grief, etc. The most vulnerable areas of the body are the muscles and tissue surrounding the neck and spine, the face (especially the jaw), the stomach and intestines, the diaphragm as the main muscle involved in breathing and the pelvic area with its influence on the legs.
All these areas of the body involved in producing feelings that awaken emotional excitation may see a reduction in blood flow due to muscle contraction. The mind and its subconscious part are involved in these patterns of tension and contraction and can therefore help us find a path towards a therapeutic treatment.
This negative force is retained in our body (injury energy) and the whole body adapts to this new anomalous situation.
With the help of the facilitator, through these manipulations (with the cooperation of the patient) areas of blockage can be transformed and the normal flow of energy can be restored.
Bibliography
- Integración cuerpo, mente y emociones en la terapia craneo- sacral. Autor: Alberto Panizo. Edita: Escuela Universitaria Fisioterapia ONCE. Año 2007.
- Curar el trauma. Autor: Peter Levine. Urano.
- The Body Remembers. Autor: Babette Rothschild.
- Focusing. Autor: Euget T. Gendlin. Mensajero.
- SomatoEmotional Release. Autor: Upleger. North Atlantic Books.
- La integración de las estructuras del cuerpo humano. Autor: Ida Rolf. Ediciones Urano.
- Inducción miofascial. Autor: Andrzej Pilat. Mc Graw Hill.
- Traumatic Incident Reduction. Autor: Gerald D. French
- Terapia manual. Autor: L. Chaitow. Mc Graw Hill.
- Begin with the body. A meditator´s guide to bodywork. Autor: Osho. Academy of healing arts.
- Anatomía emocional. Stanley Keleman. Ed. Desclee.
- La enfermedad como camino. Thorwald Dethlefsen. Edit. Plaza y Janés.
- La enfermedad como símbolo. Thorwald Dethlefsen. Edit. Robin Book.
- Anatomia para el movimiento I y II. Blandine Calais. Edit. Liebre de Marzo.
