I am a Trauma Informed Embodiment Coach. Healing is possible for women who have trauma. Big T, Little T, Complex, Sexual, Religious, any form of trauma. Check out my content and ways we can work together.
On the Other Side of the Storm
Have you ever driven in a storm?
One where all your muscles tensed due to gripping the steering wheel, pumping the brakes and bracing yourself for the car moving out of your control. Plus your eyes feeling sore from concentration and your emotional state feeling frazzled and spent.
Ya, me too. In fact I just drove through one tonight.
I knew that once I made it to 4,000 ft, we'd be out of the snow.....and then the rain....and hopefully the fog too....
It was so nice to know an end was in sight, and that I could trust that the snow, rain and fog would stop...and they did - even if the driving time took twice as long as normal to get to 4,000 ft.
Afterwards, it took over an hour for my body to start calming....for the muscles in my back, arms, hands, shoulders, neck and torso, to slowly start releasing....for me to remind myself to keep taking deep breathes.
I had tears as I let myself process the fear of "whoa, that was really scary".
I blinked a lot and the lights of the cars still irritated my sore eyes...
I am still feeling myself continue to relax hours afterward and I keep thinking of Peter Levine's description of what happens physiologically in our body in trauma. Here are some of them. They are good....
"The bodies of traumatized people portray "snapshots" of their unsuccessful attempts to defend themselves in the face of threat and injury. Trauma is a highly activated incomplete biological response to threat, frozen in time. For example, when we prepare to fight or to flee, muscles throughout our entire body are tensed in specific patterns of high energy readiness. When we are unable to complete the appropriate actions, we fail to discharge the tremendous energy generated by our survival preparations. This energy becomes fixed in specific patterns of neuromuscular readiness. The person then stays in a state of acute and then chronic arousal and dysfunction in the central nervous system. Traumatized people are not suffering from a disease in the normal sense of the word- they have become stuck in an aroused state. It is difficult if not impossible to function normally under these circumstances.”
Each time I am reminded of how our bodies respond, I ask myself....
Can I give myself a little grace for the holding patterns of energy cycle I have in my muscles, breathe, eye movements and emotions? (And wherever else I hold trauma).
Can you give yourself and your body some grace and compassion for the trauma these holding patterns reveal?
I am so happy that tonight provided me with a beautiful example of how those energy cycles complete and don't get stuck within my own body.
I let myself cry. I allowed it to be scary. I drove myself through the storm, knowing I could stop and pull off at anytime. The muscles tightened and they are in the process of releasing. It takes time. And I had an end in sight.
I know this completed response (or in the process of completing) is not the case in trauma.
Which is why this example is an internal resource for me by knowing that my body does know how to complete stressful energy cycles. My body already knows and I can learn from it.
I invite you to consider......
What does your body already know?
Do you have holding patterns within your body as well?
Can you give grace and compassion to them?
Please reach out if you need help with any of this.
Remember, ❤️
You Matter. Your Healing Matters. You Are Worth It!
P.S. Another place I hold trauma is in my ears. My ears have so many holding patterns. I am often hyper aware of noises and my ears often are in pain or have a dull ring. My last 2 Get Into Your Body have been focused on healing our inner ear through breath work and vagal tone. I invite you to check those out.
Hi! I'm Cami
I am a Trauma Informed Embodiment Coach. Healing is possible for women who have trauma. Big T, Little T, Complex, Sexual, Religious, any form of trauma. Check out my content and ways we can work together.
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