Am I Okay?
This is a wonderful question to ask ourselves, particularly if we have sustained trauma that has left lingering symptoms of physical, mental and/or emotional pain in our bodies and/or minds.
While a trauma may have occurred, months, years, or even decades ago, our bodies still may be bracing themselves against the physical, mental and/or emotional blow/s that we experienced. When this happens, our muscles continuously fire signals to our brain telling it that we are still in acute danger, flooding the body with stress hormones and often leaving us in a state of hypervigilance (overprotecting, tensing, bracing). If there is too much activation for the nervous system to contain, the parasympathetic freeze response will also turn on and we will find ourselves immobilized and often in a state of hypovigilance (underprotecting, dissociating, numbing). These ongoing responses eventually tire the muscles, tissues, nervous, digestive and immune systems, etc. and lead to chronic pain and/or disease over time. The mind often also follows by becoming anxious, depressed and/or looking for ways to escape the pain through addictions, numbing, pleasure seeking, etc.
Both BodyTalk energy therapy and Somatic Experiencing trauma integration therapy can help to unwind these symptoms and let our minds and bodies know that we are physiologically okay. BodyTalk facilitates this by re-establishing communication between the various parts and systems that have become stressed, enabling energy to flow between them once more and the body and mind to heal itself. Somatic Experiencing facilitates this by helping to assess where we are “stuck” in the fight, flight or freeze responses and then tracks and discharges related bodily sensations to resolve fixated physiological states.
As this resolution occurs, a deep sense of safety is restored from within and we begin to feel “okay” again on the physiological, physical, mental and emotional levels, which is essential to our experience of wellness, joy and aliveness in our lives.
“Jaya has taken me on a profound journey of healing. From working through past traumas to preparing for the birth of my child, we have peeled back the layers together in a gentle and deeply restorative way. My health has returned and I find myself closer to inner peace than ever before.”
~ Ashley, Ottawa, ON