bodymi

Body Mind Therapy

Learner Objectives
1. Identify the common theoretical basis for complementary therapies.
2. Explain the relationship of the energy - matter continuum.
3. Explain why an understanding of energy's importance to health care.
4. Define wholeness.

Complementary therapies represent different points of access to the whole energetic system. Because everything we see in matter is made of energy, our wholeness includes the energetic systems of self. This means we acknowledge that spirit and mind are one with the body, hence we refer to the "bodymind". In fact, the body can be seen as the physical "print out" of the collective of the energetic self. This collective of the energetic self includes the vehicles of personality, emotion, intuition, thought, creative imagination and spirit. My practice of bodymind therapy has developed out of this conceptual framework. I am an advanced practice, Psychiatric Nurse Specialist. I employ the modalities of acupressure and psychotherapy together to promote wholeness and eventually wellness. I also teach nutrition and use herbal and nutritional supplements. I would like to take this opportunity to describe how I understand the integration of self as a function of wellness.
The school of acupressure I have studied is an adaptation of a Japanese system called Jin Shin Do. Jin Shin Do is an integration of acupoints (using finger pressure), Taoist philosophy and Western psychology. (Teeguarden, 1987) The Tao (pronounced "dow") was an ancient Chinese philosophy taught by Lao Tsu in the 6th century B.C. Taoism describes human emotional process in terms of the flow of nature. It teaches "the way" that being in harmony with nature can teach us to live in peace with our own, human nature. "The highest good is like water. Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive. It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao." (Feng, 1997.)
Because of my own Western orientation I understand the Taoist teachings in terms of stress theory. Stress, as we know, is neither good nor bad, it just is a part of life. Stress can be a great motivation and even an organizer. However, stress out of balance, or out of harmony, spells illness. In the mind, stress is an appraisal of threat. It is our primitive response to fear. In the body the autonomic response changes the flow of circulation and enervation, in short energy, from an emphasis on vital functions (digestion, nourishment, elimination) to a mobilization of resources for defense. Of course, this is an important survival mechanism when there is an actual threat. However, in modern life most of the events that we psychologically define as threatening can be refined to choice responses which are less stress producing. Psychological and physical stress both initiates the physiological stress response and result in physical dysregulation. We now know that stress is a contributing factor in nearly all if not all disease.
Acupressure is a stress relieving therapy. The body holds issues as tension in the tissues. Acupoints are like dams on the rivers of energy in the body called meridians. The meridians transport life force, or energy, through the body. The dams or acupoints are places where tension accumulates. When the points are touched the dam releases, allowing the river to flow. These meridians feed the organ systems in a cycle every 24 hours. When they are blocked the vital organ systems of the body don't receive the balanced nourishment of life force (prana, energy).
The remarkable thing about acupressure is that when the energy block is released so is an awareness of the psychological tension stored there. Therefore acupressure is awareness therapy. As we get to know our bodymind vehicle better and the particular ways we have of accumulating stress, we can begin to make educated choices about how to respond to life in less stressful ways. Often the choices we have made in the past have outlived their usefulness and in fact may be causing more harm than the good they once attempted. However, when adaptations are made in childhood they become relegated to the subconscious mind and become automatic responses. Even though we can see our own self-destructive behavior we do not know how to access the program to make the change.
Here is another strength of acupressure. Acupressure releases endorphins, which alone produce states of relaxation. In a deeply relaxed, "altered" state of consciousness the mind has access to information that is not available in walking states of consciousness. The mind also has access to the programs, which have been deeply embedded and now appear as automatic responses. Some of these automatic responses appear in the life as behaviors, and some are encoded in the sub-conscious mind and appear as physical symptoms. This connection between mind and symptom opens an entirely new arena of interventions for illness and wellness. The bodymind interaction does not describe all factors contributing to disease, but it does offer us a part of the whole system that we can impact.
In my practice of bodymind therapy I have seen remarkable positive shifts in health as a result of awareness therapy coupled with healing interventions. This work is a way of helping us get out of our own way so that our natural tendency to seek health can be set free. It is within the tangle of the mind that we find the tangles of the body. While bodymind therapy releases the blocks in the body, it also offers the potential for reorganizing the ways the mind flows energy in the body so that the flow will be more balanced, open and harmonious in the future.
In order to do this we need to know the rules of how energy flows in the bodymind and that is what the Taoists provided us. Taoism teaches that if we are true to our nature we will function as the elements within nature function. The elements are part of the cycle of life that repeats itself every year. Fire is represented by summer. Fire burns and produces Earth which is represented by Harvest (a season we don't acknowledge). Earth compresses and produces metal - autumn. Metal flows and becomes water - winter. Water nourishes and grows wood - spring. Each element flows naturally into the next just as each season flows naturally into the next. As a part of nature, our lives can learn to flow and move easily with the changes. Life is change. Denying this fundamental truth creates tension in the bodymind and results in imbalances that can lead to health consequences.
Our challenge then is learning to flow as naturally as does nature. So here is a thumbnail sketch of the aspects of the human experience within each element.
Fire (heart, pericardium, small intestine, triple warmer*) represents the fire of life, or passion. We are joyful when we are passionate about life, and the fire element teaches that joy is a part of our natural inheritance. When fire is out of balance we can be immobilized by shock/hysteria or heartache and despair. Fire also teaches that our attachments to our identity are powerful blocks to the natural flow of energy. Flexible identity that changes throughout the life cycles will be more in tune with natural flow. Fire teaches the ultimate organizing principle, that of love. If we use the experiences of life to teach us love, of self and then others, we will naturally find joy. (*note, triple warmer is a meridian governing heat regulation in the body. It is associated with the thyroid gland and has three branches, chest, abdomen and pelvis.)
Earth (spleen, stomach) represents nurturance and grounding. Our bodies are electrical instruments, and just as electrical circuits need to be grounded, so do we. When we are ungrounded our minds tend to race and worry. We ground ourselves by activities that care for our physical life, and whenever we call our mind to the present moment. When we focus on the now we realize that we can't worry about the future or fret about the past. Our mind can relax and our body will follow. Earth teaches the importance of caring for the entire vehicle, which includes nutrition, exercise, sufficient water, supplementation and so on. Earth also points to the important issues of boundaries. In developing a distinct self we need to clarify our individual work. We all literally swim in electron soup. Being influenced by, and enmeshed with our neighbors is the path of least resistance. Differentiating the self from others is sensitive internal work. It requires careful listening to the bodymind communications of the Earth element and adhering to their direction.
Metal (lung, large intestine) represents truth, the strength and purity of life. The truth is that all of life isn't pretty. Sometimes we suffer tremendous losses and need to grieve. All change necessitates letting go. The truth of our grief in loss cannot be muffled or we will never be able to let go and move on with the changes. When we allow grief we allow ourselves to flow naturally with the sadness of loss in change. Sadness may even accompany welcome change that we consciously acknowledge is for the better. Letting go has alchemy of its own and will happen naturally when the full expression of grief has been allowed. If we find ourselves locked in grief then we must look at our own attachment to the past and our unwillingness to move with life.
Water (kidney, bladder) represents change itself and the potential transformation change brings. In winter water freezes and the harsh elements become an issue of survival. In the vulnerability of winter we experience fear. Fear freezes us. We can push through the fear by using our will power. This is a stressful way to overcome fear. We can also learn to trust. It is tricky to trust a life that is always changing. But within that change we can learn to know and trust ourselves. Our internal radar can guide us to safety. We need to learn to hear our inner voice and trust it enough to do what it tells us. We can also accept that life is teaching us through the changes. We can learn not to psychologically define change as threatening, and thereby provoke stress.
Wood (liver, gall bladder) represents growth and structure. Winter and fear confine us. When we experience confinement we feel helpless and the antidote to helplessness is anger. Anger feels much more powerful than helplessness. With our anger we explode through the seed hull that confines us and begin to sprout into new growth. Once we begin to germinate and sprout we can push against life, using power, control and manipulation to get what we think we want. This way is very stressful and may produce an outcome that is out of harmony with the natural life. Growth in harmony with nature is fluid, easy and non-stressful to the bodymind. Acceptance and surrender are required to allow the new sprout to follow the flow of natural life. Nature is big, as big as the mountains, as big as the sky. We are guests in this vast creation, not its author. To create and grow in concert with that which already is requires a refined balance of humility, reverence and a synergy of all elemental aspects.
Bodymind therapy is a journey into self-knowledge. Knowing the self is empowering. Once we know how we are wired we can make choices. Choice is empowering. This internal journey is really fun and enlightening. It is a shame that the mental health arena carries such a stigma in our culture because it keeps people from pursuing this fundamental self-empowerment. We are human beings. That is a very complex thing. I have just very briefly described some of the ways that the body and mind interact. The physiological processes of the physical body alone are astounding in their complexity. We also posses a powerful ego that has a mind and desires of its own. Beyond all of that we have within us a spiritual blueprint that contains the energetic map of our connection with nature. To gain facility with this incredible whole instrument is a noble pursuit. To seek out healing does not mean there is something wrong with us. If we feel discomfort with life it is because we are human and that it how it feels to be human in the process of self-refinement and change. Our discomfort can also be our guide toward bursting into growth.
Throughout my years of working with these tools I have seen many individuals grow to become more responsive and at ease with life. I have seen many health problems resolve. I was drawn into the field myself because of my own challenge with chronic fatigue syndrome. My greatest challenge became my greatest teacher and has taught me how to guide others into more congruence within themselves and their lives.
Inside each of us, somewhere, is a memory of our wholeness. Remembering our wholeness is not an event but a process. I cannot, nor can anyone else heal you. But I can assist you in listening carefully enough to rediscover the truth that always lives within. I can help you develop your choices that are in harmony with that truth, and install them in the deep sub-conscious mind. With enough curiosity and courage you can peal off the layers of holding between you and your remembering. Then what is left is pure potentiality. We have hints and examples of the vast possibilities of human greatness. How beautiful would the tapestry of life be if each of us reflected all the depth of color and texture we hold as seeds within us!
References:
Feng, (1997). Lao Tsu: Tao Te Ching. New York: Vintage Books.
Teeguarden, (1987). The Joy of Feeling, bodymind acupressure. New York: Japan Publications, Inc.
About the Author:
Carol Littlefield, APRN, is a Psychiatric Nurse Specialist. She has practiced in Salt Lake for 11 years combining complementary therapies with traditional psychotherapy and nutritional counseling. She is located at 426 South 500 East and can be reached by phone at (801) 949-7073.
Continuing Education questions:
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Continuing Education questions:
1. The body can be seen as the "print out" of:
a. the collective energetic self.
b. childhood adaptations stored as programs in the sub-conscious mind.
c. the skills of stress management employed throughout life.
d. the nurturing given to the self, including nutrition, exercise and self- love.
e. all of the above and many more, such as environmental contaminants and genetic inheritance.
2. Lao Tsu, the Taoist master taught that:
a. our body energies flow in harmony when we live in harmony with nature.
b. life is change.
c. One must closely confine the emotions and live by strict discipline in order to attain enlightenment.
d. all of the above.
e. a & b
3. Acupressure relieves stress by:
a. releasing endorphins which enhance relaxation.
b. allowing awareness of stress producing thoughts.
c. providing access to altered states of consciousness which expand choice.
d. balancing energy flow to vital organ functions.
e. all of the above.
4. The five elements can provide:
a. a chemical definition of physical functions.
b. a correlation between mind/emotions and body functions.
c. emotional choices which can reduce stress on the system.
d. all of the above.
e. some of the above, including b&c.
5. Did this Continuing Education opportunity meet the goals stated at the beginning of the article?
a. Yes b. No
6. Was the content relevant to your nursing practice?
a. Yes b. No
7. Was this an effective teaching method?
a. Yes b. No
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