Releasing Trauma

Trauma can be released slowly and carefully by focusing on its physical dimension. The most current understanding of trauma focuses on the body. Our natural response to danger is flight, fight or freeze. Trauma is often related to the freeze response (or immobility response).

"Trauma in humans can be caused by sexual abuse, violence, the threat of either, or the witnessing of either, particularly in childhood. Catastrophic events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, war or other mass violence can also cause psychological trauma. Long-term exposure to situations such as extreme poverty or milder forms of abuse, such as verbal abuse, can be traumatic."¹ Often these kinds of trauma are classified as post traumatic stress disorder.

Peter Levin in his ground breaking book, Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma: The Innate Capacity to Transform Overwhelming Experiences, explains how its built into all animals and in our own physical bodies to become immobile if severely threatened. Animals will than shake after the danger has passed to release the freeze response and reset back to normal. In humans, trauma is often caused by psychological events or situations, but becomes locked in our physical bodies.

Humans, with our large brains, can override the shaking response, holding the freeze in our tissues, nerves, energy and emotions. Cultural and social values play a large role in holding trauma indefinitely. The physical freeze of trauma can keep us stuck at the time of the original danger. Symptoms can include:

•Re-experiencing the original trauma(s), by means of flashbacks or nightmares
•Avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma
•Increased arousal, such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, anger, and hyper vigilance

Ortho-Bionomy, Lymph Drainage, Chapman's Reflexes and Energy Techniques can all be employed to unfreeze trauma. These methods help to discharge trauma slowly by releasing contraction, gently stimulating the nervous system and freeing blocked energy.

I am effective in helping clients reduce trauma by helping them to shake at very small, manageable levels. Often this requires creating a sense of safety by holding the trauma immobile. I can than carefully support a release into relaxation. Once unfrozen, the client can become more adaptive and respond to challenges without going back into immobility.

One key to helpful trauma work is allowing the traumatized area to begin to be felt again. Going very slowly and steadily is often the best way to sustain the movement back to natural functioning.

¹ "Psychological trauma" in Wikipedia.

Learn more about my practice at: Healing Body Therapeutics

A Natural Approach to Healing

Many of us who practice Alternative Health have a unique way of thinking about healing. In the medical model practiced by doctors, health is a matter of alleviating symptoms. Either drugs or surgical procedures are used to restore the body to a condition minus the symptoms that presented. In the Alternative perspective that I follow, health is a matter of balance.

My goal is to stimulate the natural, self-healing properties of the client. Our focus is towards any variable that interrupts or limits this capacity to self-correct. We believe that hyper contraction of tissues, improper alignment of boney structures, emotional distress, trauma, spiritual despair, poor diet, stress, bad posture as well as social and cultural factors prevent out physical systems from functioning properly. We consider that these factors depress our immune system's responses to our environment and make us vulnerable to bacteria, germs and parasites. The normal function of cells, organs and glands takes place in the absence of these interruptions.

Since balance is our intention, we try to provide the client with the least amount of therapy possible and than see how they respond. Based on the follow-on to our work we can make adjustments that are subtle and careful. Unfortunately many of the health challenges in the medical model are unintended consequences from unknown effects of drugs or unforeseen drug interactions.

Alternative approaches have their limits as do all health systems but the focus on balance lessens unexpected side effects. We also try to leave the client with more resources to maintain their health. Empowering the client is the ultimate goal. When balance is restored the natural vitality of the client improves the quality of their lives.

Bert Hellinger on Balance and Forgiveness

What Hellinger calls the “hidden symmetry of love” concerns the balance of give and take that colors every relationship, especially in couples. The exchange of giving and receiving needs to be balanced, not from a mathematical, but from a soul perspective; the wider the exchange, the deeper the resulting growth and joy. The partner who receives too much will end up feeling oppressed, and therefore unable to give. The same is true in case of a partner causing harm to another. Too quick or superficial forgiveness deprives the need that the offending party has for offering compensation. A magnanimous forgiveness—often a superficial one—deprives the needed outlet for guilt.

http://www.humanspiritcircles.com/images/09updates/Excerpt%20Family%20Constellations.pdf

Successful Relief for Back and Hip Pain

The biggest factor in back and hip pain is the Psoas muscle. Over the years I have become very successful in treating conditions caused by the psoas. Some of the conditions involving the psoas include: low back pain, sacroiliac pain, sciatica, disc problems, spondylolysis, scoliosis and hip degeneration. I have been a Bodywork Therapist and Energy Healer for 26 years.

The psoas (pronounced "so - az") primarily flexes the hip and the spinal column. At about 16 inches long on the average, it is one of the largest and thickest muscles of the body (in animals it's known as the tenderloin). This powerful muscle runs down the lower mid spine beginning at the 12th thoracic vertebrae connecting to all the vertebral bodies, discs and transverse processes of all the lumbar vertebrae down across the pelvis to attach on the inside of the top of the leg.

I've had the most success by using Ortho-Bionomy techniques. To release the psoas we move the legs and hips into the most comfortable position possible. The most comfortable position resets sensors in the muscles and joints known collectively as proprioceptors. Creating the right twist and pressure in the muscles can reset the sensors very quickly.

The psoas can change its tension levels and learn to operate in better balance over time. It often takes 1-3 session to help the psoas retain a new way of functioning. More serious psoas injuries can take longer, particularly if very painful techniques have been used previously. Painful methods can traumatize the psoas.

I like to give clients homework that is designed to keep the Psoas balanced. Clients who do these exercises tend to get better faster and stay pain free over time.

Go to BarryKrost.com for more information and/or appointment in San Antonio, Texas