Making the Body Part of the Healing Process
Guest written by Michelle Grim
Have you wondered what role your body plays when using mind-body methods for healing? In this guest blog, Michelle Grim, PA, describes how she learned the importance of working with the body in healing and offers steps for exploring how to help your body help you heal.
Making the Body Part of the Healing Process
If any of you have listened to the interviews I’ve done with Dr. Stracks, you likely already know that my healing journey really began with a yoga nidra practice after which, without any reason that made sense to me, I experienced 5 days pain free. Zip. Zilch. Nada. NO PAIN. It literally blew my mind. At a time when I felt as though I was constantly trying to figure out how to get out of pain, it happened, incidentally, when I wasn’t trying at all, lying on the floor using my awareness to scan and relax my body. It just…went away.
Having that experience was confusing for me, to say the least. And I often find that is true for many people first exploring the realm of mind-body healing. It can feel counterintuitive to turn to the body as a place for healing as it feels like the body is betraying us when we are experiencing pain. Pain is impactful; it is almost impossible that it won’t take things from us that we love. I remember, quite vividly actually, how much anger I had toward my body when my pain really increased. It quite literally felt like my body was my enemy. It felt like my body took my life away.
And, yet, I live in my body. So that seemed problematic…
My experience after that yoga nidra class made one thing crystal clear to me. The body must be a part of healing. And after spending years learning more about it, through my training in body-based psychotherapy, yoga therapy, and mindfulness, it has become overwhelmingly clear to me that the body needs to be explored as an impactful path to healing that is available to everyone.
If you’re new to this idea, and not sure where to start, that’s okay! Below, I’ll highlight below some of the reasons the body is such an important part of healing, and all I ask is that you consider these ideas for yourself. Openness to the idea is a great starting place. And remember that though it can sometimes feel like your body is what “got you into this mess,” your body can also be what gets us out.
Here are some ideas to fuel your exploration of bringing your body into your healing journey.
The body offers us access to the nervous system.
If you’ve ever noticed the “aaah” feeling that accompanies experiencing the warmth of the sun on your face, the wind in your hair, or the sound and smell of the ocean, you know that what you bring in through your senses can shift your internal state toward a sense of ease. Supporting safety in the nervous system through the body can look like self-massage, moving your body, shifting your breath, or laughing with a friend. It can also be taking a bath, eating a nurturing meal, or giving yourself time to widen your gaze and take in the clouds in the sky. When we intentionally engage with our bodies through our senses, we realize it can be a gift we give ourselves that brings our system back toward safety. And safety is where wellness arises..
The body can be a powerful way to teach the brain.
You may be connected to the idea that healing chronic symptoms requires “retraining” the brain. Another way of expressing that is that we need to teach the brain something new, giving it access to a non-pain pathway. Direct experience can be one of the most powerful ways to do that. Remember, we live life through a body, so it is our direct connection to experience. Experiences in the body, then, can be an incredibly powerful way to influence the mind. Finding relaxation in the body can be one of the best starting places to guide our direct experience in a healing way. (For more ideas about retraining the brain using the body, stay tuned for further posts.)
Building a relationship with the body helps us practice self-compassion.
As I mentioned earlier, my experience with healing pain was fraught with anger. And that anger was mostly turned toward my body. When I started to welcome my body back into my life as part of my healing path, it naturally built compassion toward my bodily experiences as well. Before, I might have said, “My body is doing this to me and it’s ruining my life!” But I started to turn toward my body with care: “This is hard, but you’re okay, and I’m with you.” Building this mindset can take time, but welcoming your body as it is, regularly, is an important starting place. One of my favorite yoga teachers taught us the practice of “What’s up today?” to guide us to check in with our body, our breath, our hearts, and our minds. The practice was essentially just a listening practice (we didn’t try to change anything), but with an approach similar to what we might offer a loved one. Bringing the body into healing allows us to shift from being at war with our bodies to partnering with our bodies, and that is a powerful shift toward safety.
So, where to start? Notice what reading this might have inspired in you and then start to get curious about what you might experiment with. There’s no right or wrong answer in this process, and it can look different person to person. Make it your own. How might you explore inspiring safety through the senses? What about retraining your brain with direct experiences? Or bringing more compassion into your relationship with your body? Write down a couple ideas and try them out. Remember, none of these is the “cure-all” for chronic symptoms. But, this approach can help you take steps toward safety in a powerful way, and, if practiced regularly, can help you make big changes.
For more help working with your body to heal your chronic symptoms, set up an appointment with Michelle. You can contact us at 312-489-8890 or through our website at cormendihealth.com/contact. And stay tuned for future posts on how to bring your body into your healing journey. There’s more to come!