Shooker Sunday

This past weekend we had a workshop on myofascial trigger point release. It reignited my passion for myofascial release and educated me about what a trigger point is and what it is not. The instructor is one of the most highly trained myofascial therapists in Wisconsin and California. She is wonderful-so helpful, compassionate, smart and well educated.

The weekend started with learning and reviewing myofascial techniques to loosen and remove restrictions and adhesions in the connective tissue. This can be life-altering for people as their body gets out of its "straight jacket" and finds freedom. It's incredible what kinds of damage and problems this can cause, both physically and emotionally.

I've always believed in a physical/emotional connection in the human body, but I haven't experienced it as intensely as I did this weekend. I had two unwindings: this is what happens when the subconscious takes over all allows the tissue to go back to previous memory to heal. Everyone truly has the power to heal themselves, sometimes it just takes a compassionate therapist who can hold the space to allow it.

In the past, I haven't felt comfortable enough to release emotions when they come up on the table. There have been a few times when I really trusted the person I was with, but it's difficult to be vulnerable and to let it out, but that's only how true healing occurs. It's up to the client to allow it, it can never be forced, but it can be guided. As we revisited myofascial, I've realized all the things that I was doing wrong in the past, and now I am much more clear in making sure I hold each barrier for 3-5 minutes or longer for a true release. I'm so happy we had this weekend, it came at the perfect time to inspire me in this work.

The second unwinding was very powerful for me, and proved to me this whole "physical/emotional" connection. My classmate was working on a cross hand release on my traps and this is an area that has always been extremely tender on my body. She was doing some deep trigger point work and asking me how I felt. I told her I felt nothing, like it was almost numb. She kept checking in with me, because she was so deep into the tissue, but I barely felt a thing. She said it was so hot and that she was sweating. I still felt nothing as the energy that had been stored in there for so long was releasing.

The instructor came over for some coaching. She asked how I felt. I told her it felt numb. She then asked me the money question, "How does it feel for you to be so disconnected from this area of your body that you feel numb?" I allowed myself to move my awareness to that part of my body. Immediately my stomach starting shooking, just spasming and curling inward. The instructor put her hand underneath me, to the exact spot I've been having abdominal pain in the past few weeks. My body just took over and I curled my legs underneath me and my hands went out and I felt all this energy surging and releasing through my system and the sobs just came out. I had no control. I didn't know what it was about, I didn't need to know. Somewhere in time, my body froze in that position. It could have been physical or emotional or who knows, a past life, but my body remembered the trauma. As I thawed, I felt myself become lighter and freer and my body didn't feel so heavy.

I found in incredibly fascinating that she put her had in that spot on my abdomen. To me, that pain for the past few weeks was showing up for a reason, it was ready. I wasn't ready before, this weekend was the perfect timing to let that out and let it go. We didn't have time for a complete release, so the instructor advised me to do unwinding at home on my own. I was in the bathtub and my stomach started doing that lurching action again. After my bath, I laid on my bed and had the same reaction, I found myself curled into a fetal position, with my arms and head wanting to move in different positions. I fell asleep, had an intense dream and woke up two hours later. I was exhausted. Today I feel better, my traps hurt a lot and I know it's because the fascia is bound up on my pecs, pulling it backwards. I need to work on that for myself, loosening myself out of my straight jacket a bit more.

The body will subconsciously "protect" itself and it's holding patterns. It takes patience, compassion and love for one's self to let those brakes come off and heal yourself.
Isn't the human body amazing? I just find myself becoming more and more passionate about it as I do this work, for myself and when others are on my table. It is truly healing in it's purest form. We all have the power to heal ourselves. It's the most beautiful thing in the world.