Why the Incarnation?

There are of course many important reasons that Christ came in the flesh, theologically known as The Incarnation. But from a bodywork perspective, the Incarnation holds unique importance. It is a common maxim in bodywork that "People hold their issues in their tissues." What this means in its basic sense is that we are not just creatures of our minds, but are truly embodied. Most people identify with the fact that they hold "stress" in various places in their bodies. But the fact is, we hold all of our emotions in our bodies. Sometimes we may hold anxiety in our gut, anger in our throat,grief in our heart, or confusion in our heads. The list could go on. But one of the aims of bodywork is to help people release the issues in their tissues--to release the emotions and pain that have been stored there and have been preventing them from living an abundant life.

By coming in the flesh, the Incarnation, Christ Jesus redeemed our bodies. He desires to free us from the brokenness in our bodies...and is why in the great Eucharistic Prayer, He says, "This is my Body, Broken for You."

Somatic Idioms

It has become a recent habit of mine to notice the number of somatic idioms in our everyday language (I give a nod to my sister who has her PhD in Linguistics!) A somatic idiom is a verbal phrase used to describe an emotional experience that makes reference to a bodily sensation. For example, when we tell a friend that "I have butterflies in my stomach" we are using a somatic idiom to describe anxiety. The existence of somatic idioms are linguistic acknowledgement that our emotions are not simply cognitions, but that emotions are visceral experiences! For another example, have you ever heard someone say, "That person rubs me the wrong way!" Now, most likely, the two people have not had any actual physical contact involving massage--but in fact, there is something being said about the quality of the interaction--it causes a level of emotional  or energetic discomfort akin to being physically "rubbed the wrong way."

For a long time, emotions in psychology have been often processed and treated as if they are only cognitions--we just have to change our minds/thoughts about something. However, our language betrays us! Our bodies register and hold our emotions as much (if not more than) our words! If this is so, then there needs to be a somatic component to psychological growth and healing. Hence, why I have entered into the bodywork field. 

Some other somatic idioms:
"My heart is just broken over this situation."
"My stomach is doing flip-flops."
"My blood is about to boil!"
"You are such a hot-head!"
"I just have a gut feeling about this...."
"He's got cold feet about changing jobs."
"I can't stomach that!"
"I can feel it in my bones!".....etc.....

Self Care 101

You may ask yourself, what does a cat have to do with bodywork? A lot actually. Sasha, my cat, is my self-care icon. From the fact that she sleeps more than 14 hours a day (rough life!) and stretches EVERY TIME she moves from a prone position, she has the self-care thing down pretty good. She faithfully takes a bath every day, eats her kitty crunchies, and does not overdo it on sweets (yeah, I could learn a lot from her). She drinks only water (no wonder her skin is so young looking under all that fur!). Anyway--Sasha reminds me daily to take life at an appropriate pace. She is also very affectionate, at 4:30am visiting hour--which is not so fun. Her only flaw given that I am a non-morning person. Anyway, as a counselor, I am convinced that self-care is a priority--and as a bodyworker--I am doubly convinced. If I take care of myself well--I am able to be fully present for my clients. And that is my reasonable act of service. Thank you Sasha! See the video below to see Simon's Cat, a "cousin" of Sasha.....