Moved posts from "Anyone have experience with body work?"

[SAR]

The Fiance
New Here
Member # 2602

May 16, 2005 05:14 PM
i'm not a survivor... but I "do" reiki...

i've never helped my fiancee with his problems this way because i feel i'm a bit too attached to it and i don't want to give him more negative energy... but in general it is a WONDERFUL release.

a very simple meditation anyone can do at anytime. sit up straight, close your eyes (unless you're driving haha) and picture yourself surrounded by bright light or you can just picture a beam of light coming straight down onto you. Take a deep breathe and picture yourself breathing in bright, positive light and energy. hold it for 3 seconds and visualize the light just taking over your body. exhale and picture black smoke leaving your mouth and nose and vanishing into the world (or to "ground" the negative, picture it sinking into the dirt and dissapearing)
repeat this in reps of 3.

The Fiance
New Here
Member # 2602

May 16, 2005 05:17 PM

Oh one more thing- if any of you decide to seek Reiki, you can ALWAYS ask for the practitioner to do it hands off, it's just as effective (altho personally i like the warmth of hands, i like to know where she's working). but other than just knowing where she's working, there really isn't a difference if she holds her hands several inches above you, through your clothes, or right on your bare skin. no difference at all.

 

[Wifey1]

Hi -
I dont know if what I have experienced is considered "Body work" or not. Over the past many years of health problems I have worked with chiropractic care and most recently and effectively with Physical Therapy.
Both forms of help not only involved touch, but education of nutrition to help in healing my body. When I first began dealing with my own personal abuse issues, I have to admit I withdrew into a long phase of not wanting to be touched in ANY manner unless I was in the complete "control position".
Chiropractic helped in the beginning as it was short and direct touch. It began with mostly heat packs before an "adjustment". The Chiro Doc always explained what he/she would be doing BEFORE touching.
Physical Therapy was much more releasing of emotion for me. I am not sure how much was releasing the recent trauma my body had been thru and how much was deep seated from childhood. I was very blessed to have the most wonderful of Dr of Physical Therapy so he was very attuned and used to seeing uncontrolled tears, uncontrolled shivers of cold, or heat sweats. Even exagerations of me jumping up from the table feeling as if pins were stabbing me from all over.
That Dr of PT was very aware of my past Abuse and health traumas and was very alert to not touch or move me in any way without fair warning. The nice thing about him is that he never left me in an "abandoned state". If he was to be out of town for awhile and wanted me to follow up with care he introduced me to the Dr who would be following me, and he gave his home number freely for any calls no matter time of day or night. He was also a very Spiritual person who truly believed that the mind could heal the body as importantly and have as much impact as his own touch or even Western medicine also.
I think I have been very blessed to have such wonderful health professionals be so in tune with the after effects of the ugly realities of humans tho.
Peace, Sammy

 

[reality2k4]

I know that massage can really be a powerful drug.
My dad used to do it to me, and it worked.
I was reading about body memory, and how the body stores memories that the mind cannot absorb, so I think that massage somehow can let this memory fade. It seems true, because the mind just could not deal with so much, so it stores it in the body. I use meditation to soothe the mind, and that has a powerful effect.
There are numerous differing methods like, art therapy and aromatherapy, but they can all help,

ste

 

[Caetel]

Hey !
As a survivor I did a huge amount of healing through body work: massage, biodanza, kundalini yoga...
I am also currently doing a master in dance and drama therapy so I am going through a lot of different techniques. A powerful technique is "expression primitive" a dance therapy based on group dynamics, archetypes, music and percussions (mainly from Haiti and Africa) and psychoanalysis. I have also experienced folk/traditional dances and feldencreiss and Alexander techniques.
Dance and movement therapy can help in a lot of ways:
- release body memory
- release and express emotions(like anger or shame)
- replay and release unsuitable mother/infant dynamics
- help how to trust others and bring up boundaries
- help survivors to be in their body and connect with it
- teach about body structure and develop imagination and creativity about oneself
- develop imagination and creativity about the outside world
- bring out confidence and pride
- develop social skills
- bring hope because life is about change and movement just like dance !
- brings a strong will to live and enjoy life
- helps develop or repair psychomotricity (for example through dance I was able to reconnect the upper part of my body with my legs since the abuse completely blocked my pelvis-stomach area)
The list is endless.
- helps with breathing and voice
- helps with sexual healing (sensuality, fantasy...)
- teach about loving and appreciating oneself (and others)
I am trying to develop dance therapy workshops for survivors, so I will be interested to know if any of you has tried dance therapy.
For my part I can say that body work has provided so much healing that I consider it as important as my standard face to face verbal therapy. I was lucky also that my therapist understood and fully supported my quest in this area. I can only fully encourage survivors to explore body work. Find what's best for you but remember also that this can be very triggering.
I am there if you have questions
Warmest regards
Caro

 

[reality2k4]

I got to think a long time ago, that I have to understand what is going on. I know that my body blocks pain, so I surf the net.

I do research with a girl who is studying psychology, lucky her, I think not.

Then I stumbled on the body memory stuff, and I thought, hey, it makes sense that the mind just cannot store all that crap, so it has to put it somewhere, so it stores it in body organs etc.

I have had some real bad patches where I have just had to lower stressors on my mind and body.
I have done a lot of work on identifying stressors and finding ways of relaxation.

I would love to have a massage, but if I go to a massage parlour then they expect you want sex, but I have problems with touch. Its just like the body hates touch, but craves touch, I suppose it is to do with boundary issues.

These workshops sound great, and there needs to be more of them, but try getting the people who need them to know where they are available. I would go straight away.

I really think that touch therapy is the best there is, maybe it will happen one day,

ste

 

[sabooka]

I have done meditation and tai chi for the last three years as well as going for cranio-sacral therapy. In fact it was during a session of cranial sacral therapy that I first came in contact with my sexual abuse.

For me the body work and meditaiton (qi gong and tai chi) have allowed me to get in touch with my hidden secrets. However, I think it is very important to say that body work can not replace a therapist and your therapist has to be supportive of the body work.

I am also studying acupuncture and traditional chinese medicine and if i have a patient who talks about a sexual of physical abuse I will not treat any long term problems unless s/he has seen or is seeing a therapist or another support network.

Body work can free some blockages of energy but behind those blockages are almost always emotions.
I have found for myself that meditation can help me but that I have to be in a very safe place and know that I have the time to express and experiance my feelings.